Aug 29, 2012 - Arrival in Amboise

Our drive from Vitre to Amboise was a fairly long haul, taking about 3 hours all up. I grabbed the wheel out of Vitre, and we were soon back on toll roads and doing 130km\h. The tolls in France are avoidable, but you tend to go a very long way out of your way to travel almost no distance, so we had given up on the idea before we really traveled anywhere of skipping them. We were basically going through some small hills, and some wooded areas (still no deer though!), on our way. The countryside is very pretty, but it didn't really seem all...

Jul 4, 2012 - Vineyards!

Blois to Amboise Another fairly easy (45 km) ride today. We encountered a few more hills, and a few more cars, but still pretty sweet. The trails were all paved, the weather was great (dry and not too hot), we only lost our way twice, and we made it to Blois in very good time. Saw lots more vineyards todays as well as several fields of sunflowers (not yet blooming unfortunately). The grape wines are much smaller than what we saw in Italy and Germany – not sure if that is a function of the soil, the grapes they are growing, or a...

Jul 3, 2011 - Amboise, Loire Valley

We were cycling on a backroad from Amboise to Chenonceaux on our way to see the Chateau de Chenonceau. The road was empty of cars and bicycles but ahead we saw a family of four. As we got closer we could hear them speak English and closer yet we could see their T-shirts which had many company logos on the back. One logo that caught my eye was ”Encana”. I knew they must be from Canada. “Where in Canada are you from?” I asked. “Alberta”” was the reply. “Where in Alberta”? “Edson”. Oh no! now I was going to have that Disney tune running...

Oct 24, 2010 - Amboise and da Vinci

Amboise – Got off the train in Amboise in a steady rain, and had to walk about a km to the other side of the river to our hotel Bellevue, where we felt we were treated with some disdain: a couple of bedraggled backpackers dripping on their lobby floor! We were pretty chilled, but discovered the heat didn’t get turned on until 6 pm. The room had a great view of the castle right from the foot of the walls but was chilly! So we changed into drier clothes, waited for the rain to let up, then set out to walk around town. Got our bearings and...

Jul 23, 2009 - La valle della Loira

Ultima tappa, lasciamo la Bretagna e ci fermiamo due giorni nella Valle della Loira, a Chenonceaux, vicino ad Amboise. Il programma prevede un giro dei castelli e, ovviamente, magnate e bevute a schifio. Da Carnac sono circa 4 ore di strada, partendo alle 07:00 (alle 6:00 eravamo già in piedi causa maledetta zanzara in camera che mi ha ridotto tutto ad un borlo), e fermandoci a prendere un caffè orrendo sull'autostrada, arriviamo intorno alle 11:45 a Chenonceau (ok, lo so, prima l'ho scritto con la "x" in fondo, ma ho notato che un cartello...

Jun 29, 2009 - More Loire Valley

Getting around by canoe and bicycle is all fine and well, but there are times when you need to cover a little more ground. Monday we rented a car. Our ride is a spiffy little Fiat with air conditioning (because nothing else matters when it's 88 degrees). Our first destination was the Royal City of Loches, located about 45 km south of Amboise. Loches was first erected in the 4th century and consists of a royal lodge built by Charles VII and also an authentic donjon (dungeon) where you can see remnants of torture chambers and prison cells....

Jun 27, 2009 - Amboise, France

Bienvenue a France! We arrived in Amboise on Thursday. Amboise is in the Loire Valley of France about 90 miles south of Paris. The weather and ambiance are absolutely perfect. Amboise has an amazing 13th century Gothic chateau which is right outside our window, as well as the home of Leonardo daVinci, Clos du Luce. It's a wonderful little town with lots of shops and restaurants. We've already scoped out our favorite cafes and ice cream shops. Across the Loire River on the Ile d'Or there's a French "campground" complete with restaurant,...

Jul 16, 2008 - From the Heart of the Loire Valley

After our last post on Sunday, we visited the Louvre that afternoon, dodging all of the kids who got in free that day. We toured the wing opposite the one containing all of the most popular exhibits, including Napoleon's suite and French, Flemish and Dutch masters. Then since we had not had enough, we went back to see the Mona Lisa, Winged Victory and Venus de Milo. Later that evening we wandered about the Marais (Jewish) district, enjoyed a fallafel at the famous L'As Fallafel. On Monday morning we went in search of a decent Michelin road...

Jul 4, 2008 - the Loire Valley and goat cheese!!

Happy Fourth of July from France!!! We have been travelling from Paris now for two days ... Yesterday we visited Guedelon, which is a place where a group of artisans are building a medeival castle using the old methods, all by hand! It was quite interesting especially for the kids. After our tour, we had a fantastic lunch with baguette sandwiches, fresh fruit, chocolate eclairs (to die for) and wine in the picnic area. Afterwards we headed for a local goat farm where they make fresh chevre, or goat cheese as we know it. They have over 300...

Jun 27, 2008 - Amboise, France

Friday Paul had to work in Amboise (population 11,800) for the day so I went with him on the train. I ended up finding the two things I saw to do on the internet; the Chateau du Clos Luce, home of Leonardo da Vinci for the last 3 years of his life and the Chateau d'Amboise. There was no way to miss the royal one so I decided to find Leonardo's place first. By pure luck I walked right to it! I spent a good deal of time there because on the grounds was a cultural park which illustrated the art and visionary intelligence of DaVinci. Wow, I had...

Apr 11, 2008 - Loire Valley...Day 1 (Amboise & Clos Luce)

Loire Valley! I was so excited to go on this trip and see all the beautiful chateaux (French spelling of plural 'chateaus') that I've seen in movies and pictures. Sara and Sophie were the advisors on this trip so it was fun to be going with just the girls. We boarded the bus at 7:45am (ughhh) and started out towards Amboise. Our bus driver had this adorable dog with him that sat right next to him the whole time and would follow him everywhere if he left the bus. It was the cutest thing! We arrived in Amboise around 10:30am and went right to...

Feb 19, 2008 - Loire Valley Chateaus

An early morning start as we got up at 5am to be ready for a 6.30 pickup for a bus tour to Loire Valley chateaus. This was a magnificent trip, visiting 3 chateaus of differing types through the day. It was rather amazing to see just how rich some of these people were (and still are!). We were able to take photos at 2 of the 3 chateaus. The one we could not was still being used by the family, living on the top floor whilst the owner worked in Paris and came home by helicopter............... Lunch was provided for us, a 3 course meal with...