Day one of our road trip! The day after the soiree des finaux, we headed out in the rental car around ten. After three or so hours we made it to our first stop, the Château de Chambord. We parked and walked through a small market to the castle, which was giant and imposing, but quite elegant. The front had a flat facade similar to the entrance to a palace, but the castle inside was full of twisting towers. The central staircase was a double helix with entrances on either side and windows so you could see through. It climbed through the castle culminating in a beautiful spire at the castle's highest point. The bottom floors were full of tapestries and period furniture, but the third floor housed a modern art exhibit with some cool kinetic art. It was raining the whole time we were there, but the gardens were still impressive...viewed from the top of the castle at least.

We left the castle, got some crepes, and drove an hour to our next stop, the Château de Chenonceau. Although it was smaller, it was still very impressive. The front looked like a smaller castle, but from the side you could see what was impressive about it: the castle had been extended across a river. The bulk of the castle was on top of a bridge over the water. The bottom floor had an impressive gallery extending across the river and the top floor had an exhibit about the history of the castle. In the basements, they had a mockup of the way the kitchens would have been four hundred years ago when people actually lived there. It was an impressive operation, with stations for every culinary trade, and seemingly endless copper pots. We walked back from the castle and stopped at the caryatids, old Greek-looking statues, and a labyrinth. Then we headed to Poitiers, where we spent the night. We ordered pizza and headed to bed after a long day.

The next morning we got up and went to downtown Poitiers, a pedestrian only area. We had breakfast at a great cafe just off the main square overlooking the town hall. I got a kouign amann, which I think was the second best that I've had, after the one at the market in Rennes. We kept walking and found the cathedral. The cathedral facade was intricate and impressive, and the inside was pretty, even though it wasn't restored. The columns were still painted, but it was very faded. When we walked out, I read the plaque, and it turns out the cathedral was consecrated in 1068! Much older than I had thought. We walked back, stopped at Monoprix for some snacks, and headed to Bordeaux for the day.