Day 40 - Chinon 🇫🇷

Chinon 🇫🇷. 

The area around Chinon became a favorite resort of French kings and their nobles beginning in the late 15th and early 16th centuries. The Renaissance châteaux which they built  on the foundations of the old fortresses earned this part of the Loire valley  the nickname "The Garden of France." Chinon played an important and strategic role during the Middle Ages, serving both French and English kings. The town itself started as a monastery as far back as the 5th century. Its known for its wine, fortress and historic town so we thought we would grace it with our presence.

 

There are carparks all around, above, below and in the town itself. We parked up above, walked down to the fortress but decided to leave that till later when, hopefully it would be a bit cooler and instead take the lift down to the streets below. As to be expected as you emerge from the lift your into the tourist bit; the main square with cafes and restaurants jostling for business but we prefered to wander the back streets exploring the medieval quarter.

Exploring old architecture, 11th century churches, etc its all hungry work so on the return walk La Maison Rouge opposite the book shop just seemed the perfect place to sit, eat, drink and slowly watch the world walk by.

Food was decide upon and then, for a change, wine instead of beer. Having no idea what it was I picked a white one, hoping it would be cold as it was already 30°C out in the street. The waitress looked at me and said "sweet?" ... "Yes thats ok why not".  "I think you've ordered a desert wine,dear. I will stick with a dry white" said Jill. When the wines arrived, the waitress hovered for a bit as I tasted it. "Ooo yes, I like that", she chuckled and wandered off smiling. It was cold and it was delicious 🤗.

     When it was desert time I had to have the cheese board.  "Which wine should I have" I asked her. "oh red, Monsieur, red" she said with a semi stern face. I never asked what it was but it cut thru the after taste of the goats cheeses perfectly and finished the meal off nicely.

I could have happily stayed there all day, eating and drinking and then simply staggered up the hill and slept in the van were it was on the carpark but there was no shade and no services so we would have to move on later at some time. 

    We wandered back into town, called at the tourist office for some postcards and stamps and sat by the river to fill them in.

A sensible card with  Joan of Arc for the granddaughter and one with an oil painting of one of the kings mistress's on it with one of her boobs out for my father. 'Having a great time, wish you were here, all our love, Simon & Jill x"....'ps its hot'

    The medieval fortress has been restored nicely; well the brick work has. Having been round many such things, castles, château's etc we thought we knew what to expect 🤔

Google will tell you all about the fortress and all the films it has been used in such as Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings & Narnia. It shows lots of photos of props from the films and glass cases filled with costumes;all good stuff we thought. We expected the rooms to be filled with all the usual period fixtures and fittings; furniture, tapestries, weapons etc.  The reality is a lot different. 😞

   The film stuff must have just been for a particular exhibition and the other stuff? None, or hardley any. Why? ... because its all now digitised. Instead of getting an audio guide ( headphones and a thing like a mobile phone to hang about your neck) you get a computer tablet (iPad). As you go into each room you scan a plate on a table and the tablet loads the virtual reality for that room. You hold out the tablet, slowely rotate it around the room and it shows you what it would have been like back in the day. Points on the screen apear and pressing them brings up  some more information. There is background noise as well if you want it.

      Now, obviously this will appeal to the younger generation and the geeks among us but it wasnt the same as walking around a normal castle or stately home. Holding a tablet out in front of you and panning it around cause two things to happen. One, you trip over things and two you walk into the back of somebody who themselves is just about to walk into somebody doing the same thing. 

The only room that had in it anything remotely resembling what you would normally expect was the kings bed chamber with his dining table, bed (which had 3 mattresses on it by the way) and his 'I want to hide away' bath tub.  

Anyway, you got a good view from the ramparts and the top of the clock tower built into the entrance gate and Jill liked the fact that you could actually go all the way down in the towers into the hillside and not just up which is normally the case.

It was now about 6 o'clock. It was still very hot and sticky and the van, having been sat in the sun all day was like an oven. Only half a hour away was the site we stayed on last night with its toilet block and showers so we just went back their rather than try and find anywhere else. With the canopy out, I went for a shower then sat in the shade with a beer but it wasnt long before I could feel the sweat running down my back 🥵

 It was going to be one of those nights.😩