Château of Amboise sits high above its quaint village and the Loire river. It offered one of the most amazing panoramas of the tour. The site is important to French history not only because of its succession of Kings that lived, entertained and did scandalous things there, but because of Francis I. He is the king who so appreciated the artistic and inventive mind of Leonardo Da Vinci - he invited him to live there.
Nearby sits Château du Clos Lucé, which originally was the guest house of visiting kings, but is known as the last residence of Leonardo Da Vinci. The Italian artist crossed the Alps on a mule, bringing with him three of his most important works: The Mona Lisa, The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne, and the Saint John the Baptist.
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| The chapel at Château of Amboise, which houses the tomb of Leonardo Da Vinci. |
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| Déjeuner at the base of Amboise castle. Notice the pedestrian peering at our lunch vs. the Ferrari. |
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| Peering down upon the town of Amboise from the heights of the castle tower. |
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| Boulangerie patisserie in Amboise. Yes... those are real, and really good! |
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| Château of Amboise, only one-fifth of what's left of the original grounds and buildings. |
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| Quick wine tasting in a cave at the base of the castle. Wine is aged in caves here - because it maintains a perfect temperature. Blanc, Rose, Cabernet Francais, Boudeaux. |
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| Leonardo's garden. Many floral and fauna from the garden can be seen in his many sketchbooks. |
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| Not the original Mona Lisa - but a reproduction hung in the Château du Clos Lucé where it would have been viewed by Leonardo daily. Interesting to wonder who this lady is, and what this painting is hiding. |
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| More patisserie shots. Where do you ever seed food this expertly displayed? |
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| View of town below. |
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| The group at the top of the castle. |
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| Interior - portrait of one of the many residence of this castle. |
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| View of the river. These houses but up right next to the castle wall. |
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| If you look closely- the clothes line is attached to the castle's exterior barrier wall. |
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| The group enjoying lunch alongside the castle. |
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| Leonardo's last residence. |
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| Interior of Château du Clos Lucé |
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| Left - the first Harley-Davidson motorcycle. Right - the first automobile. (Really, the motorized cart wound up using metal springs.) |
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| The misting garden. |
OOooooo - the misting garden - I LOVE it! And, the "peering pedestrian" picture. It looks like a shot for the National Geographic!! These are breathtaking! Thanks so very much for 'blogging'(?) this blog and sharing your grand sights and insightful thoughts! Again, I sure wish I were there...
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