So, Lily is ever the undaunted adventurer. Even though she caught what I had and was now in the throws of sickness herself, she has felt so alive in Europe and wanted the full itinerary. And so, we did A TON today.
We started out at Leonardo da Vinci’s retirement home. Here is a quick blurb about it from the Britannica website:
“…at age 65 Leonardo accepted the invitation of the young King Francis I to enter his service in France. At the end of 1516 he left Italy forever, together with Melzi, his most devoted pupil. Leonardo spent the last three years of his life in the small residence of Cloux (later called Clos-Lucé), near the king’s summer palace at Amboise on the Loire. He proudly bore the title Premier peintre, architecte et méchanicien du Roi (“First painter, architect, and engineer to the King”).”
We first started in the gardens. It was neat to see da Vinci was interested in botany. They also had a lot of models of his inventions around the gardens so that was also fun.
We then toured da Vinci’s home:
After touring his home, we went to the exhibit about all his various inventions. I was interested to learn that a lot of his inventions were for militaristic purposes. For example, he invented a machine gun and an armored tank. He also made designs for a parachute, an automobile, bicycle, and a device for humans to fly. I don’t know how many of his inventions were ultimately used or made, but it was all very fascinating.
After leaving da Vinci’s retirement estate, we went to the Château de Chenonceau. It is one of the most famous Chateaus in the Loire valley because of how early it was originally built, how beautiful it is, and also because of the people who lived there. Henry II gave it to Diane, his mistress, so she could live there. When Henry II died, his wife, Catherine de Medici, kicked Diane out and took over the palace.
Here are some pictures of our visit:
Henry famously had this emblem of H & C in Diana’s bedroom. The Cs are designed to actually reflect a “D” for Diana.
This long hallway reminded us of the hall of mirrors in Versailles. This is the hallway over the water, but it reminded us of the hall of mirrors because it is a long hallway with many exterior windows to catch the breeze.
Such a stunning Chateau!
We adored walking through the forrests as we took the scenic route back to our car.
Afterwards, we went to one more Chateau: Villandry. It is famous for its gardens. And deservedly so!! It is a top 3 highlight for my entire trip. We were blown away by the magnificence of these incredible gardens. Here are the pictures:
There was even a maze built from shrubs!
Beauty looking over beauty:
After being stunned by the gardens at Villandry, we went to a mushroom cave. I was soooo fascinated. First of all, the cave was created several hundred years ago from people quarrying limestone for the various chateaus and structures in the surrounding areas. Later on, the quarry was repurposed as a mushroom cave because of its stable temperatures. We learned all about the science of growing mushrooms. Shitake mushrooms only grow on oak bark, so they have to mix oak bark into the soil mixture (which I think might include manure) so those mushrooms will grow. Today the cave is not up to full production like it used to be, but it still makes a lot of mushrooms and serves them in various forms in their gift shop and also at their restaurant which we were able to eat at.
The mushroom dishes were divine!
Back at our chateau, our host gave us fresh eggs from their chickens. What a treat! We had them for breakfast the next day.
Today was one of my favorite days of the whole trip. Not only was I feeling better from my sickness, but the things we saw were all highlights for me. I’m so grateful for Lily who is the most amazing trip planner. By being linked to the ultimate adventurer, I find myself having the most amazing experiences. I love you babe!