Tuesday, April 13

The morning brings some light haze/fog and brisk temperatures. The American students are to meet at the High School by 8:00. There are a couple of stragglers, but by 8:15 we are on the bus and everyone is present. We have a two-hour bus ride to the visit the first stop, Château de Chambord. The trip takes us in a southerly direction and you notice a change in the trees and vegetation. Everything is greener. The farmers are planting cereal grains. It's the equivalent of going from Potsdam to Ithaca, in NY. The season is about ten days to two weeks ahead. We travel through miles of farmland. I continue to be amazed by the amount and scale of farming, especially cereal grains. As usual, the roads and streets are narrow, and the bus driver has to carefully jockey the bus through some of the small towns, sometimes with only inches to spare between the bus and the shops. We pass by several farm machinery dealers, including John Deere and New Holland ones.

The Château de Châmbord is a HUGE structure built during the Renaissance period. That means it dates back to the early 1500's. It was the hunting lodge of François I. The massive structure contains 365 chimneys and over 400 rooms. A massive stone wall surrounds the entire estate in order to keep all the wild game corralled. One part of me is appalled at the opulence, while another part admires the architecture and design and detail. I guess it's no different than today's wealthy and the mansions they build. After the visit, we have a picnic lunch on the grounds.

The second stop is about one hour away and it is the Château de Chenonceau. Again, this is another example of over the top opulence, but beautiful in every respect. The Château is built right over the River Cher. It was built in the 16th century by the Thomas Bohier and his wife Katherine Briconnet. Like most of the history of the European wealthy, this building contains stories of wives and mistresses. The unique feature of this Château is that it is built right on the river and actually can be used as a bridge. In fact, during World War Two, the Château was used to smuggle downed pilots across the River Cher, since the river was the dividing line between occupied France and Vichy France.

The last stop of the day was the home of Leonardo di Vinci. The Château du Clos Lucé was built in 1471. Leonardo never owned this home. The Château was provided to him as a place of residence by the King, François I. The King appointed da Vinci "First painter, architect, and engineer of the King". The King provided a stipend and paid for his works. With such support, Leonardo was free to dream, paint, and design.

Leonardo da Vinci's home was the most impressive stop of the day for me. Many of the students enjoyed it as well. Not only was the home displayed as it was in Leonardo's day, but many of his designs and drawings where recreated into hands-on operating models that could be used and manipulated. The historical significant of walking in the same building as Leonardo da Vinci walked really impacted me.

That's all for now. Tomorrow its off to see Monet's Gardens