For chateau hunting you need a car. We took a taxi to the Hertz ("eartz"), just out of town. We noted that you can't rent a car in France if you're over 70. It's getting tight!

For our first stop, we visited Chateau la Chambord, the grandest chateau of the Valley. It's absolutely amazing that this huge and magnificent structure was just built to be a hunting lodge. After taking it in we finished the visit with a fabulous quiche Lorraine and lemon tart at its café.

After lunch, we visited Chateau Beaugard and its famous portrait gallery. It had 327 portraits of kings, queens, princes, popes, cardinals, great captains and writers, scholars, and others who were famous in their day, the 14th & 15th centuries.

Back in Blois we ate country French food at a restaurant called Castelet. B had fondant de porc with apple cider & cream. N had salmon on a bed of lentils, cooked to absolute perfection. Mousse au chocolat for dessert. Fabulous meal—the best of the trip!