July 9, 2017

July 9, 2017

The World Heritage Loire Valley was a playground for French nobles. It is studded with hundreds of magnificent highly decorated Chateaus. We are starting our tour at the biggest, Chambord. This huge hunting lodge was begun by Renaissance-Era French King Francis I in 1519. Francis never spent much time here. Subsequent owners thought the area too filled with mosquitoes so the Chateau remains unfinished. But what was built is amazing. The central keep has a double helix staircase surrounded by four towers. We start at the roof and its profusion of chimneys. There are supposed to be 365 fireplaces in the Chateau.

We then work our way down the three levels. The top floor has an art exhibit in its rooms. The next two floors have a few furnished rooms from the various owners. There are a number of exhibits about the future King Henry V. Born during the Republic Era, he spent most of his life in exile, only visited once, and never became king. Not surprisingly, this is the part that Aimee likes best.

Our next stop is not far away at Chateau de Cheverny. While this one is supposed to be the best furnished, we are really here just to see the many hunting dogs they have. Our guide book says we can watch them being fed at 5:30 pm. Sadly, chow time was changed to 11:30 am two years ago. We punt and find a restaurant in the local village. We have a delicious late lunch.

Afterwards, we head to the town of Amboise near our inn. There we stop at Chateau du Clos Luce. This modest mansion was the home of Leonardo Da Vinci during the last three years of his life. King Francis I invited him here to work. Da Vinci came here with the Mona Lisa in tow. We tour the house which includes his study and workshop.

The big draw for this site though is the multitude of mechanical models on display. Da Vinci was a man ahead of his time. His voluminous notebooks contain sketches of inventions that would arise many years into the future. His genius was held back by a lack of materials and power. In the basement are miniature models made by IBM. The garden and grounds contain life-size models.