Writers' Retreats in the Loire Valley

Hi. I'm Grahame, Gray for short, and together with Pierre, my husband, we organize Writers' Retreats in the Loire Valley at Château de Détilly in The Valley of the Kings in France. Why is it called The Valley of the Kings? Because it was here, in the beautiful Loire Valley, where French kings chose to build their grand châteaux, and not just the French kings, but also families such as the Médicis who formed a strategic alliance with France. You might be wondering why they chose the Loire Valley. It is, apart from being the most beautiful setting in France ('The Garden of France'), right in the centre of the country where many battles were fought. The châteaux in the Loire Valley were either fortresses or royal residences that often began as hunting lodges. There are hundreds of châteaux along the Loire River, which include 42 UNESCO listed. The original Château de Détilly also began as a hunting lodge built by Joseph II, the archbishop of Tours, in the 10th century on the site of an ancient Roman villa—Villa Destilliacus.

Ramsès and Aramis at the ancient Roman arch that was the gateway to the Villa Destilliacus.