Azay le Rideau.

This is a chateau with tons of history. It is undergoing a €20M renovation which will continue until 2017.  The building and grounds are important and it will be done right. 

These trees are old. 

The family's two symbols are the salamander and the ermine.  It was believed that salamanders could survive fire. Fire was always feared and to be able to survive is a symbol of resiliency. The ermine is a symbol of wealth and was the symbol of the royal family of Brittany represented by Anne who married into the royals of France. It's complicated. 

The king's bedchamber. 

This is Francois the First. 

This is where we had lunch after the tour. It was so hot!  There was no air conditioning but this was at least a garden. We had gazpacho and veggie lasagne and it was so good!  I thanked the two women in the kitchen. Just fab!