And so we journeyed on further south to the Loire Valley. Nowhere on earth are there more castles!
Through towns in the path of the Tour it would seem ...
over bridges, past rivers ... and more castles ..
Our campsites got quieter and quieter as the end of the European summer holiday drew to an end ...
On the upside our allocated sites became ridiculously large compelling us to wash large amounts of clothes and kick a soccer ball around in all that space :)
And then something caught our eye ... a castle but not just any castle! La Chateau du Clos Luce, where Leonardo Da Vinci spent his final days, in the Loire valley. King Francis I was particularly inspired by Leonardo and invited him to his palace to live in this beautiful French region whereupon Leonardo, at 63 years, crossed the Alps on the back of a donkey taking with him the unfinished Mona Lisa.
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| Leonardo Da Vinci |
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| King Francis I and Leonardo Da Vinci |
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| A garden with 25 life size versions of his inventions. Kids paradise! |
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| Leonardo's bedroom |
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| King Francis I |
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| Rooms filled with replicas of his inventions... |
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| from an automobile, to ball bearing, to an inflatable life vest, to a parachute, to scales that measure humidity, a diving suit, an armoured tank ... the list goes on ... An incredible mind that was constantly busy with countless passions. |
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| The gardens surrounding the castle are captivating. |
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| And now who has ever heard of a Dovecote? Only for the rich and famous of course. A room full of 1,000 niches for pairs of pigeons to roost. At a time when fresh meat was in short supply, and was preserved by salting, fresh meat and eggs were a prized possession. Pigeon was a welcome change from salted meat and the eggs were delicious in an omelette. |
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| The Last Supper and our resident photo bomber |
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| The castle's veggie patch. Leonardo was apparently vegetarian by the way. |
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| ahhhh, the Mona Lisa |
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