Tag: France

No matter how beautiful and magnificent the castle may look on a sunny day, no matter how rich the history that resides within it, on a rainy afternoon it appears more like an awe-inspiring, forbidding ruin. Perhaps there was a tragic person imprisoned in that tower? Perhaps anyone who approached the castle without permission was shot with an arrow. Of course, such a story is up to the viewer’s imagination. Some people might imagine that a magnificent ball was being held in this magnificent castle shrouded in dark clouds.

I could say that the charm of the Loire Valley is that the castles that appear one after another have various stories, and the way you imagine them may depend on how you feel when you see them. This post is the last one. If you have never been there, I recommend you add it to your bucket list.

Although houses stand nearby, it must have once been a majestic castle towering over the Loire River. Behind the walls, on the left, you can see not the Loire River, but its tributary, the Maine River, which flows into the Loire just downstream. This means that the castle was located at a strategic point for logistics. The castle is called Château d’Angers. The castle is impressive with its many towers and drawbridges, but it is best known for the oldest tapestry of the Apocalypse in France, which is huge and makes you feel like you’ve been transported to another dimension.

Personally, I feel somewhat familiar with this place because the son of a colleague of mine attended university there, but I don’t think many people from my home country of Japan would go there. Another reason is that the honey produced at a bee farm in a rural town one hour from here is delicious, so I have some fond memories of this place.

Among the many castles in the Loire Valley, the Chateau de Saumur is located on the western outskirts. It may look a little drab compared to the magnificent castles, but its presence is imposing overlooking the Loire Valley. Personally, I like the balcony that can be seen next to the tower, but the castle is actually more impressive when viewed from the river side, on the opposite side of the photo.

I visited this castle twice, and one of the times it rained so hard that I couldn’t even get out of my car. The castle looked so terrifying washed by the storm. It was like seeing the history of this castle.

I have no idea what it would be like to live on a bridge, but regardless of whether it would be comfortable or not, I can’t help but feel a little excited. I should be more careful after heavy rains. Insects may be noisy in summer. It might be too cold while wintertime.　
In reality, this castle was used for entertaining guests, and was not a residence. There are many stories about it, but most of them are about royalty and the nobility, and are stories from a world far removed from the common people.
The gardens and forest are beautiful and it’s fun to stroll around leisurely, but I’d like to add that the parking lot is a bit of a hassle as it’s dirty with gravel and mud. However, I’m sure it must have been much damper and more difficult to walk around in the 16th century.

A formal garden, as a part of European garden, is called “平面幾何学式庭園” in Japanese literally “a flat geometric garden” which may explain it rather precisely. According to a book, the geometric design of French gardens was a way of showing the king’s authority. In other words, by using geometry, it showed his dominance over nature. Whether that’s true or not, at the very least, strolling through such geometric gardens is one of the highlights of a castle tour.