Le Chateau d'Azay le Rideau et l'Abbaye de Fontevraud

Yesterday, after a delicious nutella-filled breakfast, an art history lesson and an hour and a half of driving, we arrived at Le Château d'Azay le Rideau. Built during the reign of François I in the early 16th century, this was the chateau of all chateaus. We had time to walk around, visit bedrooms, dining rooms, and the grounds around the chateau, all of which were beautiful and incredibly well preserved. The view of the chateau was just breathtaking; pictures can't even do it justice. Once we finished walking around, we headed to the Abbaye de Fontevraud, a monastic center for both monks and nuns built beginning in the 12th century. Interestingly enough, when Napolean I took control of France after the Revolution, he turned this monastery into a prison; closed in 1963, this prison housed at least 2,000 prisoners. We walked around the entirety of the monastery, visiting places like the Romanesque kitchens, the dormitories, and the cloisters. Overall we had done a ton of walking over the last day, so we cooled off with fresh "glace," or ice cream, and headed back to the chateau. Though the sites we visited were amazing, I think most of us enjoyed that ice cream at the end most of all!