On previous visits to the Loire Valley we have stayed in Amboise which is quite central to the more famous Loire chateaux. This time we elected to stay further south to see some lesser known, but equally impressive examples. Our accommodation this time proved as interesting in it’s own right. We found an apartment in La Manoir La Mazeraie, a period Manor house south of Tours. As you can see from the picture, it needs a bit of TLC. The couple who own it have taken on the massive task of restoring it and have started by fixing up an apartment at the end to raise some income. As you can see, the apartment is well done and decorated in keeping with the period. We had a great stay and particularly enjoyed their dog Marty who was the consummate host entertaining us with stick fetching and joining us for pate and wine on the ‘terrace’!
Our first chateau to visit was Valencay, which lies a bit east of the main chateau route. This was the chateau of Prince Tallyrand, one of the most famous European diplomats of the 18th & 19th centuries. His career spanned the regimes of Louis XVI, the years of the French Revolution, Napoleon, Louis XVIII, and Louis-Philippe. Those he served often distrusted Talleyrand but, like Napoleon, found him extremely useful. The name “Talleyrand” has become a byword for crafty, cynical diplomacy. However, he was a connoisseur of music, fine wine and good food and his chateau reflected it. It was Napoleon who ‘suggested’ he buy it to have an appropriate country estate. His Paris residence on the Place de la Concorde is now owned by the Embassy of the U.S.
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