Dinan and Amboise, France – 05/21 – 05/22. “Avez-Vous un bungalow pour ce soir?”

(Michelle) We drove to Dinan after Mont St. Michel. We were now on the hunt for “bungalows” to rent. Unfortunately, we got to Dinan too late and the only thing available was a campsite. So we set up one tent and Nadirah and Nathan were gracious enough to insist that we sleep in the tent (and they slept in the car). The next morning, we explored Dinan in the morning and it was actually a really cool little town. After a little walking tour and a cheese/ham buying expedition, we headed on to the Loire region, where the rich folk played back in the day. Amboise was the town we stayed in that night and after checking the first campsite for any “bungalows” they pointed us to another one they said did. We got there and they had a bungalow alright. It was a mobile home… fitting. The price was right, so we rented it for two nights. As much as we laughed about it, we thoroughly enjoyed our little mobile home for two nights (see TJ eating trailer style). The chateaus that we went to couldn’t have been more opposite from our lovely mobile home. A second home for a mistress (Chateau Chenonceau), a hunting lodge for a king (Chateau Chambord) and an aristocratic home with all the proper furnishings (Chateau Cheverny). “Release the hounds” - We got there in time for the 5pm daily feeding of the Hounds at Cheverny. Survival of the fittest is the best way to describe the event. In fact we may even have seen a choking casualty, the hound did not look so good as the keeper dragged him into the back room. From our chateau experience, TJ has decided that he too would like to be a “legitimized royal bastard”.

(TJ) It’s good to be the legitimized royal bastard. I’d be one if I could get some of these chateau’s. All of them were extremely nice and pleasing on the eye. A couple of things stood out in particular. At chateau Chambord, Leonardo Da Vinci designed a double spiral staircase that is the center of the palace. Apparently the French king paid Leonardo Davinci to move to this area of France in his final years to design palaces, cities and what ever else he deemed he needed from him. The feeding of the hounds was great at Cheverny, they most of fed 60-75 hunting dogs 300 lb of meat. What kind of meat it was I have no idea, I think I saw a leg and entrails of some kind, it definitely was not grade A meat. So they spread the meat out in a long pile and the dogs just have it surrounded and are barking and howling but not touching the meat. Finally the keeper waved his bullwhip and released the hounds, all hell broke loose. Dogs are diving into the food and carrying huge chunks of meat to the corners of the pens and trying to east it as fast as they can while defending it. One dog runs out of meat and starts going for another’s piece of meat, it was like musical chairs but with dogs fighting with each other over the chairs. By the end of it you would have 15-20 doges fighting over one scrap of meat, literally jumping on the dogs’ backs. Apparently one big dog chocked, I missed this with all of the chaos that was ensuing. Anyway it was a memorable experience to see the hounds fed.