At the beginning of December, we decided to take our young host (click if you don't understand who I'm talking about) to discover not one, not two, oh yes... two... castles of the Loire, for a weekend icy in temperature, but really nice in terms of scenery (the warmth of the heart coughed)
On Friday evening, departure around 8 p.m., equipped with divine sandwiches ready to be tasted during the trip (about 2 hours crumbs included). Our hotel for the weekend:the Ecu de Bretagne in Beaugency.
I wholeheartedly recommend it to you. Affiliated to the Logis de France, 33 rooms in the heart of the beautiful village of Beaugency, it is super comfortable, the rooms spacious:we had two, the large "family" with two bathrooms and two perfectly separated bedroom areas (and we know how important this detail is AH AH AH) and a classic double room for our host who was totally crazy when he discovered it. Rates range from 84 to 135 euros per night depending on the period of course. Note the big plus:the heated swimming pool from May to September.
The welcome is warm, discreet, everything I like, especially since we arrived late (we were kindly expected).
In the morning, a gargantuan breakfast in a modern dining room; I fell madly in love with the decor.
IN SHORT, I recommend (ah did I already say it?) especially since it allows easy access to several castles in the region.
We chose Chambord . Not done for me since… my childhood… I just remembered getting lost on the famous staircase. So FINALLY I had to reconcile with this one and understand WHY I couldn't find my parents after having taken it by another entrance than them.
When you arrive, you realize that the castle is very popular, there, in low season, it's quiet but you can guess that it is able to accommodate many tourists when you see the size of the car park and the modern building. of reception. Luckily, a guided tour started 10 minutes later. We run a little to reach the start (it gets warmer) and we were off for nearly two hours of EXCITING visits. I weigh my words. As often, the success of a visit is 99% due to the quality of the guide. That day, the latter was at the top:pedagogue, passionate, we even felt that he was holding back from telling more and more. A memorable visit. The Man and I, we took turns to translate as much as possible to our host in order to convey to him the essence of the incredible and sincerely unknown history of this castle.
The children also loved it despite the sincerely difficult conditions... I don't think I've ever been so cold in my life. Our small group of tourists crowded around the few fireplaces and heaters sometimes installed here and there. This is also one of the major reasons for the vacancy of this castle:it was simply impossible to heat in winter (and incidentally infested with mosquitoes the other months of the year... BANCO)
In the evening, a simple, good and very pleasant dinner at Teo Jasmin, a solidarity restaurant. All profits are donated to fund participatory projects for people with autism and DYS disorders. Again, therefore, I highly recommend it.
Then, direction Blois for a bowling!!
After a second excellent night at L'Ecu de Bretagne, we packed our bags again but before returning, we took the road again to Blois to visit our 2nd castle!
This time, right in the heart of the city, furnished and really interesting for these different architectural "looks" telling each period of its construction and evolution through the centuries. Again, the guided tour was sincerely very well conducted. It is definitely worth it, especially with children so that we can make them understand as much as possible, knowing that we are clearly not experts! Finally, there again, we froze well...
After a quick tour of the city center, it was time to head home to avoid the Ile-de-France traffic jams... well, we still had a "lunch" stop at Burger King in Orléans.
