Château de Cheverny

This castle was another favorite from our Loire Valley trip.  I loved the charming grounds of this one.  They were peaceful and serene.  The staff working here were so friendly.  We actually didn't plan on spending much time here- we were seeing many castles in one day.  But after entering, we stayed here a few hours.  We really enjoyed the on-site cafe, L'Orangerie.  We enjoyed a delicious lunch here between wandering the grounds and touring the inside of the chateau.  I noticed (later) on Tripadvisor, L'Orangerie has really bad reviews from 2017 about rude staff.  Well, we didn't have any problems; our waiter was very attentive.  He did seem nervous because of the language difference, but he was very good and kind to us.  And, they offered us tap water!!

Pics above and below- I finally got a Croque Monsieur Sandwich!  I've wanted one ever since high school French class.  Even though I've been to France a few times, I've never been able to find one (except a Croque McDo, on one late evening after walking around Paris all day.  But that doesn't count).

At L'Orangerie, my son ordered chicken nuggets from the kid's menu, and I loved that they came artfully arranged on a plate surrounded by salad, and he also got fruit and a cookie with it.  (No good pics of that, though.)

 We finished with French hot chocolate.

Cheverny is still occupied today, and they have a large kennel on the property with a ton of hunting dogs.  This was the only part I didn't like about Cheverny.  There's a ton of dogs all kept together in a too-small space, and they fight, and they smell bad, and I just feel bad for them.  A lot have tumors or open sores on them.  There was a sign in French that said they were healthy and well taken care of, but still.  The pic below is just a small number of dogs that are actually there.

Pic below is a stained-glass pic of the dogs and people, getting ready for a hunt.

The inside had rooms decorated with a special Lego display.  I don't think it's there all the time, but it was cool for the kids.  There were all sorts of large animals and other stuff built all with Legos. 

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