France has two Loire Valley regions. One is in the west of France and consists of five provinces. The other is called the Center-Loire Valley region. This region is in the center of France, where Chen Xing went.
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There is no additional connection between them. They are mainly named after the Loire River.
The Center-Loire Valley was not developed a long time ago. During the Hundred Years War with Britain, French princes and nobles came here to take refuge from Paris, and found that the land here is fertile, the scenery is beautiful, and it is a great geomantic treasure.<
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So the collective built a palace here.
From ancient times to the present, nobles have built hundreds of castles here as cultural products of human history. Combined with the local scenery, they have become the golden zone of French tourism and an absolutely popular attraction.
But if the visitor is not a fan of medieval castles, then you only need to choose two or three representative castles to visit, walk slowly and savor them carefully.
Chen Xing chose Chambord, which is famous among all castles.
This is the largest castle in the entire Loire Valley. If these numerous castles are pearls scattered in the Loire Valley, then Chambord is undoubtedly the brightest and most dazzling pearl in the entire Loire Valley.
But please note that Chambord has multiple translations in China, such as Château de Chambord, Château de Chambord, Château de Chambord, etc. You must pay attention when using domestic navigation software.
Because the current navigation is said to be intelligent, but in fact it is a bit restrictive.
It was originally a place that could be reached in two and a half hours from Paris, but it took Chen Xing three hours and missed lunch time to find it.
The French name is more reliable.
After the shuttle bus arrives, you can see the stone castle standing in the distance when you get off the bus.
He is too big and too complicated.
The castles that Chen Xing has seen in France for so long are all small ones. There are many such specious castles in China, but when you actually see a castle where a European king lives, you will feel that all the castles you have seen before are bunkers.
Right?
It's like building a separate tower from the castle.
But this castle has too many such towers.
From the parking lot, the spiers of Chambord are gorgeous and complex, like a city in the sky composed of roofs, chimneys and towers. They are delicate but have the grandeur of a king. These spiers are arranged in an orderly manner, forming a European Renaissance style.
unique style.
Queue up to buy tickets.
Because Chen Xing is a student, the entrance fee is waived. There are many such attractions in France.
Knowing that Chen Xing is from China, the lady who bought the ticket handed over an introduction document, which was written in Chinese.
"It's free." She said, "If you have higher requirements, then you can rent our audio guide, and there will be an accompanying tour guide next to you."
The introduction in hand was only a thin page, and Chen Xing didn’t want to study the story of this scenic spot while taking in the scenery with his camera, so he walked to the place where he chose a tour guide.
…
When you don’t understand the history of European castles, it’s best to choose a tour guide to introduce it to you along the way. This kind of scenic spot is not like a landscape that everyone can understand. If you don’t understand the story, it will be a lot less fun.
Of course, you can also rent a voice guide, but it is definitely not as convenient as a real person, unless you are short of money.
As soon as he passed by, someone greeted him in Japanese and invited guests. Chen Xing refused and said: "I am Chinese."
Immediately, a Chinese-speaking tour guide came up and asked if he wanted to visit together.
Group tour guides are easy to find, but these bilingual or multilingual tour guides rarely accept individual guests.
I guess it’s easier to make money when there are more people.
Chen Xing searched for tour guides who were willing to accompany them alone, and it seemed that they all only spoke French, but also some English.
People around France's big cities all know English, but they don't like to speak it.
Chen Xing is interested in a young and beautiful tour guide. The professional skills of such a tour guide may not be as high as that of an old tour guide, but they are eye-catching.
He smiled at her and asked, "I'll trouble you then."
After waiting for a long time, Rose finally found a customer and said cheerfully: "I believe I can give you a wonderful travel experience. Chambord is the best castle in France. You will feel that your trip is worthwhile." Chen Xing went to the garden to take a look first.
The garden is divided into two areas, the left and right, both of which are at least as big as a football field. There are various neatly arranged flower beds and exquisite patterns on the lawn. Of course they look like patterns in the sky, but on the ground these patterns are as big as the lawn.
Corridor.
This is also the best place to view the front of the castle.
Chen Xing raised his Hasselblad camera and took photos of some of the distinctive little decorations on the castle.
One of the outstanding features of a medium format camera is its secondary composition effect, coupled with its excellent white balance function. Even if you fail to take a good picture when shooting on site, you can still edit professional-level photos at home and improve your work.
expressiveness.
Rose asked: "Sir, do you know the king Francois I?"
"I know." Chen Xing said.
This king was the most obsessed with the Renaissance style in French history, and this castle was also a palace he built for himself.
This kind of simple news is probably known to all tourists who come to Chambord.
Rose nodded when she heard Chen Xing's answer and walked with Chen Xing while saying:
"This king was also very knowledgeable about architecture. Under his control, many medieval buildings were built that are very famous in modern times. But the Renaissance in France had just started at that time, so the Chambord Castle you see now is still there.
With strong Gothic architectural features."
She introduced to Chen Xing which Gothic buildings had the strongest expression in the castle, and Chen Xing took photos of them one by one.
There is hardware on the outside of the Hasselblad camera that automatically detects color temperature. When Chen Xing raised his head to photograph the building on the top of the tower, the white balance was automatically lowered, making the entire castle look more historical, majestic and wonderful.
This is Hasselblad’s world-famous natural color.
Sometimes, he may know what photographers need better than ordinary photographers.
Walking into the interior of the castle, the roughness with a sense of history hits your face, but after all, it is a building with a long history. This shortcoming is understandable. In fact, these can also be regarded as part of the sense of history.
…
If it were brand new, tourists would probably wonder whether it was an old castle or a new castle.
There is an exquisitely designed double spiral staircase in the hall.
Rose said:
"This mysterious staircase was designed by Leonardo da Vinci. Although there is no clear record, I personally think this statement is very reliable, because Francois I was a very good friend of Leonardo da Vinci since he came.
A design draft is not laborious. The reason for designing this staircase is that the king wanted to avoid embarrassment and disputes when the queen and his mistress met face-to-face."
Chen Xing walked around the two stairs below. The two sets of stairs were intertwined with each other and spiraled upward around a common axis. The axis was hollow. People walking on the two stairs
You can see the other side, but you won't meet.
The carvings on it are also very exquisite.
Four corridors extend out from each floor around the staircase, forming a cross. These halls are divided into four identical living areas.
"This is the palace of Francois I." Rose suddenly introduced.
Chen Xing waited for the people in front to come out, then walked into the room to take a look. There were several small rooms inside, such as study rooms and prayer rooms. The ceiling was vaulted and very high, and there were carvings on it.
The brocade silk hanging on the wall is very Chinese style and can be called a work of art.
Is this silk previously sold in China and brought to Europe?
It's not broken yet.
Chen Xing carefully photographed the piece of silk. When he was about to go back, he asked someone first, and then he considered whether to write about the piece of silk in his book. Otherwise, when the book was released, he found out that it was a mistake.
He was so embarrassed.
Going further up is the wide terrace on the top of the tower, which is an excellent place to enjoy the scenery of the surrounding courtyards. It overlooks the charming scenery in all directions. Looking behind it is the Chambord Hunting Forest area, and the Loire River in the distance.
Turning around and looking up, I instantly found that I was surrounded by various exquisite roofs. Looking out into the distance, I had an unobstructed view of the entire Chateau Chambord territory.
Rose said: "There is a cafe here, do you want a drink?"
"No need." Chen Xing said, busy taking pictures.
This is the good thing about plain areas. As long as you build a tall house, you can see far away. If other houses are built around you, but they are all relatively low, there will be a
The feeling of the world at my feet.
King experience card - a moment.
The emperors of China were actually like this. At that time, people in the imperial city could not build houses beyond the imperial city. So when the emperors stepped to a higher place in the palace, they could see neat houses and wide streets extending in all directions.<
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When Chen Xing was studying history, he liked what the teacher said about Bianjing City.
Streets with a width of 200 meters are estimated to be built by only China in the world. It is a pity that no one in later generations has seen the style at that time. In contrast, there are Chang'an in the Tang Dynasty, the capital of the Yuan Dynasty, and Yanjing in the Ming and Qing Dynasties.<
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Yanjing is a little better, at least it is relatively recent and has preserved more things than the previous dynasties.
Chen Xing wandered to the back of the terrace.
He saw someone holding horses on the grass below. Those horses were all beautiful. They didn't look like the kind of horses that were kept in captivity for people to take pictures, but the kind that often ran on the wide ground. They looked very strong. …
Chen Xing suddenly wanted to ride a horse.
So he asked: "Can I ride the horse down there?"
"Generally speaking, it's not allowed, but you can take pictures with them. Do you want to see it?"
"Of course, since you work here, you'd better tell me that I want to ride on it and take pictures. Don't worry, I can ride a horse."
Although Chen Xing's skills cannot be said to be able to ride a horse and run wildly, there is no problem in riding a horse that has been tamed by others, taking a few steps or even trotting. He will not feel scared, and he will not fall down due to instability.
.
He is a man who wants to build his own manor and raise horses.
It would be great if my manor was as big as this castle. Just the garden in front can raise a lot of small animals, not to mention there is a forest behind the castle. This was the hunting ground of the nobles in the past. Now small animals
paradise.
As the two walked down, there were many people taking photos next to the two horses.
The blond woman leading the horse is also dressed in ancient European guard clothing, like a guard waiting for the king to mount the horse.
Chen Xing thought that this kind of photography culture only exists in China, but it turns out that it also exists in Europe.
It’s just...
It seems like it's free here.
Everyone can stand next to the horses and take photos with them, but they must be more than one meter away, otherwise they will be chased away by the person holding the horses. Due to the appearance of one of the female guards who leads and feeds the horses.
The reason why it is so high is that she has the most tourists here.
When Chen Xing got here, he no longer looked at people's looks, he looked at horses.
There were four horses here. Chen Xing passed by them once, and finally stopped by a horse next to the forest. He used his eyes to signal the tour guide to come forward and help him communicate so that he could get on the horse and have fun.
Rose looked troubled.
She does work here, but!
But she is just a part-time employee, not a regular employee, and she doesn’t usually have contact with these people, so how could she possibly know them?
I was about to explain it to Chen Xing.
But then I thought about it, and it didn’t seem to be a big deal to ask first. She had seen these people letting tourists ride horses before. What if she negotiated the deal? Then would the boss give me an extra tip?<
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So I walked up.
This elder brother also had nothing to do. People who took pictures liked to take pictures in front, so that they could take pictures of the castle's architecture. Otherwise, how could he prove that he had been to Chambord? But he didn't like too many people, so he walked closer to the forest.
In this place, no one came to take pictures of him.
Rose went up and asked: "Hello, I am Rose, the tour guide working here."
"Hello, Gabriel Pierre, do you need help?"
"Yes, my client wants to experience riding a horse."
"What? Is he crazy?" Gabriel Pierre glared and said, "It is dangerous to ride a horse. Since you are a tour guide, you should tell him, and our horses cannot be ridden casually, you should know." p>
Of course Rose knows.
But she also knows that she can be accommodating. She has seen these equestrians letting tourists ride horses.
"He is a gentleman from China. He can ride horses, and he likes our equestrian club in Chambord very much. He is a very cultivated fan. He just wants to ride on the horse and take pictures. It won't take too much time.
, there will be no problem with you here."
The last words made the equestrian feel a little upset.
He looked at Chen Xing.
The Chinese man smiled at himself and seemed to be a nice person.
"Okay." He agreed, but warned, "You can only ride up and take a photo, otherwise I can't guarantee whether Annie will be angry. She usually hates strangers the most, so she only listens to my words." "okok!"
Rose couldn't help but feel happy, knowing that the tip was found, and quickly went to report the news to Chen Xing.
