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