A Full Friday

We had an interesting day last Friday. Susan had a meeting in Tours to attend in the morning, and there was a gathering of Loire Connection in Amboise in the evening. I thought I would take the opportunity to tie in a visit to Claudette, something I had unsuccessfully attempted on the 21st of January, so we decided to make a whole day if it.

The horologe of the chateau of Chateau Renault serves as the gatehouse.

After Susan's meeting we had a pleasant lunch (two courses: blanquette de veau, café gourmand about 15€) in a restaurant near a gymnasium in Joué les Tours, then drove on to the garage. This time I had all the keys with me, so we were able to open the garage, uncover Claudette, prime her carburetor, and start her after on two failed attempts. We let her run for a while, decided all was good, and shut the whole operation down.

We then had a whole afternoon to ourselves. After shopping at Paris Store (our local Asian supplies shop) we decided to go for a drive.

I decided on visiting Chateau Renault, a town we have driven past a number of times, driven through a couple of times, and all without seeing the chateau we knew had to exist. This time we found the chateau and can't believe we never noticed it before, although to be fair the roads we travel are on the wrong side of town.

The massive 12th century keep

So now we have seen the chateau, walked around its grounds, and taken photos. There is a huge ruined stone tower of 1160, a ruined medieval building (C14?), a gatehouse, and a restored building that serves as the Mairie. The town's works department occupies the stable block, and there's a new building that serves the Municipal Police. 

The ruined medieval residence

 

If we're in the area in warmer weather we will visit again. I am sure we didn't see it at its best on a dull and cold January afternoon.