We knew our 400+ miles from Strasbourg to Blois would be hard on the back roads. Even Gypsy, our GPS, thought it was bad. Fuel is averaging $9.00 a gallon. The French have the most extensive and expensive toll system in Europe. Germany was free and Austria had a one time cost of $10.00. Yesterday, we beat the system by using all back roads. And, we will continue to do that. We are talking about spending $50.00 to $100.00 aday on tolls. If the ride hadn’t been so long, it would have been real nice. We will tailor the length in the future. There were some roads that only accommodated one vehicle at a time. We were frequently by ourselves.
We arrived in Bracieux. It is a small community setting between several important fortifications, chateaus, and palaces. We went to Blois first, We visited Chateau Royal which was the home of Louis XII.

We moved on to Chambord. It took 1800 workmen over 15 years to construct. This was a classic chateau and is 6 times larger than most. It contained 440 rooms with 365 fireplaces. The double-spiral staircase is believed to have been designed by Leonardo da Vinci. Leonardo died in Amboise which is down the street. Louis XIV resided here. A national forest surrounds Chambord.

The next place was Chateaux Cheverny. They don’t permit pictures so Lynn took this one off the bathroom wall.

We didn’t visit Chenonceau. It is the most visited palace after Versailles and Fontainebleau. We are saving that one for lunch with Renee.
We are heading for Normandy on June 15. By the time this gets posted we will be there. No adequate internet service here.