We ended our tour of the Chateaux in the Loire River Valley with a visit to the town of Blois. Blois was created in the year 832 and served as the official residence of the King of France during the Renaissance Period. Evidence of human habitation in this area dates back 8,000 years. There is too much history to discuss in this writing, but I would like to share a few highlights. In 1429 Joan of Arc used Blois as her base of operations for the relief of Orleans. In 1871 the Prussian (German) army took control of Blois in the Franco-Prussian War. In 1940 the Germans destroyed a large part of Blois during their bombing campaign in WWII. The US & English air forces destroyed the rest of Blois in June-August 1944. The Germans in Blois surrendered on September 1, 1944. 1522 historical structures were damaged or destroyed.
We had a pleasant drive along the banks of the Loire River to Blois and looked forward to our visit. We parked our car and walked into the historic district. Our plans were delayed somewhat when we got separated. I saw a monument along the river I wanted to get a picture of. It was dedicated to the French Resistance. I told Linda, Amanda, and Harry to go ahead, I would catch up. It was agreed, if we got separated, we would meet at the grocery store, Intermarche. I did not see them again, so I walked to the grocery store. They were not there. I waited about 30 minutes and they did not come. I had the portable "hotspot" in my pocket. We had no communications with each other. We finally established communications with each other, but had a difficult time in getting back together. We finally got together in about another hour. We had a nice lunch in the shadow of the Chateau Blois, but no time to sight see the town. It is a beautiful town. The destroyed buildings had been restored, I just wish we had more time to explore it.
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