Advertisement
May 1 – May 6
We started off the week on May 1
st, my Mom’s birthday with a call that evening to wish her the best on her 89
th. We used to Skype, but since we were in Paris we now have a different phone plan that allows us to use our phone as a wi-fi hot spot on the boat as well as to make international calls home. It makes it much easier to talk as we don’t have the delays that you have when on Skype. Of course we can’t do the video calls this way, but it is working so far. As always it was wonderful to have a chance to visit with Mom. A great way to start the week.
We decided to take a few days to explore a different section of France. With the train station an easy subway ride away we made plans to visit Amboise in the Loire Valley. It was only a few hours away by train so we caught an early morning one on Tuesday in order to have time the first day to see some of the sights. We found an airbnb in the historic district
which fit the bill. We even teased when we got there that we had more there than in our boat – it had a microwave, toaster, dishwasher, and chairs you could move around.
After getting settled in we took a walk around the village of Amboise. It is on the edge of the Loire River and has the Royal Chateau as its major landmark. As we walked from the train station into the village of Amboise this is what captured your attention. With having a good part of the day left we decided to visit the Chateau. We found that here as elsewhere in Europe the location had been used to rule numerous groups of people over the years. When Amboise was first settled in Neolithic times it was by the Turones, a Celtic people. In the 4
th C. the first foundations of the chateau were dug to help protect the citizens that lived below. There were bitter disputes during the medieval times as happened in numerous places. In 1214, the King of France, Phillippe Auguste took control of this area. In 1431 there was a plot to kill King Charles VII by the Lord of Amboise. The Lord
was pardoned, but he was forced to renounce the Chateau here to the Crown. Louis XI took over after this and it was here at Amboise that his son, the future Charles VIII was born. It definitely gets more complicated after that due to Charles VIII subduing Brittany and breaking his own engagement to Marguerite of Austria to marry Anne de Bretagne in 1491 which sealed the deal making Bretagne part of the Kingdom of France in 1532.
Charles VIII decided to make major improvements and expansions of his childhood chateau at Amboise in 1492. He wished it to be done in the more flamboyant Gothic style. He left for Italy and when he returned he brought back with him numerous Italian crafts people and artists. They went on to create the Italian gardens, did numerous improvements to the interior and constructed two impressive towers. Charles VIII never saw it finished before he died, but major changes did occur in a short 5 years.
The French had been laying claim to parts of Italy but their campaigns never were successful. Even though they did not end up with any additional land, they did come back with the taste
for Italian Renaissance. The French invited many Italians with literary and artistic talent. One of the most famous was Leonardo da Vinci. When he arrived in Amboise he was 64 and already a well established figure, becoming good friends with King Francois I. The King called him “first painter, engineer and king’s architect” providing him with an annual pension. Leonardo worked on plans for canals, town planning and architecture while living in Amboise. With his close tie to the King and his love of Amboise, Leonardo requested to be buried here at the Chateau in the Chapel.
The Chateau itself is enjoyable to visit, but we also enjoyed the magnificent views of the village and Lorie River from its vantage point. It is definitely easy to see why they chose that location to build.
After learning about the history at the Chateau we stopped for a quick bite to eat. As a result I ordered what is quite commonly served here as a quick snack, a croquet-monsieur. For those that aren’t aware it is a baked ham and cheese sandwich but it sounds like so much more in French! If you wish to have it with a fried
Our AirBNB Had Even More Than Tsamaya -
a microwave,dishwasher, toaster, coach & chairs!egg on it you order the croquet-madame, making it easy to remember which has the egg on it.
We still had the afternoon remaining so walked around the village and up toward Leonardo da-Vinci’s home. On the way we passed numerous cave homes. These had been homes for those with modest backgrounds, mainly factory workers. They state that in ancient times they were typically one room dwellings used as a kitchen and living area and later a second room could be dug to provide more space. The area above the cave was made into a garden. Now these are typically used by wine growers to store their wine at a constant temperature, but it did appear that some were still being used as homes. Unfortunately none of them are open for tours as we would have liked to have seen the interior of one of them.
By the time we meandered up to Leonardo’s home it was getting near closing time, so just peeked inside the yard for a minute. When there we saw that there was one of those “typical white tourist train” stopped there and was about to leave. We quickly made a decision that we
would hop on as it would be able to provide us an overview of the village in a short period of time. Bob said he would never be caught on one of those, but it worked out well as it took us to some areas we wouldn’t have had time to get to with this trip being a quick one.
The following day we had made arrangements to pick up a rental car so we could drive to see Chateau de Chenonceau. There are numerous well known Chateau’s to visit in this area, but were told that if we could only do one, this would be it. We are glad we took their advice as we thoroughly enjoyed our time there. If we thought there was a lot of history at the Amboise Royal Chateau, that wasn’t anything compared to this one!
We were fortunate to get to the Chateau a few minutes before they opened as we did not have to fight the crowds in the beginning and had a chance to see it in the morning mist. This was billed as “The Ladies’ Chateau” as it was first given by King Henri II to his favorite
Views at the Amboise Royal Chateau
built in 15th & 16th C. by Kings Charles VIII, Louis XII and Francois Ist. lady, Diane de Poitiers in 1547. She created many of the gardens which are spectacular, but also were quite advanced in planning for the time. Diane is also the one that made the Chateau very unique by building the bridge over the River Cher.
When Henri II died his wife, Catherine de Medici, removed Diane from the Chateau, improved on the gardens and raised the height of the structure over the bridge by two floors which created a magnificent gallery where she would entertain. While her son, the King, was still quite young, Catherine ruled the country from her green study here at Chenonceau and added Italian details to the structure.
In 1553 Henry III’s widow lived at the Chateau throughout her mourning period and devoted her time to charity work and prayer. Her residency here marked the end of the royalty housed here, but definitely not the end of its use. Louise Dupin in the 18
th Century, that of the Age of Enlightenment, renewed the Chateau and invited numerous elite including writers, poets, scientists and philosophers including Voltaire and Rousseau. By doing this she was able to save the Chateau during the Revolution. In the 19
th C.
The Amboise Royal Chateau
overlooks the Loire Valley Marguerite Pelouze decided to transform the Chateau back to how it was when Diane de Poitiers had it back in the early 1500’s. Unfortunately she lost her funds and it was sold twice before 1913.
During WWI, the Chateau became a hospital for those in need. Simone Menier was the matron of the temporary hospital that was completely funded by her family of the Menier Chocolate factory fame in this area. Over 2,000 wounded soldiers were taken care of here up through 1918. Simone did not stop helping as she continued to be a part of the resistance during WWII. The Menier family were definite supporters of the war effort by both financing the changes necessary to create a sterile environment for the hospital, purchasing all of the hospital beds but also by working at the hospital themselves. In WWII they also assisted in helping French Jews escape by hiding them in the Chateau and allowing them to get across the demarcation line which ran across their property.
As you can see, it is understandable why they called it the Ladies Chateau. This is not to say that many Kings did not frequent here, but they only came
The St. Hubert Chapel dedicated to hunters
built in 1493 by Louis XI - notice details on the steeple here for short periods of time.
The chateau was actually built by Thomas Bohier and his wife Katherine Briconnet. At this site there had been a mill and a fortified castle which they tore down. The only thing they left standing was the keep which stands before the entrance to the Chateau as you see it today.
As changes occurred over the ages, you can see much of the history in the building. As an example in the first room that you arrive in you see the coat of arms of the builder, Thomas Bohier, but also a 16
th C. tapestry from Flanders and the intertwining C’s of Catherine de’ Medici in the ceiling design. In many of the other rooms you can see the changes and impact various residence made on the Chateau.
It was a little cool the day we were there so they had many of the fireplaces working and magnificent flower arrangements that were very welcoming.
The kitchens at Chenonceau are located in the base of the first 2 piers that are built into the bed of the River Cher. This area is made up of numerous rooms, the butchery where the
game was hung, the larder for storage of produce, and a pantry which also served as a dining room for the employees. With the kitchen area being built right over the river, boats could deliver produce below the kitchen and it would be lifted up. They had on display the numerous kitchen utensils, dishes and even had a turning spit over the fireplace that would turn with the aid of a weight hanging out the window which dropped down over the river. During WWI the kitchen obtained modern equipment in order to use this area as a hospital.
This Chateau was one of the most beautiful we have seen with each room decked out with the furniture of the period, a warm fire burning in the fireplaces and flower arrangements in every room making you feel as if you were walking through a home that was being lived in currently. As you leave the Chateau you can visit the large stable of the 16
th C. farm here which has carriages on display, walk through the vegetable and flower gardens which is where the flower arrangements are done for the Chateau. They did have an Italian maze planted with 2,000
Henri II's Chamber
was built on the orders of his wife, Catherine de Medici yews as requested by Catherine de’Medici, but as the day was passing quickly we by-passed losing ourselves there.
Instead we took a different route back toward Amboise and decided to stop at a winery nearby. When we arrived we were the only ones there. We were taken on a private tour of the chalk caves where the wine is stored. We were informed that these provide the perfect climate staying at 10 degrees C. (50 degrees F. ) and humidity of 80%. This winery has been family owned for 500 years handed down through the generations. They only sell their wine at the winery and with that they sell about 500,000 bottles per year! We asked how many competitors are in the local area and were told there are 25 wineries nearby. We told him we were surprised that they could sell that much wine locally with that much competition. He just smiled and said, “In France we drink a lot of wine, we drink it with all of our meals.” He went on to clarify with a laugh that they typically wouldn’t at breakfast. He even explained that when his employees leave at the end of the day,
Paintings, Tapestries & Furniture
were on display in numerous rooms in the Chateau he always has a drink with the employees before they leave work. How about that for an employee benefit! Just hope they don’t have to drive very far.
At the end of the tour we were provided with a tasting of 3 different wines which of course ended with us buying a few bottles to take back to Paris on the train. That evening we returned the rental car as we were catching the train the next day back to Paris.
We had some time in the morning before the train left so wandered over to St. Denis Church in Amboise as we had walked by it before but didn’t make it in. The present day church that stands here now is Romanesque in style built in the 12
th C. You can recognize this immediately by the rounded entranceway, but as soon as you walk in to the low light interior it is clear. In this style of construction there are usually small openings for windows and the walls are quick thick giving you very little light. As with most churches, there have been numerous changes over the centuries - some easy to see with the changes in
architectural design and others being quite subtle as they try to blend the styles. After our visit here it was time to walk to the train station for our ride back to Paris. It was definitely a fast trip, but fortunately it actually didn’t seem rushed as we didn’t try to take in too many places while in the area. We are starting to learn – you can’t do it all!
The first Thursday of every month at the marina there is a barbeque where you bring what you want to grill and drink for a social get together. We made it back to the marina in time to participate which was great as we know it will be the last one that we will be able to attend before we leave Paris. It is always enjoyable to catch up with others that have been staying in the marina with everyone sharing suggestions of places to go while in the canals. We have been picking up lots of great ideas – now to sit down and try to make at least a temporary plan of our travels through France.
On Saturday it was raining some, but that didn’t
stop us from getting to the market along with many others. We are spoiled by having such wonderful market s close by to get our fresh vegetables and fruits. Fortunately our friends Sally and Al told us on Friday about a concert that was being held on Saturday night. There isn’t a charge (just a donation) but you do have to register as the venue is small. We were so glad that we were able to attend as it was one of the best we have been to. Hee-Young Lim played the cello and Helene Rusquet played piano. We found out later that Hee-Young , age 29, is the principal cellist for the Rotterdam Symphony Orchestra. Not only was her playing so moving it was wonderful to watch her as her emotions clearly came through each piece. She never used any sheet music and it seemed as if the music was just flowing from her. We had a chance to talk to her later, what a delightful person. If you ever have a chance to hear her play you would be in for a treat. How wonderful it is to be in Paris and be able to be exposed to
wonderful concerts such as this one. Thanks to Sally and Al for letting us know! Another wonderful week in France.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.093s; Tpl: 0.018s; cc: 11; qc: 25; dbt: 0.0367s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
