After a delicious breakfast at Le Pavillon des Lys, we were whisked away by taxi to pick up our hire car for the next couple of days. A Renault Modus was prepared for us at the Ford Garage on the edge of town, which serves as the Europcar depot. Then we were off to Château de Chenonceau.
This is an amazing castle, built in the 11th century in the middle of the River Cher on the site of an old mill but rebuilt in the mid sixteenth century, it has a long gallery built across the river which must be one of the most famous views of all the French châteaux. We had a wonderful time walking around - and having pre-booked tickets saved us time queuing to get into this popular destination. We collected our very posh audio guides - ipod multimedia - in the Guard room, and began the tour. We learned Chenonceau was gifted to Diane de Poitiers, Henry II's mistress, but she was evicted by Catherine de Medici, Henry's wife when he died. It was Diane who caused the Grande Galerie to be built, and Catherine who made the beautiful garden. Apparently, the Menier family, who is famous for making excellent chocolate, bought the castle in the early 20th century and set about restoring both the castle and the garden. They allowed the Grande Galerie to be used as a hospital during WWI. The main part of the castle was in the occupied zone during WWII, with free 'Vichy' France, just across the far bank of the Cher, the back door of the Grande Galerie. This family still owns the castle.
By now, it was getting round to lunch time and we had a booking at the Orangerie to honour. This is a fine dining restaurant in the Orangerie of the castle and our table was out in the covered patio. We had a superb lunch, but forwent the wine as we were now driving ourselves around.
After this leisurely lunch, we wadndered around the lovely garden before driving back and parking at the hotel, from where we walked up to Château Royal d'Amboise. Originally a medieval fortress, Amboise became a royal residence in the late 15th/early 16th centuries, for Kings Charles VIII and Francis I. It was to Amboise that Francis I invited Leonardo da Vinci in December 1515. He lived and worked at Clos Lucé and visited the castle via and underground passage. Leonardo da Vinci is buried in the little chapel in the castle grounds.
So the next place to visit after the Château Amboise was the Clos Lucé where we saw lots of models of Leonardo's inventions, which was great fun. There are also some working models in the grounds to play with. No photos inside the Clos, though.
All this took up what was left of the afternoon and we strolled back to our hotel to have a short rest before changing for dinner. Tonight we were being taken by taxi to Auberge de Launay, where another gastronomical feast awaited. It was a beautiful evening and we sat with a lovely view of the garden, sipping kir as we made choices from the menu and ordered a very unusual wine, Coteaux du Loir 'Les Mortiers', Dom le Briseau made by Christian Chaussard.
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