Roadtrip to Chambord and Chenonceau Chateaus

Today we did a day-trip from Paris to the famous Loire Valley of France, where castles are all over the place. Since we only had a day to do this, we focused on the best two: Chambord and Chenonceau.
 
As Chambord is closer to Paris, we drove there first. It's about a 2 hour drive from Paris, and basically looks like what you would imagine a real-life Cinderella castle to look like. It has a famous double spiral staircase in the center, where you can climb up and see each other, but yet never meet. The inside is pretty bare though, so there's not a lot to see beyond the architecture, but it was some incredibly impressive architecture. It's like visiting a real-life Disneyland castle.

Then it was a very scenic hour long drive to the second castle, Chenonceau. This one if famous because it stretches across a river and has the most gorgeous exterior of any castle I've seen yet. There are fresh flower bouquets all around the castle, and it lets you see some of the servant quarters like the kitchen which was cool. Its Kara's favorite castle yet, and if you have the time and a car, I would very highly recommend it. There's also a fun little maze for kids (as it's not that tall so hence not that challenging for adults) and has beautiful grounds surrounding it. It was really
impressive and well worth the 2.5 hour drive back to Paris.

So it is possible to hit  Chambord and Chenonceau in the Loire Valley in a day from Paris, but it does make a very long day and definitely felt like we were rushed. As all the guidebooks and Internet says, it's best to do it as a night trip.

France helps fund its freeways via tolls, so there were about In all there was about 34€ worth of tolls in all during the day. I paid via my Carte Bleu, so I have no idea if they take American credit cards since I'd read they can be finicky. They do take cash though, so just make sure you have plenty if you're a tourist.

I also had to fill up my tires a bit since I had my brother bring my tire gauage. Filling up tires is a bit different in France than what I've seen in the US. You attach the hose to the tire, holding down a clip on the end to let it attach itself to the tire (and shoving it in far enough to make good contact so the air doesn't leak out). Then once it's clipped on, you go to the pump to hold down a button to fill up the tire, and it has a pressure gauge built in. And it's free!