TOURS

Well after Bourdeaux I wasn't sure what to expect. We arrived pretty late in the day but that was cool, went to our hotel and it was the cutest little hotel I think I have stayed in the whole time I've been away. The woman was so nice and so friendly. She could tell I was sick and kept asking if I needed anything for my throat. It was all cool. I went unpacked as per the norm then took off for my mandatory exploration of the city to get my bearings.   Tours is tiny & so cute. I headed towards the Old Town but ended up at the river first. The river was ok but not that spectacular. There was a market going on down there with all handmade jewelry and clothes, the stuff was beautiful.   I brought a couple of necklaces.   I wandered off into the old town meandering through the streets, being a Sunday night it wasn't particularly busy but still enough people around to get a good vibe for the place.  Got some food then got back to my room about 10ish. Jumped into bed and watched some Telly before drifting off to sleep. It was so nice having a private room again. The lady downstairs obviously heard me coughing she called my room asking if I wanted a honey tea, how could I say no. She brought it up, it was so nice. Had a really awesome sleep.  Went and had brekkie about 9 & caught up with Madison and Matt. Madison and I had arranged to go out exploring so we set off just b4 lunch. It was nice just walking. Stopped in the Old Town and had a bite to eat.  Did some more exploring then got back to the hotel for a little Siesta. We were meeting up again later for a bite for dinner.  I could get used to this chilling let me tell you.  We met up later to try find this Beer Garden we were told about, no such luck tho but we did end up back in the Old Town at a lovely restaurant for dinner.   I tried Escargot, was a little freaked out by the thought but I just pretended they weren't what they were and chowed down. They aren't the easiest things to eat and they weren't the worst things I have ever eaten, they were very garlicky, tiny and quite tender even though I tried not to chew them too much. I finished 5 of the 6 as I gave Madison 1. I was very proud of myself. I have certainly surprised myself with all the different types of food that I have tried while being away.  After a lovely meal we headed back to our rooms and crashed for the night. Had to be up, packed and checked out before 9 as we had our Chateaux Tour booked in for the morning.  Went to 2 Chateaux's had the worst driver in the WORLD. The 1st Chateaux was beautiful, it was called Chateau of Chenonceau, it was built in the 16th Century and King Henry 11 donated it to his favorite lady, Diane de Poitiers. Henri's widow Catherine de Medici removed Diane and totally transformed the gardens and the Chateaux. In 1589 Louise of Lorraine withdrew to the Chateau upon the death of her husband Henry 111 where she went into mourning until her death in 1691 and this marked the end of any royal presence at Chenonceau. We walked through rooms and rooms of exquisite artwork and furniture. I'm telling you people back then were tiny though, they had the smallest beds you have ever seen. But the biggest chairs & fireplaces lol. My favorite room was Louise's bedroom. It was all black with white feathers, silver tears, grave diggers shovels, widows cordons, crowns of thorns and the Greek letter lambda (initial for Louise) intertwined with the letter H for Henri 111. This room was stunning to say the least. The next chateaux was Amboise. Seriously this was a disappointment after coming from the last one. In all honesty it was magnetic in everything from the outside but when it came to inside we only had access to 3 rooms. Those three rooms had nothing on Chenonceau. In 1431 Louis d'Amboise was condemned to death for plotting against Charles' favorite La Trenouille. Louis was finally pardoned but he had to relinquish the Chareaux. Charles VII had Archers stationed here. The future King Charles VIII, son of King Louis XI was born here where he lived with the queen. In 1516 Leonardo was invited to join the French Court at Amboise. He was installed on the Manor of Cloux (Clos Luce) with a salary of 700 gold crowns. He devoted his time to drawing and teaching, concentrating on building canals, urban planning and architecture. He was very close to the King. He died in his Amboise Manor on 2nd May 1519 and was interred according to his wishes in the chapel at Amboise.  In 1815 the great grand-daughter of Louis XIV, Louise-Marie-Adelaide de Bourbon the Duchess of Orleans inherited Chateaux d'Amboise.