1936 On the Continent

you will be struck by the big castle and its graceful François I front. The château was built originally in the twelfth century and was changed a good deal between then and the fifteenth century, without in any way taking away from its beauty. That is one of the things which has struck me on my visits to England. In England medieval architecture seems to come to an abrupt stop round about the thirteenth or fourteenth century. In France the art was carried on and developed to a much later period. The Loire châteaux are particularly wonderful examples of this, and I think they will certainly strike you as unlike anything you have been accustomed to associate in England with the word “castle.” Inside the Château of Blois you will see the room where the Duc de Guise, head of the Catholic party, was assassinated at the order of King Henry III of France during the wars of religion. The town is full of twisting and precipitous streets with quaint old houses.
    Have a meal at the Restaurant François Premier near the château. They will serve you food such as the guests of the château must have eaten, particularly the Pheasant and Lark Pâtés washed down with Anjou wines, and as dessert a local sweetmeat of almonds, called “délices.” Alongside there is an excellent hotel, the Hôtel de France, where the cooking is also first class.
    From Blois go on up the right bank of the Loire as far as Vendôme across the green countryside so often sung by Ronsard. In Vendôme there is the most beautiful church in the region, the church of the Trinité, and a château with impressive underground passages and chambers. On the left bank, as you go up the valley of Cosson, you will find the Chateau of Chambord, perhaps the most famous of all the Loire châteaux. Built by François Premier on the edge of a lake, the bell-towers and the massive towers underneath them are reflected in the still water. You can imagine the nobles having a feast up in the château, and then the peasants working all night thrashing the waters to keep the frogs quiet.
Amboise
    The road stays on the left bank after leaving Blois and passes through Amboise. On the bank there stands another château famous, or rather infamous, for the bloodthirsty executions which took place in it during the wars of religion. In the small town at the foot of the château there is a much appreciated restaurant, where you can get the specialities of the country at very moderate prices:
rillons en cassoulette, matelote des tonneliers, geline de Touraine
, etc. The best place to taste the Vouvray wine is a few miles farther on, where it is grown, on the right bank of the Loire, just before reaching Tours.
    Only the north section of this town of nearly 80,000 inhabitants has kept its medieval atmosphere. The old houses are grouped around the Cathedral Saint-Gratien and the Basilique Saint-Martin, a place of refuge in the Middle Ages and one of the oldest sanctuaries in France. It contains the relics of the evangeliser of the Gauls. At the Grand Hotel near the station you will be extremely comfortable and will be served excellent food. Don’t forget to ask for the “Rillettes,” which are one of the specialities of the town.
    Going up the valley of the Cher from Tours you should drop in at Chenonceau, which is only about 20 miles away. The château there was owned by the celebrated favourite of François Premier, Diane de Poitiers, and is hardly inferior to that of Chambord in beauty. As you go downthe Loire valley still farther, you will come across a small old town named Langeais, with a château dating back to 1464. It is still absolutely intact, and from its towers you can get a lovely view over the whole valley. Opposite, on the other bank, there is another town with another château, Azay le Rideau, the château standing out white against the mass of green vegetation behind it. A noteworthy fact about this château is that it is built on a system of pile-work. Motor-buses will take you there from Tours.
    Still keeping to the left bank of the Loire, you will arrive in Chinon, where, as you will remember from Bernard Shaw’s play, if from nothing else, Joan of Arc convinced the Dauphin of her mission. Unfortunately, the château there is in ruins. At Chinon there is a wonderful red wine, which you can get nowhere else, and some excellent special dishes. To drink the wine and eat the dishes, I should advise you to go to the Hôtel de France, at the foot of the