Aside from the ticket issue we both agreed that this was one of the smoothest rail beds we have ever ridden on – it was almost as if you riding on glass; there were hardly any bumps at all; and the speed! Whoa! Even though this was not one of the high-speed TGVs our train clipped right along, something you didn’t really notice until we went into a long curve and the G-forces really pushed you to one side or the other. Amazing.
So we made good time and by 11:30 we had arrived at the small station in Amboise.
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| Le Vieux Manoir |
The weather had cleared a bit on our way south and in fact by later in the afternoon it had turned mostly sunny. Anyway, we left the station and walked to our B & B, “Le Vieux Manoir”. Run by Gloria and Bob, an American couple originally from Boston it had been suggested to us by Mark and Kate, the couple we met during our brief stay in Normandy several weeks ago. They had just come from there and highly recommended that we go to Amboise in the first place. So here we were – and we enjoyed every minute of it.
The walk from the train station took us pretty much across town and across the Loire River – really an easy 15- or 20-minute walk to the “centre ville”.
We were soon right in the historic center of this pretty town sitting in the shadow of the huge chateau on a bluff overlooking the river. We skirted the edge of the base of the chateau – which seemed to be watching us wherever we went in town by the way – and promptly got lost. Our map, a hand-drawn affair we printed off the Internet served us well but only up to a point. Fortunately we stumbled across a town map posted on the street and eventually found our way to the B & B, where we met Gloria and Bob our hosts
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| Clos Luce |
Gloria was kind enough to provide us with some bits of local information about what to see and do in Amboise. And since we were a bit early to check in we left our bags (backpacks really) and headed off to explore this tiny corner of the Loire.
Our first stop was “Clos Luce”, a small chateau just outside of town where Leonardo da Vinci spent the last three years of his life, working for Francois I, the king of France.
We skirted the edge of the downtown, the streets reminding us of our days in Florence: narrow sidewalks tapering off into nothingness, although without the perennial dog poop everywhere. After about a 20-minute walk through a largely residential neighborhood we found ourselves at the entrance to Clos Luce. We walked in, bought our tickets and began our tour of the house.
The space inside is pretty boring really, with very little in the way of interpretive signage and lots of stuff thrown in to illustrate the kinds of things that might have once been in a house like this one at some point within the last three or four hundred years. The lower level of the house contains small-scale models of some of Leonardo’s more inventive machines; the full-scale models are outside in the park.
The multi-directional gun:
Gloria had suggested we stop at the café after touring the house – and so we did since we were ready for a bite of lunch. We had buckwheat crepes stuffed with ham and cheese and an egg over easy on top (but inside mind you), accompanied by a bottle of local sparkling cider.
The crepes were delicious, but we were a bit ambivalent about the cider. It reminded us of Vernor’s – a Detroit soft drink we used to consume by the gallon years ago – but with a yeasty finish which sort of put us off. Anyway the cafe was in a very nice spot, overlooking the town and a great way to just kick back and relax for an hour or so.
The other cool thing about “Clos Luce” is the “parc Leonardo.” As you walk down the down the hill from the main house you come across a pretty little park filled with full-scale replicas of Leonardo’s machines, some of which you can actually work, scattered around the park in small clearings. The signage is excellent and multilingual, and there is voice narration provided at many of the stops (also multilingual). At some of the stops there are huge copies of several of Leonardo’s more well-known paintings hung in the trees, which adds to the imaginative and dynamic effect of the place. It really was a pleasant way to spend an afternoon: Susan got to play with the multi-directional gun; we both got to play inside the tank and work the water screw (a cool way to bring water up and out of the river using a screw-like rod which you crank by hand). |
| Susan playing inside the tank |
After leaving the “parc” we returned toward the center of town and the Chateau Royal D’Amboise.
It’s pretty hard to miss this chunk of stone sitting on the hill overlooking the town. Once inside and after a short climb though you’ll find some of the most spectacular views of the Loire valley. We took a leisurely stroll around the outside popping into the small St. Hubert chapel (photo below) to see where Leonardo is buried. (Gloria warned us that during the revolution when the bodies of the kings and queens were being desecrated and thrown out of their various resting places in Paris and elsewhere, they did the same to Leonardo’s remains as well. Consequently today there is some doubt as whether the remains actually reinterred in the 19th century were his. Personally he’s here somewhere and that’s pretty much what counts.)
As we neared the one end of the complex, where the old walls still stand, we came across a series of stones in a small garden, and each stone was topped by a crescent and had Arabic writing on it. We wondered what this was all about -- there was no sign of explanation.
As we neared the one end of the complex, where the old walls still stand, we came across a series of stones in a small garden, and each stone was topped by a crescent and had Arabic writing on it. We wondered what this was all about -- there was no sign of explanation. As it turns out, the Emir of Algeria had once been a prisoner here for some years in the late 1840s and the stones mark the burial sites for those members of his family who had died while they were in captivity. The monuments themselves look to be fairly new, and in fact we were told that the entire garden complex is itself brand new, having been laid out just this past January.
After appreciating the various views of the river and the town from the top of the walls – recalling what it must have been like for the kings stroll about here blithely unaware – or were they? – of what was happening just a few hundred meters below them we headed toward the entrance to the main building.
The existing buildings (the chapel and the chateau) are just a fraction of what was once an enormous complex that was designed to cater to the kings and queens of France; Catherine de Medici and her husband Henry II spent some time in Amboise, although it is most famously known for being where Leonardo spent the final years of his life in the service of King Francois I. And when Leonardo died he was buried in San Florentin (curious isn't it that Leonardo was from Florence).
After appreciating the various views of the river and the town from the top of the walls – recalling what it must have been like for the kings stroll about here blithely unaware – or were they? – of what was happening just a few hundred meters below them we headed toward the entrance to the main building.
The existing buildings (the chapel and the chateau) are just a fraction of what was once an enormous complex that was designed to cater to the kings and queens of France; Catherine de Medici and her husband Henry II spent some time in Amboise, although it is most famously known for being where Leonardo spent the final years of his life in the service of King Francois I. And when Leonardo died he was buried in San Florentin (curious isn't it that Leonardo was from Florence). The church was originally part of the chateau complex but when it was demolished in the 19th century his remains were moved to the nearby chapel of St. Hubert. His bust today marks the site of the old church.) Indeed, the city of Amboise itself was in large part filled with people whose jobs were mainly to look after one aspect or another of the chateau.
Even the present-day “entrance” is really the “rear” of the original building; the old entrance has long since been bricked up and you’d never recognize it today if it were not for a painting that sits in one of the rooms inside (which gives you the proper perspective).
So we paid our €8 each and walked inside. The interior of the building is nicely laid out and provides good signage throughout, even though there are very few rooms remaining and n fact there is very little to see here.
Even the present-day “entrance” is really the “rear” of the original building; the old entrance has long since been bricked up and you’d never recognize it today if it were not for a painting that sits in one of the rooms inside (which gives you the proper perspective).
So we paid our €8 each and walked inside. The interior of the building is nicely laid out and provides good signage throughout, even though there are very few rooms remaining and n fact there is very little to see here. Still it was a pleasant stroll throughout and we got yet another grand view from the top of the chateau overlooking the river.
After we left the chateau we walked over to the bookshop, browsed for a few minutes and then headed down and out by the “Heurault” tower passageway, the second cavalry town passage. You can return to town by the main entrance but we wanted to see the “culs-de-lampe”, which is literally translated as “lamp bottoms” and are small, witty and sometimes crudely obscene graphic carvings along the columns as you walk down the hill.
The folks of the late-Gothic period might have denied the value of the bath but they certainly could tell a dirty story or two; and in stone to boot.
(Admission fee; bathrooms just off to the left by the bookshop as you crest the hill, coming in the main entrance.)
After leaving the chateau we returned to our B & B and found Gloria chatting with two other guests, David and Glynnis from the UK. They asked us to join them for a glass of wine and the sun being just about over the yardarm we couldn’t refuse. So we sat and talked for the next couple of hours; at one point Michael and Pam from British Columbia, also staying at the “Le Vieux Manoir”, joined us.
That evening was a first for me – meeting not one but two people who have actually seen a ghost: Gloria, who claimed the B & B is haunted and that she actually saw the ghost when they were working on gutting the interior of the B & B some years ago now, and Pam who used to see the spirit of a little boy in the house where she grew up.
(Admission fee; bathrooms just off to the left by the bookshop as you crest the hill, coming in the main entrance.)
After leaving the chateau we returned to our B & B and found Gloria chatting with two other guests, David and Glynnis from the UK. They asked us to join them for a glass of wine and the sun being just about over the yardarm we couldn’t refuse. So we sat and talked for the next couple of hours; at one point Michael and Pam from British Columbia, also staying at the “Le Vieux Manoir”, joined us.
That evening was a first for me – meeting not one but two people who have actually seen a ghost: Gloria, who claimed the B & B is haunted and that she actually saw the ghost when they were working on gutting the interior of the B & B some years ago now, and Pam who used to see the spirit of a little boy in the house where she grew up. An interesting afternoon of conversation to be sure: ghosts, travel, wine stories and of course food, always food, and naturally where to find it in France.
We then had a grand opportunity to try two vintages of some of the local Sancerre wine: David claimed the Brits tended to favor the 2004 since it was more complex and that the French supposedly leaned to the 2005 since it was more straight on, more sauvignon-like (which is the grape of the Sancerre). It was remarkable that the two vintages (two different producers as well) were in fact so very dissimilar. I favored the more complex 2004.
As the evening wore on and the sun wore off and as the conversation turned more and more to food we realized that dinner soon beckoned. Earlier in the day Susan and I had asked Gloria to make reservations for us at L’Alliance (another Kate and Mark recommendation) and we were slated to go there at 8 pm.
Well sure enough Pam and Michael were also going there at 8; David and Glynnis had just eaten there the night before so they were off to try someplace new (a 1-star Michelin, L’Epicerie which we learned the next day fell far short of stardom).
The four of us down in the lounge at just about 8 and we walked the two blocks or so to the restaurant where we found the staff very willing to accommodate our request to put two pairs of twos together in a 4-top. The food was delicious, the meal enjoyable, the company superb and all reasonably priced in the bargain: €18 per person for the 3-course “menu” (company not included). It pretty much beats a la carte hands down. We had two reds from the region with dinner: a Mentou-Salon and a somewhat beefier Chinon. The service was impeccable as well. (L’Alliance, 14 rue Joyeuse 37400 Amboise. Tele: 02 47 30 52 13. Closed Wednesdays.)
We are pretty much believers in the “menu” system (also called formule) here in France.
The next morning we took our time getting about the day, which had dawned foggy and dreary and just begging to be rained upon. At breakfast Gloria informed us all that the big “marche” (market) was underway down next to the river so Susan and I headed off there after we finished our coffee and fresh croissants (a superb breakfast compliments of Gloria and Bob).
David and Glynnis were off toward Normandy and Pam and Michael were packing their stuff up and getting ready for the trip home: they were heading to Paris, staying overnight near Charles de Gaulle airport and then off to BC the following afternoon. But we hadn’t sent the last of them yet.
So we strolled down to the river and found the market in full swing: it seemed that pretty much every French man, woman and child for miles around were out strolling the market, even on such a lousy day: looking for underwear, fresh rabbitt, paella takeout fresh breads, fresh fish, even tractors and bulk spices, whatever you need they had it. It brought back memories of every Wednesday near the fortezza in Siena, the big market day.
After strolling for a bit we walked back through town once more and then headed back to the B & B. We grabbed our bags, paid the bill, thanked Gloria for a grand time and then walked the 20 minutes or so to the train station – where we found Pam and Michael waiting for the next train to Paris. We helped them load their bags onto the train and the four of us grabbed a pair of seats across from each other, and chatted much of the way to Austerlitz station in Paris, where we said goodbye and wished them well.
So we strolled down to the river and found the market in full swing: it seemed that pretty much every French man, woman and child for miles around were out strolling the market, even on such a lousy day: looking for underwear, fresh rabbitt, paella takeout fresh breads, fresh fish, even tractors and bulk spices, whatever you need they had it. It brought back memories of every Wednesday near the fortezza in Siena, the big market day.
After strolling for a bit we walked back through town once more and then headed back to the B & B. We grabbed our bags, paid the bill, thanked Gloria for a grand time and then walked the 20 minutes or so to the train station – where we found Pam and Michael waiting for the next train to Paris. We helped them load their bags onto the train and the four of us grabbed a pair of seats across from each other, and chatted much of the way to Austerlitz station in Paris, where we said goodbye and wished them well. It was only later that I thought to ask Pam if she thought she would ever see another ghost.
We strolled back to our apartment, unpacked and enjoyed just being at home. It seemed like we had just left. . .
Wish you were here,
Steve
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