McGregor Musings: soccer, sickness and a castle crawl

Friday night brought a slight hiccup with a bit if a tummy bug for one (which thankfully he kept to himself). Saturday was a quiet day at home for Hamish and Danielle while the others let off steam at Bois de Vincennes.

Finally the night many had been waiting for had arrived - a PSG versus Montpellier football game… despite his best efforts to join the others and an aborted attempt to begin travelling to the game Hamish had a quiet night in with Mum while the others braved French Football - described by all as awesome despite the lack of goals scored. Somehow the seats were on opposite sides of the stadium but they managed to find each other at the end so all was well.

On Sunday morning we set off for the Loire Valley to grace some chateaux with our presence. We must say at this point on another Sunday morning that we miss our church family and English speaking church a lot…

First stop was King Francis’ Chateau Chambourd – built to impress and demonstrate his power but only occupied by the king himself for 42 days… He found it too drafty (we would agree) and preferred to travel around being seen.

The crowds had heard we were coming and had cleared out. It was certainly grand and we were amazed and somewhat bemused by the double staircase in the centre of the keep. We loved the turrets with all their intricate work. Although some of us had an audio guide there was really no need – the kid’s provided us with quite the commentary including Isaac’s observation while perusing the luxury and extravagance that these kings over the years obviously ‘didn’t hear the people sing’.

The home of Leonardo da Vinci for the last 4 years of his life (at the invitation of King Francis I) was fascinating and the garden was an interesting open air museum. Both house and garden exhibited models of his inventions…

Da Vinci was a man of many interests and talents… we felt boring in comparison!

There was some discussion during our first day in the Loire about 1005 rue de la Grose Vale, Kurrajong having the potential to become a musee. Elijah volunteered to create the children’s audio guide…

A selfie or better named an ‘Ussie’ at each castle became a bit of an event…

More castle hopping on day two in the Loire – summary: castles for princesses, knights, queens, mistresses, noblemen, tax collectors and anyone with quite few spare francs …

And the winner was… Chenonceau – beautiful inside and out, full of amazing rooms, and steeped in fascinating history… not to mention the maze, the gorgeous floral displays and spectacular Christmas decorations.