The Loire Valley is such a beautiful place, picturesque
villages, and towns, even the towns that are becoming too large. The drive along the Loire Valley takes
forever, but well worth it for the view of the many chateaux and little
villages. There is a delightful view at
every turning in the road. Even the
hundreds of tour buses do not distract from the beauty of the place.
Our first stop of course, after a visit to the supermarket
on the edge of Amboise to buy our groceries, was to book into the campsite, on
the island in the middle of the river in Amboise. The campsite is council run, and very
reasonably priced, but we did have to park with all the other motor homes. So it was quite a hike to the conveniences
for our two guests in the tent. Good exercise, they maintained.
We took the photograph below to prove that we did sit
outside and enjoy the sunshine.
Once!
And in the afternoon we went off to view our first chateau, Amboise Chateau Royal. It is lovely, friendly chateau with comfortable rooms and obviously had been lived in by happy residents, although it did pass through many hands along the way.
Amboise was the main settlement of the Celtic Turones tribe. The fortifications were gradually built, perched on the rocky outcrop overlooking the meeting of the River Loire and the River Amasse. Then from 1200 onwards the chateau was lived in, and owned by various Kings, the most notable being Francois 1, who was a famous patron of French Renaissance arts. It was during Francois I's time that Italian tastes were introduced into the Loire Valley. And during the 15th and 16th centuries the chateau was changed and developed into the chateau that stands there now.
Looking along the Loire River.
Francois 1’s court invited Leonardo da Vinci to live in Amboise, and concentrate on his drawing and teaching whilst living in Clos Luce, a manor house close by the chateau. Leonardo actually died in Amboise and was buried in the chapel in the chateau. This piece of information came as quite a bit of surprise to us when we first visited Amboise. That extraordinarily gifted man certainly moved around, and of course left his ideas, his visions and designs behind him.
The greatest aspect of the chateau, other than Leonardo da Vinci’s tomb, is the garden. It is a Mediterranean garden with hundreds of topiary balls, against a back drop of espaliered and cypress trees.
And there are plenty of benches to sit on and enjoy the views, of rows and rows of topiary balls.
I have included a photograph of a reconstruction of one of Leonardo da Vinci’s creations, the planets.
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