Amboise and Blois


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Europe » France » Centre » Amboise
September 8th 2013
Published: September 14th 2013
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There had been a little improvement in the weather overnight and the overcast sky was broken with a large patch of blue sky away in the direction we intended to head for the days sightseeing. It was still a bit cool when we opened the windows to let some fresh air in before breakfast and too nippy to sit in the sunroom. As we have been experiencing for the last couple of weeks the sun is noticeably later in rising which gives you the feel that the day is passing by .OK, we get a longer sunset on the other end but having the sun early is a better way to get going for the day.

We packed the chilly bag with cheese, tomatoes and ham as well as drink for lunch and by mid morning we ready to head west to Amboise, a medium size town situated on the Loire River with a reputation for being very picturesque.

We arrived in Amboise just on lunchtime and on market day which meant very little parking being available with so many people at the market on a promenade overlooking the river.However, we were fortunate as we did curb crawling with every other car around us, to be in the right spot noticing a car’s reversing lights come on and pulled up to wait for the park to become vacant.

With a boulangerie across the road I joined the queue of people all lined up for their baguette and sweet treats for lunch. Now my idea was to buy a baguette and a millefeuille for our lunch. But somehow in the noise of all the people around me my order got lost in translation and the woman handed over two baguettes, each of different type. There didn’t seem much point in trying to hand one back and try again for a millefeuille in replacement and so we had a heap of bread for lunch!!

As it turned out we had just a few steps up a bank and we were strolling the market with the hordes of others. Just about anything you could want was being sold including 3 or 4 merchants selling mattresses. Clothing dominated the stalls but at the far end, which we eventually reached, was the food stalls and here we were tempted by a cheese seller and also a guy selling mixed olives. Just what we needed to add a bit of extra taste to the baguettes.

After sitting on the edge of the marketplace and having lunch we took a walk through the town which was made up of narrow streets. Amongst a number of restaurants was a specialist ice cream store and I got back into the routine, at least for today, with a flavour I haven’t come across so far on the BBA V2, caromellow.

We walked up a street dominated by the large chateau, towards Clos Luce, the manor house where Leonardo da Vinci lived and ultimately died. Along the way we noticed how some of the homes were buried back into the hillside with just their facades showing and were still inhabited today. The entrance price of €18.50 each for Clos Luce we thought was a bit over the top and although it is hard not to admire many of da Vinci’s inventions we thought we might save the money for a look at Versailles in a couple of days time when we get closer to Paris.

By the time we had walked up to Clos Luce we had gone most of the way to the viewpoint which was as high as the chateau and gave excellent views over the town and also out to the river. We returned to the town via a series of steep steps and we were pleased we had taken the road to get most of the way to the viewpoint.

Leaving Amboise behind we motored the 30km to Blois. following the Loire River all the way on what was shown as a scenic drive in the atlas we have with us. While it is usually pleasant driving along a river bank this drive wasn’t overly scenic and the land that the river runs through here is very flat so the scenic side of the flowing water is not all that special.

The town has a long history going back to ancient times and was associated with Joan of Arc’s taking of Orleans in 1429.The chateau that sits on a terrace above the Loire River is huge and really dominates the town.

A building that houses the Houdin Magical Museum had a mechanical dragon moving to music from several doors that were open on the front facade of the building but unfortunately we had arrived just to see the last minute of the display and we weren’t too sure when the next show would be.

After enjoying the most expensive coffee we have had at €4 each (it was a good coffee though) we strolled through the town which had been substantially rebuilt after it was bombed towards the end of WW2.

At the end of our stroll we called into the Church of Saint Vincent de Paul of Blois where there was a fascinating statue/figurine of the Madonna which was backlit giving a ghostly 3-D impression from where we were sitting.

The homeward drive took us along the third side of a triangle that we had driven today through more countryside and forested area.

We had a late dinner as we needed to stay up for another 2 yacht races.However, after winning the third race we were too tired after a long day to hang around for the 4th on Skype and so listened to it on the radio which was probably fateful as NZ lost! That will teach us and we will just have to stay awake to watch the rest of the series, as long as we can make a Skype connection with Chris and Marilyn.


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