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During WWI, the chateau was a military hospital.
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Fantastic traveling chest for moving household goods. The kings went from one chateau to another during the summer with this really nice luggage.
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Another beautiful traveling chest with amazing workmanship.
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Family crest over a fireplace. The weasel and the salamander were the winners here; the first for cleverness, the second for good luck.
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Francis I, the monarch who stole the chateau from the owner, in all his glory. How about that fabulous frame.
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The ceiling detail in the hallways was phenomenal; modern lighting suits it well.
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More ceiling detail; the medallions were spaced in a grid across the entire ceiling in a room.
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Note the fastening detail on the leaded glass window.
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A painting of the house done shortly after its construction in the sixteenth century.
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A fireplace in the kitchen. Most of the lower level is devoted to kitchens and storerooms. Note the size of the fireplace. The 5'5" female is there for scale.
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This is the gate opening onto the river through which food and other stores were delivered. Note there is no door or place for one that we could see; must have been pretty drafty there in bad weather.
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Some of the beautiful arrangements ready for display in the restaurant or public rooms. The restaurant on the grounds uses these veggies, too.
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More beautiful, perfect displays. Perfect peppers.
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Kitchen copper and more kitchen copper.
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The upriver side of the chateau.
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Beautiful setting. During WWII the right side of the riverbank was held by the Germans, the left by the French Resistance.
And LOOK HERE to see how beautifully the stonework of this chateau has been restored in the last few decades. Rick took the other picture from the same spot on a trip in 1960.
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Guess who.
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The gardens of the King's mistress, very showy and elaborate.
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Beautiful old shrub, the trunk is incredibly gnarled and ancient looking.
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Next stop was town of Amboise. Lovely old village.
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Amboise citadel,protecting town from vandals. Walls several feet thick.
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Typical street in center of Amboise village.
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It was market day, vendors set up in front of the Citadel, you could get everything from textiles to leather goods and foods. Plus a band was playing down the street.
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More Amboise market - beautiful displays.
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This is the cheeseman from whom we got some wonderful Comte.
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The main street of town was more utilitarian. This vending machine dispenses a pack of two condoms for two euros.
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The medallion for the city of Tours
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We walked to town from our hotel with these four Australians who were on a 72 day around the world tour -- using only public transit -- planes, trains, buses, cabs. No rental cars. Wow.
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The Australians took our picture on the beautiful bridge into Tours.
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Entering the central plaza in Tours.
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TGIF! This was the place to be on Friday night Happy Hour. The center of this large square in Tours is completely filled with tables for the restaurants on the perimeter.
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Tours -- another medieval town.
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An inventive use for used wine corks.
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Pre-dinner entertainment -- looking at pictures.
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We ran into the Australians again as we lined up for the best ice cream in the world.
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We ran into Carmen also, or maybe she was keeping an eye on us.
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Creative spelling and product line, on the main drag of Tours, while waiting for the tram.
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We could not figure out the logic of this florist's sign until we got to a larger French dictionary. That isn't "devils" but "deuils," which means bereavements, such as a death in the family. It was funnier with marriages and devils.
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Looks like a perfectly innocent wall until you look closely at it.
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Walk by all you want, but don't try to climb over my wall.
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Gorgeous flower, but we weren't sure what it was. Clematis maybe.
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The tour in Tours, part of the ancient citadel.
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Part of the old Roman wall on what used to be the periphery of the citadel. It was just sitting there near the road by the river.
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The cathedral at Tours. It's in the middle of town and just looms up from the street. Astonishingly ornate.
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One entrance to the cathedral. How many stonemasons worked for how many centuries?
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The main aisle goes on and on. This was a very long, narrow church, much smaller than Orleans.
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Beautiful stained glass illustrating Bible stories.
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Lovely Rose window in a side chapel. There were small signs throughout the cathedral describing the detail of the stained glass and statuary. Wish we had had more time.