Dogs are allowed.

While I know it's France and dogs are allowed in many stores and most restaurants, I was still surprised to see dogs allowed entry to the gardens at Villandry. The château and gardens are privately owned, but it still surprised me. I wonder if they have to pay an entrance fee?

Part of the castle's forecourt, seen from the terrace above.

As you can see in the sidebar, our weather is transitioning from very mild to more seasonable. Our highs are going down into single digits now and for the foreseeable future (which, granted, is not very long where weather is concerned). Yesterday I ordered home heating fuel to take us through winter. I got a really good price compared to previous years as the price of oil has been dropping lately. And the wood pile is stocked and ready to go as well.