Amboise, Da Vinci and Chenonceaux

After a somewhat relaxing day in St Fraimbault on Thursday--we actually had lunch in Bagnoles L'Orne--we were off to the Loire Valley on Friday morning.  We checked into our hotel in Amboise and went to the tourists office in the center of the city, right on the Loire River.  There is a huge castle that overlooks the city and the river that was one of the homes of King Francois the first, a great student of Leonardo da Vinci, who spent the last years of his life in Amboise.  Mary, who has seen many of the Loire Valey chateaux when she was a student here many years ago, recommended that we see Chenonceaux, Chamborg and Cheverny at the least and since we only had a day and a half, we got tickets for those sites and for the Clos Luce, which was Leonardo's home in Amboise.

We had lunch on the main drag of the old city, with the castle looming above us.

and walked along the street by the castle.  There are restaurants along the way.

Either the castle was built into the side of a hill, or it was built and then houses were built into it because on our left as we walked up the street, there were a number of homes in the rock.  They looked like they would be interesting inside.

Although at least one looked like it was abandoned.

This is the front of the Clos Luce, Da Vinci's last house.

It looks like it would have been very comfortable.

We saw a number of rooms like these in the few days we were in the Loire Valley.  Bedrooms that looked more like family rooms.  Apparently a lot of conversation took place in the bedrooms.

I really liked this dining room

With its busts of Francois I and Leonardo.

Mary says Francois is easily recognizable by his very big nose.

Leonardo looks like you would expect.

Apparently DaVinci had a number of apprentices at this house and their work is up on the walls.

There was even a copy of the Mona Lisa.

Here I am...walking in the footsteps of the genius.

The basement is filled with machines made to the specifications in DeVinci's drawings and writings.  There were a surprising number of guns and armaments and other necessities of war.

In the backyard, it looked more like Renaissance Italy than France.

And there was a guide talking to kids in the garb of DaVinci's time.

Of course, there are a lot of half-timbered houses in Amboise.  I especially liked this one with its complex design.

Click on the picture to see what I mean.

From Clos Luce we traveled to Chenenceaux, one of the most beautiful chateaux in the area.

It has an impressive entrance, over a canal,

through a walkway lined with huge plane trees.

Past a sphinx.

At first view the chateaux looks very much like Disney World.

There was really no way to take a bad picture of the building.

As you can see,it is actually built over the Cher River, a tributary of the Loire.  And it is surrounded by two beautiful gardens, one belonging to the wife of King Henry II, Catherine DeMedici, and one to his favorite mistress, Diane de Poitiers.  (More abut those ladies later).

We liked Catherine's garden better; it was smaller and more intimate....

 But Diane's was also beautiful....

Except for this little house with its wisteria, which I always think looks scary.

Anyway, the house is very beautiful inside.  And the people take care of it beautifully, with fresh flowers everywhere.  Here is Diane's bedroom.

Henry II treated Diane very well, even installing her in this lovely house.  But when he died in a jousting accident with a lance through the eye, his wife Catherine De Medici threw Diane out---who wouldn't-- and put a very stern picture of herself over the fireplace in this room.  And Catherine never slept in this room.

Catherine was the mother of three kings of France, Francois II, Charles IX and Henry III--she outlived all but Henry and was for quite a good part of her life the real leader of France.  She ruled must of that time from this house.

It has a large chapel 

And great hall....

where you can look out the window right on the river.

One of the main tttractions of the house is all the paintings, many of French kings including Louis XIV, the so-called "Sun King"

who apparently spent time here.   This is a painting by Reubens.

And here's one of Diane de Poitiers, no doubt put up after the time of Catherine.

All in all, it was quite a lovely house.

That night we ate in a restaurant called Epicerie, which means grocery store in French, I am told.  Had a wonderful meal.