Cheverny

Cheverny is the third castle we've visited in the Loire and it is quite different from the other two that we've seen. Because it was built rather quickly and not changed since, the Louis XIII architectural style is very harmonious. The current residents are descendants of the original owners and live in the right wing of the castle, so we were able to view only the left wing and central part of the castle.

Like all the castles we've seen, Cheverny is beautifully furnished. It's evident that the owners have a great appreciation for their hunting hounds, as you can see if you look carefully at the dinnerware and table linens in the photo below.

It is interesting that literature and music are often intertwined, as seen in the library.

We were very impressed with the furnishings for the children, including a working scale model of a sewing machine with similarly-sized clothing to go with it.

There were several beautiful clocks in the castle, including this one.

Though the gardens here were not as magnificent as those at Chenonceau, they still had their special features, including this pansy among the greenery.

One of the most striking trees was this linden tree with its branches resting on the ground.

The "jardin potager" had lots of vegetables,but also some beautiful flowers.

All of the walking around the grounds of the castle not only tired out Michael, but aged him too!

As mentioned earlier, the owners had a great love of dogs and one of the features of this castle was their kennels with 100 adult hounds (one third of them females) and 47 puppies. They are English-French Tricolors, and weigh about 100 lbs.Through conversations with one of the three trainers, we learned a lot. Firstly, female hounds are better hunters than males and more belligerent - no comment! The dogs are fed once daily - 1 kg of food per hound during hunting season and 400 g each in the off-season. Hunting season is from mid-September to the end of March, during which the hounds hunt twice weekly, mostly for deer. We were amazed at how laid-back they seemed, given that there are so many of them living together.

Five o'clock is feeding time and it's a big tourist attraction at Cheverny. First, the hounds are evacuated from their "play area" so it can be hosed down. Then a green wagonload of chicken is brought in and spread across the floor in a line. Next, a huge bag of kibble is liberally sprinkled over the chicken.

If you want to know how to feed a half-ton of chicken meat to 100 hounds at once, watch this 20 second video. You'll be amazed!