Tours is about an hour south west of Paris and is home to more than 300 chalèts including one give to Leonardo DaVinci by King Francois I. We decided to take a trip to see what Samantha Brown made such a fuss over. We met a tour agent at the train station who hustled to get us booked on our semi-guided tour with an older french couple and a high school french teacher from Seattle. Our guide gave us a bit of history as she drove us from place to place. The Chalèts were grand and the vibe was very serene. I did a little rowing around the grounds while we were there (Dionne abandoned me on this part of the excursion). We indulged in a little wine tasting (after the rowing of course).
DaVinci's chalèt was very interesting. We were on the grounds that served as his inspiration for a few of his works. We were skeptical, however, as to the authenticity of some of the antiques inside the castle (his bed, tapestries on the wall) but, whatever, it gave us an idea any way. We were also intrigued by the well known "secret" passage way connecting Da Vinci's chalet to that of King Francios I.
More thumbnails ...
| 
2 votes 
