Downtime at Plessis-Fortia

After non-stop fun in the Netherlands and Spain with our friends and family, it was time to chill out in France for a few days. About 2 hours south of Paris, outside an old French village called Vendome, is an old chateau called Plessis-Fortia, built in the late 1400's. Dad and Susan spent their honeymoon here in 1982, and then bought into the joint-partnership that owns it with their friends in Atlanta. John and I also spent our honeymoon here., 10 years ago!

This photo of Jimmy was taken from the "backyard", right behind the reflecting pool. There are about 50 acres remaining of the original estate. Ben Franklin put the lightning rods on the roof in the 1700's.
This is the view from a 3rd story bedroom, looking back at where Jimmy was standing in the last pic...After spending a few days exploring the Loire Valley, we happened upon a "festival" on the way home. This bumper car ride was WILD.... no lines, you just run in and grab a car, no safety requirements... JF didnt realize there were seatbelts til after Jimmy flew 4 ft in the sky getting rammed by a French teen...
We celebrated Johnny's 9th birthday at the chateau. In the 4th story gameroom, we found a bag of old 60's crepe paper party hats, so of course we had to wear them for the big party!
There are tons of fun things to do at the chateau, the best of course is exploring. The cellars and the un-rehab'ed 17th century wing are creepy and haunted, the fields, orchards, and vineyards are vast and beautiful. Tennis, ping-pong, bike riding and hiking are non-stop.

The tennis courts are made of a weird asbestos squishy tile, but the ball hits square every time.

There used to be motes around the chateau, that have since been drained. I'm sure the landscapers were delighted to find "bike tracks" down the slopes of their well-manicured lawns!