Psycho Reno, qu'est-ce que c'est?

So many days, so many chateau's.

Last night we wandered to Blois' main square near the river. It seems as though everyone in town was there as the sun had been out, glorious all thru out the day. Strangely enough the only 2 restaurants which occupied that tree lined space were Italian and American. The travel and food channels have changed us all.

Salad full of fresh vegi's and blue cheese

Today's adventure takes us to Chambord Castle, a royal hunting lodge. The estate, owned by the French Government, is about the size of Paris inside of the perimeter. We drove quite a ways thru the beautifully kept forests, which hosted a bevy of walking trails and bike paths, before reaching our destination. Now the reason for my title today was the roof of the castle. Kings had been sticking new chimney's on top, in various styles and shapes for hundreds of years. It was quite dizzying and disconcerting. Perhaps this is where the phrase, "over the top" originated.

Big ones, little ones, round ones, square ones, pointy ones

Chambord is the largest castle thus far and had at least 5 major renovations by various royalty. Other than the somewhat bizarre roof line, it's true attraction is a double staircase in the middle tower; that depending on where you entered, one could go up or down without meeting others who were also going up or down. Just think of a M.C. Escher print and that is the general idea. It is thought that Leonardo had a hand in it's design.

On the top of Chambord

Chamborg is so far away, that During WWI (it's been D-Day over here ya'll) much of the art work from the Louvre was hidden here, including Mona Lisa. The ground floors of the castle now house the police and their horses reside in the ancient royal stables.