The Loire’s chateaux (BusinessWorld)

Published in the January 11-12, 2007 issue of BusinessWorld

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TEXT AND PHOTOS BY JENNEE GRACE U. RUBRICO, Sub-Editor

The Loire’s chateaux

It was a weekend of wine, flowers and castles — three days spent vis iting chateaux, tasting locally produced vin rouge, and basking in the idyllic, laidback lifestyle that is pervasive in the French countryside.

An old stone house on the way to the woods of Chateau d’ Artigny;

We wined and dined in salons of mansions as well as in old, vine-covered stone houses that served croissants, goat’s cheese, and foie gras.
During the day, we drove on smooth and winding roads to visit ancient houses and well-designed gardens, and at night, we slept in richly decorated chambers that used to be occupied by noblemen and their guests.
It was like being in a fairy tale, and Tourraine in the Loire Valley, a region in Western France, was where I was living childhood images of an era filled with knights, princesses and enchantment.
The Loire Valley is a UNESCO heritage site composed of provinces that are connected by France’s longest river, the Loire. The valley, which has between 300 and 1,000 castles, owes its architectural heritage to royalty who built their homes in the region during the 10th century.
It is said that even when the center of power shifted back to the ancient capital of Paris, many of the members of French royalty preferred to spend their time in the valley.
It was not easy to get there from Paris — what should have been a two-hour drive took us seven hours in a rented car, three highways, several missed turns, a couple of stops to ask for directions — in French — and a refueling break at one of the gasoline stations by the autoroute.

A view of the gardens of Chateau d’ Artigny as seen from the woods

But the effort was well-rewarded when, as we drove up a dirt road on a Saturday afternoon, we saw the ivory faáade of the castle we would be calling home for the weekend.
One of the castles in the valley that have been converted into hotels, Chateau d’Artigny, located in Montbazon, has its own special history.
Built during the Hundred Years War, the castle was part of the defense system constructed along the Indre River around Montbazon keep.
In 1912, the castle was bought by perfume maker Joseph Spoturno, also known as Francois Coty, who demolished the original structure and replaced it with the present 18th century-style chateau. When he died in 1934, the chateau was sequestered and in 1940 became the headquarters of the Navy. It later became a hospital before Mr. Coty’s daughter got it back in 1947 and sold it to Rene Traversac, who turned it into a 65-room luxury hotel, in 1959.
As we drove up the entrance of the 60-acre property, we saw remnants of a wedding on the manicured lawn at the side of the hotel and guests in medieval costumes walking around. We later learned that an Asian couple had gotten married that afternoon.
My room, which was on the third floor of the hotel, had a high ceiling, walls covered by beige flowered wallpaper and a French window that opened to a view of the formal gardens up front. A chandelier hung over the beds, paintings hung on walls, and a big mirror hung opposite the window. The rest rooms were elevated, and to go to the toilet, one had to navigate a flight of stairs.

Chateau d’Usse which is also known as Sleeping Beauty’s Castle

If I had doubts that I was in a French home, these were erased by the fact that the toilet was separate from the salle de baigne — bathroom — which was a big area dominated by the biggest and deepest bathtub I’ve ever seen. Also in the bathroom was a big sink, a makeup stand, a hair dryer, and a bidet.
This was the most lavish hotel room I’ve ever been in, though its age gave it an eerie atmosphere and I was never as grateful as I was that day that I was sharing the room with someone.
D’Artigny’s two dining salons were just as rich, with chandeliers and paintings on the walls and heavy curtains draping floor to ceiling windows which had a view of the Indre River and the woods. The formal dining room made me want to don a dress instead of the jeans and sneakers that I had on, though the staff were nice enough to allow us to have our dinner there, despite our, uhm, rugged appearance.
The bar, with its blue and white motif and an extravagant display of wines, was cozy enough to relax in, but formal enough to keep guests sober.
Other amenities in the hotel include a heated outdoor swimming pool, a golf course, a spa, and a gym. But what I really liked about the hotel was its woods.
When I had the chance, I rambled through the woods with one of the people I arrived with and discovered an old, abandoned house, a way down the river, and a trail that led back to the hotel’s lawn. We passed a lady walking her frisky, huge and unleashed dog.

The interior of Chateau d’Artigny

The woods were thick but not intimidating, and while it was easy to get lost in them, it was just as easy to find the clearing.
On our second day, we decided to visit other chateaux. After a short stop at the weekend market in the next town, where silverware was being sold for _2 a spoon and fork set and other treasures were waiting to be picked up, we proceeded to our first stop, the Chateau Azay-Le-Riddeau.
The castle, which rises from the Indre River, is considered a Rennaissance chateau. Elegant and well-preserved, the castle built by wealthy Frenchman Gilles Berthelot is said to follow Italian architecture more than French style.
When I saw the castle from outside, I was struck by its white stone, blue steeples, and grand, albeit intimidating, facade. Unfortunately, we were unable to go in due to time constraints.
Instead, we tarried in the village that surrounded the castle and ate in Le Salamandre, a family restaurant.
The village was quaint — grapes hung from vines that covered the walls of unpainted houses and old red windows brightened the somber little shops.

Chateau d’Artigny

Our next stop was the Chateau d’Usse, which looked familiar because it was the model for Sleeping Beauty’s Castle.
It is said that the writer Perault was so inspired by the castle that it became the setting for his now-famous fairy tale.
Standing at the edge of the Chinon forest, the Usse Castle was built in the 15th and 16th centuries. Unlike most of the castles in the Loire which have either been converted into hotels or have reverted to the government and converted into museums, The Usse Castle is privately owned, and some parts are closed to the public.
Among the areas that were open to the paying public, I found the salle des gardes — the guard room — the gallery, and the "small room" most interesting.
The trompe l’oeil ceiling of the guard room dates back to renovations done in the castle in the 17th century. As eye-catching as the colorful walls and ceilings of the room are the weapons that are on display in this room — Indian arms that hang above the fireplace, daggers inlaid with ivory, jade and silver in glass cases, and others. Could this room have been a secret meeting place, have these walls been silent witnesses to trysts?

The guard’s room at Chateau d’Usse

Meanwhile, the small room, the oldest one in the castle, was stark, containing, among others, a 15th century chest, 17th century Flemish tapestries and a passageway that led to what looked like a dungeon. No one else dared go down the staircase leading to the underground cave, and with all the bravado i could muster, I planted one foot on the stairs, then another.
As I walked down the passageway by myself, my path lit only by the weak glow of my mobile phone, I felt a chill run through my spine. It was cold when I finally got to the last step, and I thought I saw small caverns covered with grills. I had also begun to imagine scenes that could have happened here, in this secret part of the castle. I didn’t stay long — my courage had run out, fast.
But a brochure from the chateau said that the place was used "as a refuge in times of war," and added that the passageway was an escape route that led to the middle of the forest of Chinon.
A lot cheerier than the small room was the central gallery, with black and white tiled floors, beautiful Flemish tapestries on one side and windows that opened to the courtyard on the other.
Woven in the 18th century, the tapestries were copied from a drawing by 17th century painter David Teniers depicting life in Flanders, the Usse brochure said.
The walls were also punctuated by porcelain faces of princesses hanging from the walls, and though I found a likeness of Snow White, I never found one of Sleeping Beauty, at least as depicted in the Disney cartoon.
Other highlights in Usse are its old furniture; the gardens, designed by Le Notre, who also designed the
gardens of Versailles; the king’s bedroom, which was built to ensure that the king would have a place to stay in should he happen to visit the castle; and a room in one of the towers which depicts a scene from Sleeping Beauty.
It was late when we got out of Usse — around 5 p.m., and the other chateaux were closing. But we made one last stop, at Villandry.
Known more for the gardens that surround the castle than the castle itself, Villandry is among the most famous chateaux in the Loire.
Inspired by the gardens of the 16th and 18th centuries, Villandry’s gardens were designed by Joachim Carvalio and his wife Ann Coleman, the Loire Web site said.
The Web site also said it takes eight gardeners to tend to the gardens and plant 60,000 vegetables and 45,000 plants a year on the three levels.
The lowest level is where the ornamental kitchen garden is located. The garden, which grows vegetables, is divided into squares extending over 12,500 square meters and is completely replanted twice a year.
Grotto-like sheds that cover benches dot the gardens at this level, inviting guests to take in the cacophony of colors while resting under the shade.
The second level houses the ornamental garden, which is composed of three sections: the garden of love, the garden of music, and the herb garden, which grows herbs for cooking as well as medicinal plants. As in the first level, gardens are symmetrically arranged and are kept at specific shapes and lengths to give a manicured appearance.
A ramp from the second level which is covered with a canopy of grapes brings guests to the highest level, which has the water garden.
Exclusively green, the garden evokes serenity, with its trimmed shrubs, labyrinth and a placid lake that collects the water used to irrigate the gardens and feed the fountains.
The 30 minutes that I spent in the gardens of Villandry did not do justice to their beauty. I also wasn’t able to go inside the chateau, since it was already closed when I got there.
But the sunset I saw from the gardens somehow eased my disappointment at not being able to appreciate the place in the way it deserved.
As night fell and we prepared to go back to our chateau-hotel, the surrealism prevailed and I continued to live in the fairy tale that is the Loire Valley.