Loire Valley, France (9/11/17 - 9/16/17)

After leaving Paris and stopping at Chartres, we journeyed on to our next destination the Loire Valley.  We stayed just outside of Amboise in a chateau from the 1700's that was remodeled in the 1800's, and occupied by the Nazis in the 1940's. Quite an interesting place, especially since part of the chateau was built into the rock of the hillside.

We came here to see some of the famous chateaux in the area and started with one that would become our favorite, Chenonceau. This is a beautiful castle that spans across a river with a series of arches. Beautiful from the outside and also with very pretty gardens, it was extremely well done on the inside as well.  The written guide was easy to follow and the progression through the rooms was marked well. Since it is September we also didn't have to fight the summer crowds, which was great.  The rooms are furnished quite nicely and there were beautiful flower arrangements in each of the rooms too. 

From Chenonceau, we went to Chambord which is basically the big granddaddy of them all.  Chambord is very impressive from the outside but we were a bit disappointed with the inside.  The double helix stairway is cool and there are nice views from the rooftop terrace, but it just wasn't as well decorated or organized as Chenonceau.  

The next morning was rainy so we took some time to find a warm jacket for one of our friends, then spent time in the afternoon at Amboise's castle. The ramparts provided a nice view over the river and we went into the little chapel to see the grave of Leonardo da Vinci who lived the last years of his life at Clos Luce nearby.  

The next morning we went to Clos Luce to see the former home of da Vinci. We all agreed that this site was really, really good. The house showed da Vinci's rooms including his workshop which displayed some of his paintings and drawings and some of the things he used to create his masterpieces. The most fascinating thing was the collection of small models that a team of IBM experts had made from some of his drawings.  They then created actual size inventions and those were located outside on the grounds of the estate. It was amazing to see the number of things he had actually designed, and so many of them worked exactly as he thought they would.

In the afternoon, we visited Chateau Villandry. Everyone raves about the gardens and rightfully so, but the inside of the house was interesting too. The family that owns the chateau has spent a lot of money restoring it and especially caring for the gardens.  The gardens are truly beautiful, some of the best I've seen in Europe thus far.  There were watergardens, ornamental gardens, love knot gardens, and vegetable and fruit gardens that were honestly just as pretty as the flower gardens because they were so well done. It was a beautiful place and a bargain price compared to some of the other chateau. 

We also visited a troglodyte site. Troglodyte means people carved out caves and homes from the limestone prevalent in the area. It was interesting but the air inside was a bit too dusty for me.

We're moving on to Cognac for one night, then to Bordeaux.

                                                 Chenonceau

                                                   Villandry

Villandry

                                                            Chambord

Da Vinci personal items