Day of the Chateaux

Today is dedicated to the Chateux of the Loire Valley.
We began by finding that the restaurants in Amboise were closed until noon on Monday, so we found a Carrefour City, bought bread, brie, butter, raspberry and apricot jam, orange juice and "chowed down" like a bunch of hungry tourists.
By the way, using the parking payment machines is difficult at best. Spent way too much money and came away even more confused, even with instructions in English.
First stop, chateaux Amboise. The beauty of this chateau sitting high agai st the Loire River, is really difficult to define. Add to this that so much of the original buildings, bulwarks and walls are gone, it is still impressive.
We jumped into our Ford van (VERY COMFORTABLE for six adults and all our luggage), and made the short trip to Chateaux Chenonceau. This is by far our favorite chateau. It is not the largest (visiting Chambord tomorrow on the way to Paris), it does not have the largest gardens. What it does bring is "location, location, location." The chateau sits in a forrested area and spans the river Cher. It sits magestically within the confines of the forest, giving it a secluded feeling. The city of Chenonceau is about a mile away, so the chateau doesn't have the buzz of noise of Amboise or Blois which sit in the center of thier cities.we ate lunch out side so we could take in the view of the trees, chateau and the beautiful gardens. The burgers are wonderful and the fries are excellent.
After taking many pictures, we drove back to Amboise and toured "Clos Luce" the home where Leonardo DiVinci spent his last years. It is filled with his drawings, paintings, water colors, inventions and thier plans. There are mock-ups of some of his inventions and video's play on monitors showing how the devices worked. From the garden, you can see the chapel, on the grounds of the Chateaux Amboise, where his body lays.
We ate for one last time in Amboise, with thoughts of traveling north to Paris, after visiting the Chateaux Chambord.
I hope sleep comes quickly.Читать далее