Ahhhh the Loire Valley, what more is there to say really except that the whole experience was amazing, almost religious. I felt instantly connected to this beautiful place the moment we stepped out of the small but tidy train station. Even though we were about a mile from the city center and there was not much around, everything was so calm and so peaceful - there was such a positive energy there. We stayed in a town called Amboise in a perfectly perfect B&B called Le Vieux Manoir. Anyone traveling to this area, I encourage you to check this place out - outstanding rooms and outstanding hospitality.
There are more photos than usual in this blog as I could not decide which photos to include so I included a few more than you are all used to.
First a few photos of this AMAZING B&B - as beautiful as the website was, the real thing will blow you away. The photo below is of the front door
This photo is of the house from the front, capturing the gorgeous fountain that plays a pivotal part of the landscaping.
A view of the house right in front of the front gate, with the guest cottage on the right side - it is also rented out
We arrived in Amboise on Wednesday and after dropping off our things, we headed out for a tour of several of the area chateaus. The first one we visited was Cheverny (pictured below)
This is one of the smaller chateaus (even though it is still pretty damn big) and interestingly enough, the current owners still occupy one of the wings of the house - they have a separate entrance but are frequently seen around the house and the grounds by the tourists. This house has been owned by the same family since it was built several hundred years ago which is a rarity as we learned from our tour guide since so many chateaus changed hands as a result of wars or in invasions.
Another interesting thing about this house is that the current owner keeps 100 hounds as hunting dogs, one of which can be seen below. They are all kept a few hundred feet away from the main house where visitors can see them playing.
The next chateau we visited was Chambord. This chateau is the second biggest in France after Versailles. There are over 400 rooms, over 300 windows, and 30+ fireplaces. Francois the first, who built this chateau as a sign of his immense wealth and extravagant taste only spent 29 nights here in total...EVER. After hearing this, it's not hard to see why there was a revolution. I mean wouldn't you revolt if your king built a castle that could house a small village and then never spent any time in it? Talk about a show off.
Well out of 400+ rooms, only 70 have furniture in them and out of those only 17 are open to the public so needless to say there isn't a ton to see inside (I mean let's face it, it IS mostly about the exterior don't you think). One thing that WAS very interesting was the double staircase that was created by Leonardo DaVinci (duh). Chris and I experimented since I, being ever the skeptic, did not believe that this fancy shmancy staircase was the real deal...well I was wrong, it is the real deal. After about 15 minutes of explanation, I think I finally understand how it works (clearly I'm not the biggest chateau in the Loire Valley when it comes to this science stuff). Not surprisingly we were could by our tour guide that this staircase was used primarily to avoid awkward conversations between wives and mistresses.
Here is a photo of a small church on the Chambord grounds that I just thought was nifty
We finished off out first night in the Loire Valley by going to an UNBELIEVABLE restaurant in Amboise called L'Epicerie. There, we sipped on some of the local wine while having a four course meal that blew us away (the highlight was OF COURSE the cheese....oh the cheese...I don't think I will ever forget that cheese...this cheese was like the Prince William and Kate Middleton of cheeses...so yes it was worth all the hoopla : )
The next morning, having missed our second tour (my ONE planning faux pas of the entire trip) we decided to spend the day in Amboise (well we didn't decide as much as we didn't have a choice because we didn't have a car) but luckily there is plenty to see in Amboise so we were never bored.
We started out at Close Luce, the home of Leonardo DaVinci for the last three years of his life (1516-1519). Legend has it that this house was connected to an underground tunnel to the Chateau D'Amboise and DaVinci could see the chateau from his bedroom window which he loved.
The next two photos are just a few of the ones i took in the Garden right after walking out of the main house (unfortunately no photos allowed in the house)
The color of these roses was sickeningly perfect. The most pure pink I think I have ever seen.
There was a lot of ground to cover in DaVinci's "backyard". One photo I have included here is of a densely wooded area in which hung almost transparent versions of some of his greatest works. It really was rather mystifying.
And last but not least a view of the house itself. Not too shabby, eh?
Now jump to the chateau in Amboise. Next up, is the man himself (or his (second) final resting spot). Yes what you are looking at is the final resting place of Leonardo DaVinci. I say his second final resting place because he was actually buried elsewhere on the chateau grounds but was moved after several hundred years. He now resides in a chapel that is located high above the town on Amboise - a great tribute to a great man.
Here is a view of one of the main streets in Amboise from atop the chateau
Here is a view of the back of the castle. This is a pretty massive castle to begin with but can you believe that the current size of the chateau is actually only 1/5 it's original size?!?! Due to several "conflicts", parts of the castle were destroyed over the years leaving only what we see today
Here is the hubs standing along one of the beautiful paths in the garden behind the castle. Notice the perfectly pruned trees and shrubs
A big tree
And here is where it all comes to an end - below are photos of my wonderful husband Chris and myself at our last dinner in France. Notice the delicious glass of wine in Chris' hand - oh how I miss it!
Our honeymoon may be over, but the memories and the fun we have had will undoubtedly live on forever - this really truly was a journey of a lifetime....GO TEAM!!!
oh and by the way Skittle - we lost Beth!!
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