Our Day In The Valley

It's been a busy week. With Lil' Dave in town, we've not only gone to Disneyland, but yesterday, we drove to the Loire Valley to visit two of the most popular castles in France: Chambord and Chenonceau They are beautiful. They are big. They are over the top.

Built to impress, both castles convey a sense of opulence. King Francois constructed Chambord as a hunting lodge. With 13,000 acres, it provided enough game for the French and their guests to shoot red deer for days. Chenonceau, on the other hand, was King Henry II's way of saying "I Love You" to his mistress, Diane de Poitiers. But soon after his death, his wife reclaimed the "Whore House" and relocated Ms. Poitiers to a another chateau down the river (for those of you who watch ABC's Brothers & Sisters, the storylines are similar).

With rich histories, both castles depict a sense of royalty's extravagance back when heads were rolling. It's good to know they didn't let the turbulence impact their social life.