This morning we toured the old town part of Tours. Tours is located in the center of the Loier Valley. This region of France is noted for vineyards and castles. Tours dates back almost 2,000 years. The old part of town that survives today dates back to the 1100 and 1200's.
We found a house where Joan of Arc lived for awhile when she was on her way to Chinon to bring the future King of France back to power. Pretty gutsy for a 17 year old girl.
After lunch we headed to the Chateau Chenonceau. This castle was built in the early 1500's and is built over the River Cher. Henry II lived there. Henry managed to have both a wife and a mistress at the same time. He gave the chateau to his mistress upon his death. Henry's wife, Catherine, then traded another chateau to the mistress, Diane, to get possession of Chenonceau back. Such drama back in the 1500 and 1600's. Makes the TV show " Desperate Housewives" seem mild. In more recent history, the chateau was actively used during World War II.
The River Cher was the demarcation line between free France and occupied France. The French Resistance was able to pass large numbers of people into the free zone by going through the chateau and therefore crossing the river.
Next we went to Amboise. We had the chance to tour the home of Leonardo de Vinci, who is also buried in Amboise.
His home featured many drawings and models of some of his ideas, including early designs for tanks, water pumps, ball bearings, airplanes, helicopter and parachutes, just to name a few. Leonardo died in 1519, almost 500 years ago. It is hard to comprehend how he could have been so gifted in so many areas. He painted the Mona Lisa and at the same time developed the concept of modern mechanics 200 years before anyone else.
We finished the day with dinner in Troglodyte.
Troglodytes are caves that were created in the surrounding hills when stone was mined to construct buildings. The caves have since been turned into wine cellars, homes and in this case, a restaurant. It was a "cool" experience. :-)
Tomorrow we are off to Normandy.
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