Emilie had made arrangements for us to visit Caves Duhard in Amboise at 11, so we went there first. The cave was HUGE and went way, way back into the rock. This is where the stone was dug for building the Amboise castle and city. It was a very interesting cave and the little man who was our guide was more interesting - and an expert in wines. He spent over an hour with us, we walked all through the caves, and then tasted 3 whites and 2 reds along with cheeses. It was fun.
The entrance to Caves Duhard in Amboise
One of the BEST years for wine - 1947 - my birth year.
The "best of the best" years for wine are 1921, 1929, 1947, 1959, and 1989. Good to know! But our guide explained that 1947 was the best year of the century - I would agree!!!!
The caves - the barrels are no longer used
Our guide at Caves Duhard - funny too - we think he may be a troglodyte!!!!
We then drove a short way and easily found a parking spot below the castle. We walked up and started our tour of the Castle Amboise where Francis I lived. He was a huge support of Leonardo da Vinci and put Leonardo up in Clos Luce which we will visit later.
Castle Amboise
The chapel at Chateau Amboise where Leonardo da Vinci is buried
Plaque on Leonardo's grave
Inside the chapel where Leonardo is buried
The city of Amboise from the castle walls
The Chateau Amboise
Tim reading the guide to Amboise
One of the king's thrones inside Amboise
The chateau was beautifully furnished in the rooms we saw
Bust of Leonardo da Vinci in the gardens at Amboise
The "oriental garden" at Amboise
The chateau as seen from the gardens
We had planned to have a hearty lunch in Amboise at L'Epicerie as recommended by Emilie but neither of us was hungry so we got a sandwich and ate in the shade and continued on to Chateau du Clos Luce, the last home of Leonardo da Vinci. The displays were excellently done and showed his genius. Leonardo died in his bed in this house in 1519 at the age of 67.
Leonardo da Vinci's bedroom
Another of Leonardo's famous paintings - one he brought with him along with the Mona Lisa!
The gardens as seen from Leonardo's bedroom
More of the chateau house
The chateau as seen from the gardens
Many of his inventions were in the gardens - this was a "war tank"!
We had a great day and decided to leave Amboise a little after 4. Since we didn't have our big lunch I called L'Oceanic Restaurant in Chinon and changed our reservation from tomorrow to today. I did this in French and was very proud of myself. While we made the change of the reservation in French, she knew I was an American as once she confirmed the change, she said "Do you want inside or outside?" in English! Oh well, I didn't know the French words for inside or outside any way!!!
A final stop across the Loire to take final pictures of Amboise Castle and Amboise - beautiful!
One of the things we bought at the Caves Duhard was a bottle of 1965 Vouvray for Tim so he can celebrate his 50th birthday next year with a bottle of wine made in his birth year. He is very proud of this. He posed with his "special 50th birthday bottle" on our patio when we returned to Les Bournais. We'll drink it in March 2015.
Tim and his bottle of 1965 Vouvray from Amboise
We left about 7:15 for Chinon. We easily found a parking spot and walked around the city. We went by Jazz in Chinon and there was a small crowd listening to a group playing. Jazz isn't my thing so we didn't stay. We returned to the restaurant - L'Oceanic - and had an excellent meal. We ate outside and watched the people walking by. A group of 5 Dutch women were at the table next to us and we had a long conversation with them after dinner.
Tim had ordered oysters and they brought him a dehydrated napkin in a small dish. It was tiny, tiny, tiny. Then they poured hot water on it and it expanded into a wet nap. I asked our server in French where we could buy them and she responded "Ici" (Here). We both laughed, but shortly she came out with a small bag of them - 26 for 8 euros. We laughed but bought them. Later we remarked that we liked the bread skewers on which they served their bread. I laughed and asked again in French where we could buy that. She rolled her eyes and walked away but came back a few seconds later with one in a box. We bought that too! The girls next to us thought all of this was funny and we laughed.
We had a souffle with ice cream and 100 year old grand marnier for dessert that was so good. We drove back to Les Bournais and crashed. Another fun day.
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