from giverny, we headed to the loire valley. we visited three fabulous chateaux and were stunned by the miles upon miles upon miles of sunflower fields.

château de chambord:

^^(can you spot moses’s head as he rides on his dad’s shoulders through the entrance?) ^^
 
 
^^the double-spiral staircase is the centerpiece of the château. some say that it was designed by leonardo da vinci. it’s curious to walk up the staircase because the two spirals that ascend the three floors never meet. ^^ my favourite part of visiting chambord was definitely walking around the balconies and terraces at the top of this staircase. ian and i traded off doing this and playing with the boys on the grass outside!

it was soooo hot this day … so we got some icy cold slushies before walking across the canal to see the château from the other side. can you tell moses was into that drink?!

château de chenonceau:

^^ the spray of this fountain was welcome as it was another hot hot day! moses loved it. ^^

^^ mo’s fave and ian’s tie die shirt and cargo shorts really make this family picture a winner. haha. ^^ so cool how the château stretches across the river! we decided to not go inside because there was a long queue and just to stay more away from crowded indoor areas.

we stayed at an airbnb in the château town of amboise. this was the view from our window!:

and some views from grabbing dinner around the charming streets:
 
and the view from our window at night!:

château de villandry:

the gardens were mind-blowing at this place! they stretched on forever and there was even a playground (!! 🙂 ).


 
we had fun exploring and walking to different viewpoints and segments of the gardens. it’s hard to capture the grandeur of this place in photos!

 

sunflower fields!:

i put my face next to this one for size reference – soooo many sunflowers bigger than my head! we saw probably hundreds of fields like this from the road, stretching far into the distance. so cheerful and bright and gorgeous!
 

those flower fields were just a little taste of what was to come on our stop number three in provence in the south of france…