Jour soixante-treize

...began at the beautiful Villandry. This castle is most well known for its extensive gardens that go on for miles.

This is as close as we got to a corn maze this year.Wizard of Oz (you can see by Tay's lion face)It was a very hazy day, but not any less beautiful, just a little more mysterious.

Then it was off to the Chateau de Ussé, a.k.a. Sleeping Beauty's castle! This is where Walt Disney himself had the inspiration for it. You can see why...

Then we were off to Azay-le-Rideau, a castle who someone built, just to impress, but then was accused of tax fraud so Francoise I had him sent to jail. Now this castle just stands there looking pretty. And deserted. (The perks of traveling during the off season)Our last castle was Chenonceau. This castle was bustling with tourists, because it's just incredible. It is right on the Cher River and is filled with all sorts of history and scandals.But once again, this castle is most visited because of it's never ending beautiful surroundings. Shae and I found this path along the river and walked forever, without ever finding the end. The Loire Valley was just incredible. I was blown away by every place we visited. And as the last voyage we will take as a group, it was the perfect ending.

A demain,

b

Jour soixante-douze

...began with two words. Loire Valley.

But first we had to take a train to actually get there (Shae and I walking to our last 6 a.m. train)
After the train, we got on our bus, claimed our usual seats, and drove to our first Renaissance castle, Blois.It was here we realized how short 13th century kings must have been.

Just when I thought France couldn't be any prettier...

Chateau de Chambord.

Originally built as a hunting lodge for Francois I, this elaborately gigantic chateau has a double helix staircase, and 365 fireplaces.

Then a quick rest stop for our lovely chauffeur (I know, they consider this a "rest stop")

Next up, Amboise.

This castle, also built by Francois I, was just an underground tunnel away from DaVinci's house, so Leonardo visited Francois almost daily. The two were very good friends.Leonardo is buried in this little chapel on the grounds of the castle, so of course we had to go pay our respects.

Next, we walked to Leo's house, Clos Lucé.

Now turn on this song while you read the rest:

"Leonardo Dreams Of His Flying Machine" Eric Whitacre

This is the place where Leonardo actually dreamt of his flying machine! (And this is it!)

This entire place was mind boggling to me. This man was so creative and a complete genius. After seeing all of these machines, and inventions, I practically forgot he painted the Mona Lisa.

His house is surrounded by an enormous garden park that contains models of his inventions.

Then we found a playground. We've all learned by now, that in this group, if we find a place to run around, we will be completely satisfied and hyper for hours. We stayed there until dark.

We headed to the Étap Hotel in Tours for the night, placed a very large pizza order, and played some very heated Mofia til the wee hours of the morning. This completes our first day of travels in Loire. More magic to come tomorrow!

A demain,

b