Today we braved the streets of Paris and picked up our hire car which was, in itself, an experience. Car parks, car hire companies and petrol stations are all underground in Paris.
With Only the Google Map app in my iPad to guide us we navigated out of Paris onto a freeway. Things went so smoothly that it seemed all wrong! Not to worry, we were soon fed onto the wrong road at a large interchange and my navigating skills were put to the test. After meandering around the suburbs we eventually entered another freeway and we were on our way via an alternate route. Panic set in when the app crashed and the route was lost, but by then we were far enough out of Paris that we coped.
Another new experience was the toll road that we used. In France you collect a ticket at the entrance to the toll road and pay when you get off. Sounds easy but the machine rejected the ticket at the exit, the helpful lady spoke no English and then it rejected our €50 note. Eventually it spat out €31 in COINS as change and Peter madly scooped them out of the till so we could clear the lane and get on our way.
This little winery was just outside of Amboise and the cellar door sales were inside a natural cave. The wine is now made in the industrial area.
Amboise is famous for two locations. The first is Chateau du Clos Luce, the last residence of Leonardo da Vinci. This is the view of the house from the tower entrance.
Leonardo's bedroom, the place where he died.
The view from his bedroom.
The Oratory of Anne de Bretagne. Charles VIII commissioned this chapel at the end of the 15th century for his wife Anne. The chapel contains 4 frescoes painted by artists from Leonardo's studio.
The Renaissance Great Hall was Leonardo's reception room. Here he would entertain Francois I, important persons of the Kingdom and the various artists who came to visit him.
This stairway leads down to the secret underground passage that, according to tradition, led to the Royal Chateau d'Amboise. King Francois I is said to have used it to visit Leonardo.
The house and gardens host 40 of Leonardo's amazing designs. Copies of the drawings are alongside small models and some large models and the gardens have many large working models as well. It is a fascinating place to visit.
The gardens are tranquilly and very picturesque.
A 'working' model of a steam driven machine gun. It only shot steam out of the barrels luckily.
A lovely stretch of cafés and shops in Amboise.
At sunset, the castle suddenly glowed with the setting sun's rays. It was stunning to see and the photos are true to what it looked like.
Peter relaxing after driving on the 'wrong' side of the road today. He did a brilliant job!
We plan to visit this castle tomorrow.
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