FRANCE 2 - Chateau of Chenonceau, Chateau of Amboise, Clos Luce

Chenonceau

The Chateau of Chenonceau was my favorite palace of them all!  Although, it's history is quite scandalous...

In 1547, Henry II gifted this chateau to his mistress, Diane de Poitiers.  (It had been built in the 11th century, burnt, then rebuilt.)  Diane loved the "manor house" and commissioned the bridge/extension over the Cher River.  She also oversaw the design and planting of the exquisite gardens.  She obviously was very creative.

After Henry II died his wife, Catherine de Medici, kicked Diane out of the chateau!  The chateau then became Catherine's favorite home and she extended the gardens even more.  


The chapel:

 Details:

This is the part that stretches across the river.  I loved the floor and bright windows!

  The original tile:

The grounds were really pretty and there was even a moat around the castle! Aaron and I enjoyed wandering around taking in the different views.

The grounds had extensive gardens, where all their fruit, veggies & herbs were grown.  There was even a farm.  There were a lot of veggies that we recognized and a lot that we didn't.  The picture on the far right reminded me of the Lorax :)

AMBOISE

After visiting Chenonceau we drove to Amboise.Overlooking the town is a fortress up on a rocky cliff.  It's in a perfect spot to see enemies coming from afar.

 

 I liked the red brick with the white stone.

 

Inside was this wide spiral path called a cavalry tower.  It was made so horse-drawn carriages could make it to the top of the roof and to the gardens.

On the grounds of the chateau is a little chapel where Leonardo De Vinci's body lies. 

CLOS LUCE

500 meters from the Chateau of Amboise is a mansion called Clos Luce.  There is actually an underground passageway connecting the two.  Francis I invited Leonardo da Vinci to come and live in Clos Luce to work and study in 1516.  He arrived with three paintings, The Mona Lisa, Sainte Anne, and Saint Jean Baptiste.  He lived here for the last three years of his life. 

 Leonardo's room:

 

The park around the mansion is where Leonardo spent much of his time.  Now it's completely devoted to displaying his inventions, like an outdoor museum.  It's a pretty cool place.  He was an amazing & innovative thinker, and one of my favorite people from history.  It was fun to see where he once lived.

As we were walking back to our car we passed these homes carved from the rock.  When I was little I used to fantasize about living in a cave...I know, weird.  So we had to take pictures.  This is a more glorified version than what I had once dreamed of.  Check out the satellite dish!

 Perfect!  I'm ready to move in :)