Vinci!

Two characters feature strongly in these parts, Leonardo da Vinci and Jeanne d'Arc. Travelling on from Montrichard we arrived in Amboise an hour later after taking the road instead of the cycle path. It was a dream run with no traffic and a smooth road and so we made time to visit Clos Luce where Leonardo lived for the last three years of his life. It must have been an enjoyable time for him as the house was spacious and well furnished. He also had beautiful gardens to walk in. The king paid him a large pension and they talked together and discussed science frequently. We ate apricots in the old vegetable garden and walked around the grounds looking at the models and contraptions that had been recreated.

Leonardo's bedroom and the house viewed from the garden











We carried on to Tours, which was much busier than expected but a city we took an instant liking to. It's very vibrant and has some outstanding buildings plus one of the best restaurant and cafe areas we have seen. We ate at a traditional place in the medieval quarter which was thronging with people, accompanied by our usual jug of wine!












It seems to be the tradition here that people who are about to get married get dressed up and walk around town wearing outrageous clothes. This is one man we saw with his mates posing in front of a fountain.






Today we continued our way west, although we had some trouble finding the route out of Tours initially. There were several castles on our way to Chinon, and another one there as well. Joanne d'Arc had also made her presence known. There was a sign on a wall saying that she had ridden her horse down the street and put her foot down on the step below. That must have warranted another huge statue being erected in the square outside our hotel.

Chinon is another town with a significant medieval centre and well worth visiting if you like that era. It is also proud of its wine and there are several caves in the area. We tried a glass or two of the rose before dinner and lked around the old part of town.

One of the old boats on the Cher





Village flowers






Chinon





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Location:Place Jeanne d'Arc,Chinon,France