Sleeping Beauty Castle (Usse) - Day 9

Chinon

Saturday, 29 September 2012
After another lovely breakfast we decided to head for Chateau Usse which was nearby. We bought lunch again from the Boulangerie down the road.
Some extracts from the website...The castle of Usse was built for the Buiel family in the second half of the 15th century. The family had distinguished itself in the 'Hundred Years War' and was seeking a home befitting there new rank in society. The family did not stay long however for Antoine De Buiel, the husband of Louis VI daughter, sold the castle in 1485 to Charles who set about making many improvements and is known for having the famous chapel built on the grounds. They served as chamberlains to many of the royalty and kings of their time. This castle has changed hands many times over the years. 1885 the Count de Blacas bought the chateau and his descendants still live and make a home there today. The Marquis de Blacas who is the grandson of the man who began the Egyptian Department at the Louvre,currently resides there.
And here is the best bit...
With its combination of beauty and the fortress like appearance, it is believed that Perrault wrote his famous story, “Sleeping Beauty,” based on Usse . Of the structure Perrault wrote, Chateau de la Belle au bois dormant. This is one of eleven fairytales he wrote in a collection called, Les de ma mere l’ Oye.” The Chateau’s battlement tower is surrounded with glassed-in rooms showing wax figures in scenes from the "The sleeping beauty". It might seem a bit 'tacky' to the purists but the younger kids will like it!
Its also said that the castle influenced the design of Disney's famous Cinderella's Castle in Disney World - it all helps bring in the tourists!
But the even better bit was that when we arrived..parked up were heaps and heaps of Ferrari's. they made a beautiful addition to the Chateau as you can see in the photos. Later after our visit we stopped further down the village to eat lunch and they all started to leave...Bruce and Michael were quite excited!
It was nice to visit a chateau is a different style and while it had very pretty gardens they were very petite compared to the others we have seen. Very pretty with lots of reds..I liked them. This chateau has less of a story than the previous two we had visited...however they had nice exhibitions ( when you went up one of the towers)of the sleeping beauty story. Alyssa and Holly would have loved it.even if they couldn't have read the French.
We then went for a drive in the countryside and then back to our Chambre D'Hote to park. It was time for a bit more of an explore of Chinon. By the time we got to the fortress it was near closing time so that will have to be an 'another day' visit..along with Blois chateaux. We also haven't been to the Jean D'arc museum bUt we did find a stone where she put her foot...we think it was after she dismounted from a horse. Chinon is the start of the Jean D'arc story and our Chambre'Hote had provided such wonderful information before hand on a PDF which we kept on the iPad. There was also an additional wealth of useful information about the area and history in a boom in the room. When I commented to Helene about how good it was she offered for us to take it..it must have cost a fortune to print! They have really taken the time to create a fabulous place. jean Michel told us how they looked for a year and a half for just the right place to make a Chambre d'Hote...then there was all the restauration. The old medieval area of Chinon was well worth a stroll. We had a lovely afternoon.
Then..after the expensive dinner the night before..it was time for a bit of Italian. This was tiny little place off a square. It was full but we got the last table which was outside. The food was incredible. Freshly made pasta with a choice of sauces. Bruce has a pizza with the lightest of doughs and the the entree of Mozarella and salad and olive oil...I WISH we could get Mozarella of that quality at a price we could afford in New Zealand! Maybe it's the way I serve it..I think I need to drizzle the love oil over it?
Another great day!

	View from the Carpark [Map]		View for Chateau D'Usse from the entrance [Map]
	Don't the Ferrari's add a touch of class! [Map]		Michael wants to learn to drive one of these [Map]
	Looking down over the gardens and out to the count [Map]		Quite a few Ferrari's [Map]
	Staircase [Map]		Some of the costumes currently on display [Map]
	Gardens [Map]		From the sleeping beauty turret [Map]
	More Ferrari's [Map]		In the attic [Map]
	What a lovely day to sit in the sun and take photo [Map]		Castle walls [Map]
	From a courtyard through to the garden [Map]		Front of the Church [Map]
	After our visit [Map]		The boys [Map]
	More portraits [Map]		The church [Map]
	Photo 1 [Map]		Photo 2 [Map]
	Photo 3 [Map]		Photo 4 [Map]
	Photo 5 [Map]		Photo 6 [Map]
	Photo 7 [Map]		Photo 8 [Map]
	Photo 9 [Map]		The weather! [Map]

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