Chinon

Part of Chinon fortress, appearing rather magical, overlooking the beautiful town and the river Vienne.

Jesse took a day off on Wednesday so we could enjoy a family day trip with his parents to the historic city of Chinon. Jim and Tillie had liked the look of it in a guidebook. They chose well! 

Chinon is a little under an hour from us. We arrived late morning and began with a short stroll through the oldest part of town, appreciating the mix of buildings that ranged from ancient/medieval to current/modern. We spent a few minutes in the Church of Saint Etienne (although William was feeling rather determined to hoot and run and make life a bit difficult). There was a beautiful sculpture of Joan of Arc inside.

Another sculpture of Joan of Arc was in one of the main squares, this one flamboyant and militaristic with her horse trampling the opposition. She's a heroine in French history for her role in turning the tide toward French victory during the Hundred Years' War. (She's also now a saint in the Roman Catholic church.) It was great to learn a bit more about her, seeing as Joan's rise to fame began in Chinon. It was here where she arrived in 1429—just a teenager, entirely uneducated, from a lowly background—to meet with the dauphin-would-be-French-king Charles VII. Devoutly religious, she had received multiple visions indicating that Charles VII would regain the crown from English rule. When several of her specific visions bore out, she was given a relatively large leadership role. Of course this was all before her horrific burning-at-the-stake end, which was met at the tender age of 19... 

After our walk around, we ducked into a boulangerie to buy some bread to accompany the picnic we had packed. While there, William used the 2 euro he was given by his grandparents on two little sacs of gummy bonbons.

In a very sweet gesture (both literal and figurative!), William asked each of us to choose two as our dessert for our picnic lunch. 

Here William is passing Mama Cas her choice.

After lunch, we spent a few hours at the historic Chinon fortress/castle. It's built high on the hill and has been around in various states for well over a millennium. In fact, portions of a Roman road have been excavated showing the hilltop's importance even in Roman/Gallic times. We stood on the very spot (now grassy since that part of the structure is long gone) where Joan met with Charles VII.

Jesse was a champ and went off with the boys to play several of the kids' games set up on the grounds while Jim, Tillie, and I took in a history lesson with an English-speaking guide. We were crossing a bridge over an old fortification ditch separating the outer area of the fortress from the inner when we looked down and saw them throwing conkers into flowerpots.  :)

The vast majority of the original buildings are long gone. When they weren't being used for a period of time (a few hundred years ago), the citizens of the town below used the structures as a quarry, destroying the buildings in order to use the stone for their homes. Practical at the time, but what a shame.

The setting is just beautiful and clearly was very strategic.

Do I make a convincing Knight Templar? The Knights Templar have a big history in Chinon too.

We went up to the very top of the bell tower, which meant we were at the highest point as far as the eye could see. So wonderful!

Jim and Tillie headed back down into town a little before the four of us. We found them looking rather comfortable in their newfound French environment!

Before leaving for the day, we stopped off at a chocolatier to sample our first macarons in France. Alas, they're always made with almond flour, and nothing else in the shop looked safe to my nut-allergic self, so just the boy-folk indulged. 

Here's the "biting into our macarons" shot...except William had already crammed his into his mouth so is showing his empty hands!