We had breakfast on our hotel's patio which was cozy and warm. You help yourself to fresh fruit, yogurt, a slice of mild goat cheese with local honey & walnuts and 31 different jams made just for them. They bring your drinks and a large basket of assorted breads to your table.
Who would of thought that goat cheese would be delicious for breakfast?
After eating we drove to Cravant-les-Coteaux where there is a little 9th century church that we discovered on our last trip. You drop your coins into a machine that produces a little token and that lets you into the church and turns on the lights.
It is so rustic and simple and this little place is just endearing to both Mr. B and myself. Maybe because there is so old and so little of it left so it feels like it's hanging on by a thread?
Next stop is near Ambois - Chateau du Clos Luce where Leonardo da Vinci spent the last three years of his life and died in his bed there in 1519.
A portion of the paneling that decorates his bed.
His own chapel which is the white building several photos above.
His studio where he had a sketching area......
....a painting area.......a music area....a sculpting area......
His amazing sketchbooks are on display.
There is an area where he would grind his own pigments.
And his scientific discoveries.........his kitchen & dining rooms..........his gardens.
His designs and inventions.
Smaller copies of various inventions were on display.
They had acres to explore with life sized copies of his inventions. But we stopped on the grounds for lunch in the shade and decided then that it was time to head to Chenonceaux.
There is a tree lined walk from the car park and entrance to the chateau. It's just a little stroll but it helps to transition me from 2018 to 1555.......
It spans the River Cher and was built in 1514-1522 on top of an old mill.
From years of walking over these painted tiles, they have lost most of their colors.
The chateau is filled with tapestries, furniture, paintings but what I like most about it are the amazing floral displays in every room!
A bedroom window looking out over the River Cher and the bridge & gallery.
King Francis I seized the chateau for unpaid debts to the crown and after Francis' death in 1547, Henry II gifted the chateau to his mistress Diane de Poitiers who had the bridge built across the river in 1555 as well as adding the formal gardens. When Henry died his wife Catherine de Medici kicked out Diane and took over the castle. She had the gallery built on top of the bridge in 1577. Henry and Catherine had been married since they were both 14 years of age!
Every good kitchen needs a wild boar head!
As well as a long chopping board.
Jean-Francois Boucher is the Master floral designer for Chenonceau and is incredibly talented. He and his team of two create over 200 arrangements each week for the chateau.
Sweet peas the size of a silver dollar and with a heavenly scent.......
Mr. B practically had to pull me out of the building & away from the flowers. Before strolling back to the car park we had an ice cream in the shade.
We walked back along the vegetable & flower gardens, wine cellar, antique car garage and a little building that was the atelier for the floral designer Jean-Francois Boucher! There was a sign on the door saying that he gives design lessons.......maybe next time?
Dinner was at L'Ardonise Bistro on a little street in Chinon - excellent!
Appetizers included a slice of foie gras with a Parmesan crisp
& aged balsamic vinegar & orange slices and a charcuterie plate
Dinner for Mr. B was a scallop dish with pasta in a light curry sauce and I ordered the veal ravioli. Both were excellent but the photo's turned out too dark & blurry.
The third course was Chevre, toast, salad & black cherries....mmmmm....
Dessert consisted of profiterals and they were so yummy.....filled with vanilla ice cream and covered with chocolate sauce. GONE.....done.....fini....!
"When you look like your passport photo,
it's time to go home."
-- Erma Bombeck
