Amboise

Our morning was spent at Chenonceau, the ladies’ castle, built over the river Cher in the 16th century. The castle is famous as the home of Diane de Poitiers, Catherine de Medici, and Louise of Lorraine. Rather than having a guide, we were given the audio tour of the castle. This allowed us to have a more relaxed visit to the castle, listening to the excellent music and commentary. The chateau is well-restored with most of the furniture of the various periods. The castle also has some interesting modern history, since it served as a hospital during World War I and as a passage way between occupied and free France during World War II. Highlights included the kitchen, the great hall, and the beds that belonged to the various kings and ladies.

Chenonceau

In the afternoon, after another great lunch (this time an omelet for Mary and Cesar salad for John) we toured the Chateau of Amboise. The chapel dedicated to St. Hubert, the patron saint of hunters was our first stop. Here is the tomb of Leonardo de Vinci, who died here in 1519. Most of the castle has been demolished over the years, but what remains is quite impressive. The castle itself has two styles: Gothic style from the 15th century on the left and Renaissance style from the 16th century on the right. Throughout the castle you see the symbols of the families in the stone decorations and furniture. Charles VIII (Fleur de Lice) married Anne of Brittany (Ermine tail) to create a single kingdom consisting of France and Brittany. Here we also see the seal of Francis I (the salamander) and he was the king who invited Leonardo to visit here for the last three years of his life. In the Renaissance portion of the castle, we see furnishing of the last French King, Louis Philippe. An interesting piece of furniture was a credenza, which was where the trusted food was placed, those that had been tasted for poison. Also we saw one of the first grand pianos, built in 1832 from Brazilian Rosewood.

Fleur de Lice and Ermine Tale on Chimney

Finally, we walked up to the Chateau du Clos Luce' the home of Leonardo. The rooms weren't all that interesting after seeing the two previous chateaus, but what was fascinating were the models of his inventions: parachutes, gear shifts, helicopter, military tank, irrigation pumps, swinging bridges, and even a precursor to the car. They also had some videos on how these inventions would have worked. What he was missing was a true power source for these inventions - many weren't possible until the steam engine was invented. By now we were tired, so we picked up something for dinner at a grocery store and headed back to our hotel.