My weekend in Blois & the memorable light show at Château de Blois

After these famous châteaux, I was back to my hotel around 5:00 pm, I thought to invite my companion for dinner but then I changed my mind. I felt exhausted after a whole day exposed on the sun, carried a heavy camera bag with tripod...I didn't feel like to eat anything. No appetite at all.

              Hotel's breakfast room, cozy, ideal place for train traveller, just across the street from station

But I exactly knew what I need - a trolley suitcase. I made a mistake while preparing this trip. When still at home I thought : one bag for camera, lenses, laptop and tripod, another one for clothes. All hand-carried. But along the train journey from Paris to Rouen, to Mt St Michel...and now in Blois, I realised my strength was left somewhere, everything became heavier day after day. Time for a trolley suitcase!
And one more thing - I need some light clothes. The weather in France in September was unexpectedly warmer than I thought. My autumn jacket, shirts not for daytime!

                  My companion, my driver - a funny storyteller, who was impatiently waiting for me...

After a hot shower and quick recovery from "château expedition", I was heading to Blois's downtown, where you can find a lot of shops, restaurants...but what I didn't expect on that Saturday - was the outdoor day for everyone: sporting, dancing, racing...Here you go some snapshots of that very sporting Saturday!

                    Dancing class for everyone! 

                   The high-jump competition 

                     It could be 50m run for kids...

                    The future gymnasts 

                   Preparing for Tour de France in 2024?  

                    Jump higher, dream bigger!  

During my journey around France by train, I spent a lot of time in train and that definitely was not what I liked, so depend on each destination, I'll stay longer - for 2 nights or 3 nights as maximum. I stayed in Blois for 2 nights, so I need to figure out what to do in the evening - and I found the spectacular light (or laser) show in Château de Blois.

                    Waiting for the show to start, the whole château's courtyard became a huge screen... 

It was a very good show telling you about the story of this château, its ups and downs and the royal intrigues in France's history, related to this place. It was a perfect entertaining historical sharing, not only with foreigners but also with locals. This was my first time to see this kind of show in France, but later I witnessed another better light show in Avignon, I did a video recording in my camera.

                 The famous staircase in Renaissance style was a part of the giant screen 

                and now the show began, the amazing light effects brought you back to the past...

             telling you the glorious time of Château de Blois over 500 years, starting from 13th century...

             or its turbulent existence in different periods in France's history....

                and the stories of those people living in this château...

                    their relationships...

               their ambitions, their royal games...

                and their blooding intrigues, their surviving...

             the curtain pulled down, show over in 45', with good music and voice over. 

My second day in Blois was full of activities, I didn't waste any time. I liked Blois, it's a small quiet town not far from Paris, gentle people, many things to see in this region, but my next destination - Sarlat La Canéda was my truly all-time favourite in this journey. I do recommend you to visit this terrific beautiful medieval town in southwestern France - Aquitaine region. See you in Sarlat!