Cognac & Chateau de Pray

The adventure continues!  We left Bordeaux with 20 others and our cruise manager and coached to the Cognac Castle and cellars.   Cognac Castle was originally built by the Villebois dynasty in the 12th century!

The French king Francis I was born here in 1494.   He reigned as king from 1515-1547.   He was the one mostly responsible for many of the Loire Valley Chateaus to be built!   His emblem was the .. salamander !

The chateau was used as a prison between 1756-1763 during the Seven Years War to house English and Irish prisoners from the Canadian war front.  You can see some of the names etched in the walls :

Here are some pictures from other rooms in the castle :

In 1795, after the French Revolution, the brandy merchants Otard & Dupuy bought the castle to use to distill wine into cognac & brandy and to store and age their barrels.

 The castle is on the river.  They could roll the barrels down to the barges.

The room where these barrels were .. used to be the chapel.  It's where Francis I was baptized.   On to the tasting room!  .. in the shape of the inside of a barrel!

After the Captain's dinner I was itching to try a taste again.   It's smoooooooth!

Loved all of the history of this castle & cellars.   Now it's on to the town of Cognac for lunch and some short discovery walks.   The town was built and fortified in the ninth century.   It changed sides many times between the French & English during the 100 years war.  It's on one of the pilgrimage routes to Santiago de Compostela.

It was now time to drive to our evening's lodging in the Loire Valley in Amboise.  The Loire River is the longest river in France .. 1,006 kilometers (625 miles).  We are staying at the .. Chateau de Pray, built in 1244!   There are over 300 chateaus in the Loire Valley!  Our place was one of the first Loire Valley chateaus to be opened as a hotel .. in 1955!   Here are some pics :

Here's our room :

We ate as a group in the chateau's Michelin-starred restaurant.  Places represented included:  Illinois, California, Florida, Oregon, and Germany.

Another fun day!  We visit three chateaus tomorrow and two on Saturday.

Join us for more adventures!   Take care, Joe & Jan.