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Tuesday, 28 September. Following the generous buffet breakfast, the group was led on a 9:30 walking tour of Blois. The day was cool and overcast with a slight mist that eventually dissipated. Our local guide was a Norwegian woman who had lived 41 years in France. In warning us to watch where we stepped, she made much of the fact there are more dogs in France (5 million) than people in Norway (4.5 million).

She led us up the narrow lanes to the Hotel Sardini (1510), one of the oldest surviving buildings in Blois. We stopped at a couple of other old houses along the same street (Rue du Puits Chatel). At one house, a woman let use take pictures through the window.

Continuing through the town, we came to the Chateau de Blois. We arrived just in time to see the noontime performance of three roaring dragons swaying from the windows of a building just across from the entrance.

We were surprised to learn that Blois, and especially the Chateau, had such a rich history. Joan of Arc stopped here in 1429 on her way to lift the siege of Orleans. Also, the Chateau was once a royal residence and the political capital of France.

King Louis XII moved here about 1498 and added a major wing to the 13th century Gothic chateau, introducing flamboyant Renaissance elements. When Francis I succeeded him in 1515, he began construction of a wing in French Renaissance style, intending to move to Blois from the Royal Chateau at Amboise. However, after the death of his wife in 1524, he lost interest in Blois. Henry III lived at Blois for a time after he was driven from Paris during the French Wars of Religion. Following his assassination in 1589, the chateau was occupied by King Henry IV, the first Bourbon monarch. In 1598 he moved the royal residence to Paris. Then his widow, Marie de Medici, was exiled to the Blois Chateau for a time (1617-1619) by her son, Louis XIII. The final wing was added by Gastone d'Orlean in 1635 after his brother, Louis XIII, gave him the chateau as a wedding gift.

By the mid-17th century, the chateau had been abandoned and, at one point, was scheduled to be demolished. Instead, it was turned over to the Army, which significantly altered the interior. Finally, in 1841King Louis Philippe had the Chateau classified as a historic monument. It was subsequently restored and turned into a museum.

The tour of the Chateau was very interesting, both for the rooms and for the history. From an outdoor vantage point of the Chateau, we had a great view of St. Nicolas Church, Vieux Blois, and the Loire River.