Leonardo da Vinci's home, Amboise
I spent a lot of the summer in London attending the BBC Proms at Albert Hall, but went to France for a few days to collect a free dinner offered by my friends Mary and Chris at their village of Le Charte sur le Loir. I took the Eurostar to Paris and then caught the TGV (fast train) to Tours. We had lunch at a traditional cafe which had a great view of the boulevard. The City Hall in Tours was designed by Victor Laloux, the same architect as the the Orsay train station in Paris, now an art museum. They then took me to Amboise (in the Loire Valley) to visit Chateau du Clos Luce, the final home of Leonardo Da Vinci. I did not realise that he died in France. During the final three years of his life he was under the protection and patronage of King Francois I. The small chateau in which da Vinci lived is a gem and its furniture dates from when he lived there (somehow the furnishings survived the French Revolution). It is privately owned and is a very popular attraction ( the fact that I didn't know of its existence did not mean that others were unaware). Luckily we got through the house and were in the grounds before the really big crowds arrived. The grounds are lovely and contain some children's playground equipment based on some of da Vinci's designs.
Photo Gallery
Chateau Close Luce, Amboise
To see a full version of the slide show, double click on the image to the right.
To see a full version of the slide show, double click on the image to the right.
The fine print
For more information on the chateau : www.vinci-closluce.com/foreign.htm