Had a very ‘pleasant’ wake-up – Chris was cursing up a storm because he thought we’d completely overslept and it was 2 p.m., when in fact, it was only 8 a.m. Once that situation was under control, we took our time getting ready and then began driving towards our first destination, Angers, which was about an hour and half away from Nantes where we had spent the night.

Angers is beautiful old city and it’s star attraction is the Chateau du Angers which was a military fort and residence. Between the outer wall and the fort, where we imagine at some point was a moat, there are now beautifully landscaped gardens. Inside the fort walls, is a courtyard and there is a residence and a chapel as well. You can climb up to the fort walls and there are gardens up there and stunning views of the city around, its at least 100 feet above the river and adjoining towns.

Not too far from the chateau/fort was the Saint-Maurice cathedral which was built from 1150-1160 (again, this is only if we understood the writing correctly). We’re going to need to find new adjectives for ‘beautiful’, but the facade was just that and inside it had incredibly intricate wood carvings.

From Angers, we headed to Saumur to see the Saumur castle. It was quite impressive from the outside, but unfortunately the inside was closed for renovation so we couldn’t see how it was decorated.

The whole Loire Valley is full of grand architecture including stunning cathedrals, chateau’s, castles, and forts. There was no way we could see everything, but between Angers, Saumur, and what we saw driving the countryside and along the river we got a great impression for the area.