Château de Chenonceau

Of all the châteaux we visited two years ago, Chenonceau is my favourite.  We came back to show it off to our visitors.

It spans over the Cher River in beautiful arches.

In order to avoid being too repetitious, you may refer to the following link if you'd like to read about the château and what we saw last time.

http://france-encore.blogspot.fr/2010/05/chateau-de-chenonceau.html

Me with Catherine de Medici's garden in the background.

Gerry, Becky & Emélie

Marguerite & Karl

Look very, very closely.  Can you see the fish in the water?

Their mouths are open and coming out of the water, ready to swallow you up!

See, I bought my ticket!

Becky, Emélie & Gerry, in the Forecourt standing on the steps of the Marques Tower

Becky & Emélie in the kitchen with all the copper pots

Sainte Cécile at the piano

I think this one was meticulously planned and positioned by Karl and Gerry...  boy humour!

Mom & daughter

Dad and daughter

Marguerite & Karl: shadow puppets

As the sun was starting to set, we were all feeling rather hungry.  We discovered that 5 people can't readily drop into a restaurant without reservations, but we found a small hotel not far out of town called Château de l'Île.  The beauty of being five people is that we have lots of different dishes to taste and compare!

Melon with smoked duck

Mixed salad

Ok, maybe Gerry could eat Emélie's langoustine.  But first, a little "getting acquainted" time!

Huge stuffed mushrooms

Cod fish with a mushroom sauce and rice

Chicken half, gravy and scalloped potatoes

Steak with mushrooms, gravy and scalloped potatoes

We all seemed to agree that the desserts were awesome, whether we had the still warm Chocolat Fondant, or the chocolate mousse with an almond tuile.

Now, how far did you say we had to drive before getting home?  Ok, Karl, you be the chauffeur for the next two hours!