![\"20160615_155746\"](\"http:\/\/blogs.nd.edu\/sla2016\/files\/2016\/06\/20160615_155746.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nProof that we got a little sun before it poured on the way back to Tours…<\/p>\n
A pond on the grounds of the chateau<\/p>\n My favorite part of the afternoon, however, was the Garden Festival. \u00a0It’s an annual exhibition held on the grounds of the chateau, and the theme this summer was “Gardens of the Century to Come.” \u00a0The artists\u00a0only have about two months to install their gardens, and they have to last from the end of April to the beginning of November. \u00a0It was fascinating to read the explanations of all the gardens and see how different artists interpreted the theme so differently. \u00a0Even so, I noticed a number of ideas – mainly ecological – start to emerge; there were several installations that fused gardens with houses, and there were also quite a few that touched on ecological disasters such as flooding and heat waves. \u00a0Although the chateau was very impressive, I wish I had left myself more time to wander the installations. \u00a0I’m not sure I got to all of them before I had to head back to the bus.<\/p>\n My favorite garden, which felt pretty appropriate after the recent flooding in France…<\/p>\n That’s all for now, but stay tuned – I can’t wait to tell you all about my weekend (hint: it involved French board games!). \u00a0A tout\u00a0\u00e0 l\u2019heure!<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This past Wednesday, I went to Chaumont to see the chateau and Garden Festival. \u00a0Even though Chaumont is not known as one of the most impressive chateaux in the Loire Valley, it was still breathtaking to turn a corner and … Continue reading <\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n