AZAY-LE-RIDEAU

Rich had talked about how beautiful Azay-le-Rideau is, though he had never been inside the chateau. We decided to take Timmy and Helen there.
We had a late start. As we were leaving we saw that the mason’s car was in the driveway of the new chambe de hote that is being built/rebuilt. We stopped to take a look at the building and the progress of the work. They started this project last year when we bought our house and are slowly getting around to putting in an electrical system and finishing the walls. We had a quick consultation with the mason. He is going to come by the house next week to give us an estimate.
We drove the thirty or so miles to Azay. It is in the department next door, Indre-et-Loire (we are Maine-et-Loire). By the time we got there it was time for lunch. We walked around a little, looking for a place to have lunch that wasn’t too touristy (or full of Brits). We found a café on the square where the old market is. There is also an old church dedicated to Saint Blaise. The façade had carved statues of Christ and the twelve apostles (great name for a band). Inside the market hall there was an art exhibition of drawings and paintings by locals; in America it would be referred to as County Fair Art.
For lunch Timmy and Rich ordered the 11€ “formule” which was an Andouille sausage. They thought they were getting something similar to the American sausage of the same name but when it came they were confronted by something that was basically the same as chitterlings. They were not very happy. Lots of wine, water and coffee failed to wash out the taste of pig’s pee.
We made our way to the chateau. The castle was begun in the 16th century by a royal tax collector. Before it was finished he had been accused of corruption and was executed. The building and lands were given to a war buddy of the king who finished it in an Italianate style. By the end of the 19th century the owners were fallen on hard times. They sold the castle and all the furniture to the State who refurbished it.
From the front the castle seems very imposing. It is surrounded by a moat, probably fed by the Indre River. Inside, the original furnishings are still in place. The woodwork and stone carvings are very impressive. But the overall feeling is of a doll’s house. A walk around the outside confirms that it is small, certainly smaller than the chateau of Montsoreau.

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