Chateau Usse resembled a Disney-style castle, and it was one of the very few where family members still live in part of the chateau.  It had a large chapel set off to one side, horse stables, and of course a formal French garden.

We saw so many chateaus in the area that we got overwhelmed - opulence overload!  But I had never been to France before and Jim hadn't been there in 50 years, so it was good that we could see so much in the time we had.

We enjoyed the large towns (small cities?): Amboise, Saumer, Tours, Chartres, Orleans - they were full of history as well as bustling with business.  The sidewalks had lovely outdoor cafes and modern light rail systems.  But all of these old French towns have narrow streets, and it was typical to see a little Postal van-let stop right in the middle of the street - blocking all traffic - to deliver a package.  The French never seemed to mind this practice - everyone just waited patiently until the Postal worker returned and drove off.

Jim, of course, enjoyed pressing his nose to the windows of the chocolatiers and patisseries - with the brightly colored and artistically decorated confections on display.

Sometimes he couldn't just look in the windows, and he had to venture inside!

One of our favorite towns was Saumer - we stayed in a hotel along the river that had a courtyard facing a chateau high overhead.  The restaurants were particularly good (or maybe we were just getting better at choosing), and you have to love a chateau that has grape vines growing just outside the walls.

We explored the town and enjoyed the many restaurants as well as the bakeries.  Jim loved the gorgeous pastries and dessert treats in the patisserie shop windows.  I don't know how the French stay so slim with their devotion to fabulous breads (croissants, pain au chocolat, baguettes) and pastries.  But we wore the calories away with miles of walking and exploring all the little side streets.  The town had a lot of houses built in the 15th century - so impressive that those houses still stand today.  Imagine the stories those buildings could tell!

We explored the wonderful cathedrals - some built in the 12th century.

It's amazing to think of all the skilled workers carving each stone, the architects who designed the soaring ceilings, and the muscle to raise these heavy blocks of stone to build each cathedral.  They are magnificent.

In Auxerre we took a day trip over to Chablis to see the famous vineyards and sample some of the different grades of Chablis wine.  The Grand Cru was really good but even the lower grades of wine were lovely. 

We enjoyed the rest of our canal boat cruise through the countryside and the little towns.  I liked the forests and rolling hills, and these beech trees with big green clumps of mistletoe growing everywhere.

After two weeks we picked up a rental car and headed to the Loire Valley to see the towns and chateaus and more cathedrals.  Our first stop was Orleans - a beautiful town that celebrates Joan of Arc, and we lunched in the shadow of this cathedral.

The carvings and details inside and outside of the Orleans cathedral was just stunning, along with the stained glass windows and statues. 

Many of the larger windows illustrate the story of a particular martyr - grim tales of struggles for power and cruelty, all in the name of intolerance.  Lessons history seems to repeat.