Amboise
Trip Start
Apr 30, 2004
1
30
34
Trip End
May 09, 2004
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Leonardo da Vinci didn't live in a cave,
France
Saturday, May 8, 2004
Amboise. The town is located on the banks of the River Loire, and our first visit is to view this great river. There is almost as much water coming from the heavens as there is going down the river. It's pouring now, and we are close to a revolution. The plan is to continue on the Chateau Clos-Lucé, where Leonardo da Vinci spent his last days at the invitation of his great admirer King François I. Nevertheless, with the rain falling, Miryam wants to return to the hotel. She is outvoted 4 to 1, and we compromise by purchasing umbrellas* for each of us and stopping off for afternoon tea at a café on the Place Michel Debré facing the Chateau Amboise. After coffee and a sinful desert, Miryam is convinced, the rain stops and the sun steals out from behind the clouds. We walk up Rue Victor Hugo and notice strange constructions on the low limestone cliffs to the left
01. Raining in Amboise
. On inspection we find that these are houses actually built into the rock, like caves. There are doors and windows, just like a normal house, only that these are flush with the rock face. They seem to have all mod cons, and even direct TV satellite dishes! These are truly troglodyte homes of the 21st. century! http://www.peacham.com/france/troglodytes.htm. *(P.S. Miryam and my umbrellas are destroyed by a gust of Hurricane Frances outside of the Publix supermarket some three months later in Miami. An ignominious end!)
We arrive at the Clos-Lucé and pay our admission fees. At € 12.00, this is the most expensive visit of our tour. Somewhat shocked, we pay up and enter. http://www.castles-france.net/vinci-clos-luce/. We wander through the nicely kept rooms. Though it is not particularly ornate, it seems an attractive place to end ones days. Throughout the house and gardens there are models and replicas of inventions and paintings executed by Leonardo. The audio-visual show has broken down and the exhibits in the grounds are somewhat disheveled. It wasn't worth the € 12, but at least it was a somewhat different from the other palaces and sights we had seen and were to see.
The late afternoon sun is out as we stroll back to the centre, on the way investigating all the restaurant menus displayed in the windows. We select Oceanis as our evening choice, and after a quick change and rest at the hotel, wander back down the Rue Nacíonale to the restaurant. A fine choice it is and to my mind, the best fare we have had on our entire trip. Pity it took eight days to get to this point.
