Amboise - incredible castle

 

We left at 9:45 for Amboise, another beautiful medieval town, this time with a royal castle. Sue mixed up the times and Nick was still showering 5 minutes before we were scheduled to meet. He finished in record time and was not even the last one on the bus. The trip took about 45 minutes, and we went straight for the castle as we had purchased tickets yesterday. 

It was up a lot of steps and ramps. There was a chapel under scaffolding- we later learned this is where Leonardo DaVinci is buried. They are restoring the chapel so we couldn’t visit. We were given iPads and told to point them at various bar codes along the way. It provided loads of info and photos of people, furnishings and food, enhancing the experience. The castle was built in the 15th century and served as a royal residence for Anne of Brittany, Francis I, and also a prison for an Algerian rebel and his entourage. The Emir Abd Al-Kader was freed by Napoleon in in 1852. Amboise and the castle played a part in some bloody religious battles. Mary has been recommending a movie called Le Reine Margot, and characters from the movie feature prominently at the castle. In addition to seeing paintings, tapestries and furniture in the various rooms, there were spectacular views from several areas inside and out. In the gardens, there was a view of an island that is formed by a split of the Loire River. We snapped many photos and enjoyed our visit. We then visited a tourist shop and picked up wine and souvenirs. We ate lunch at one of the many cafes surrounding the castle. Sue had quiche Lorraine. Nick had a pizza which they don’t cut, and the knife provided is not sharp. We walked to a lovely church of St. Denis past many shops that were all closed. Then we walked along the River before boarding the bus. 

We drove a very short distance to Caves Ambacia which is a small winery where they make a few different wines from grapes from the area. They age them in the underground caverns that run beneath the shop and visitors’ center. Part of the tour was a set of tubes with large corks on them that you could smell and try to guess the aroma. We tasted 4 or 5 wines which we mainly didn’t care for. They were too sweet. But they had a cheese and sausage plate that was nice. 

We drove back to Tours and researched what we could do in our free morning tomorrow. There is a very good art museum but it is closed on Tuesdays. Sue and Nick decided to check it out when we got back from Amboise as it was only 10 minutes from the hotel and open until 6. Mary went for a swim while Julie chilled (herself and the wine). 

The walk to the museum was past the beautiful train station with impressive fountains that we have passed several times on the bus. We couldn’t find the entrance but heard some English people in the green space near the building, and they directed us to some steps near a tree. The tree was a huge evergreen with impressive pine cones. We later found it was a Lebanon Cedar planted in 1804. Inside we were disappointed that there was no guide in English and none of the information near the paintings was in English. We did see a Rubens and also a Rembrandt miniature of the flight into Egypt, but we must have missed the Monets. We saw a Mona Lisa type painting but were not sure whether it was another artist’s copy or one of DaVinci’s versions. We skipped the very top floor and headed back to the hotel. It rained a bit and we had no umbrella. We were looking for a place to duck inside when the rain stopped. Nick helped an old lady across the busy street near the train station. 

We returned to the hotel and had some wine in Mary and Julie’s room before dinner. We learned that our hotel is fairly historic, and many famous people, including Ernest Hemingway, Winston Churchill and Thomas Edison,  have stayed here. There are murals covering the lobby walls with sketches of the esteemed guests. We’ve enjoyed trying to figure out who is who. We walked to the nearby Brasserie O Palais recommended by Maria. We were seated outside near a music source playing rather annoying American music. The food was very good. Sue had tuna tartare, Julie had the risotto special, Nick had fish and chips and Mary had a caprese salad. We split a chocolate mousse for desert. We had a nightcap in the cozy hotel bar. When we arrived we were the only ones in the place but when we left, the place was packed with people from our tour. It was a fun end to the evening. Tomorrow we will visit the market and cathedral before going on another wine tour.