Loire Valley Adventure Part 2

Sunday woke up and got breakfast. Then we met our taxi with our luggage and set out for Chenonceau. The ride there was pretty. Our taxi driver didn't say a peep the whole time because he didn't speak any english.
Once at Chenonceau, we got our tickets and left our luggage at the check. I got an audio guide, and then we wandered all through the castle. It was really cool. I didn't know anything about the castle, just that it was really popular. And now I know why. It is super cool.

It was really interesting to listen to the audio, and learn all about the things that happened. It also explained the hall over the river, and why it was built. After wandering through the castle, we got lunch in the cafeteria, in what used to be the Royal Stables. Then we wandered through the old farm, along with the vegetable garden where they grow vegetables and flowers used for arrangements in the castle today. We also wandered through the two gardens, one for Catherine de' Medicis, and one for Diane de Poitiers. These weren't quite as beautiful as they would have been had we gone in the summer. But it was still easy to imagine how gorgeous they probably are when they are all blossomed. It would also have been better had the backside of the castle not been covered up with renovation work.

Then we found the maze built for Catherine de' Medicis and had fun finding our way through it. After that we visited the gift shop, and then it was time to meet our taxi to go to the train station.
On our train from Amboise to Paris, there aren't assigned seats because it's an intercity train. Luckily, we got on one of the first stops, because a few stops after us, there were tons and tons of people waiting to get on. There weren't even enough seats, so people were standing at the doors and even down the aisles. They had to stand for a little over an hour. While my parents and I sat comfortably in our seats.