There's a region of France with history that runs very deep. Oh, wait! Sorry, that's all of France.
OK, how about an area along a river that has over 300 lavish châteaux built by kings seeking refuge from whatever ailed them at the time?
Mais oui?
Pour a glass of your favorite beverage that also has a French-sounding name and get ready for a slow ride around the countryside of the Loire Valley.
By royal decree—and presented in majestic picture-n-caption format—it's time to explore ... The Valley of Kings!
Let's begin, shall we?
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| All aboard the CHOO-CHOOOOOOOO! Getting from Paris to Amboise was a snap! Just two hours on a nonstop train ... traveling minus a car got relaxing, very quickly. Pictured above? No, this was not our smooth ride from Paris. If it was, we'd still be in transit, somewhere in the French countryside and wishing we'd bought more baguettes, cheese, and wine. Rather, it's the tour train passing through Amboise's old town—our home for the next eight days. But sans car, how will we possibly get around? |
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| Bikes! But not just ANY bikes! The Loire Valley is known for bike-friendly paths along its rolling countryside. Taking a cue from our less than comfortable ride around France's Lake Annecy a few years ago, we decided to join the 21st century and rent e-bikes. On the Azores Islands earlier on this trip, my right knee became annoyed with anything resembling physical activity (what a whiner). That hadn't changed, but our e-bikes—with their five power-assist modes—saved the day. A long hill? A steep section? Not to worry! Pop the power up to turbo and my knee was none the wiser. There's no question that e-bikes were the best option. The cost was comparable to renting a tiny car for the same eight-day duration, but the bikes became part of the adventure, whereas renting a car is rarely a memorable part of any trip unless something goes wrong.* *Like a flat tire in the Italian Alps, and another on Scotland's Orkney Islands. OH! And being pulled over for not having my fog lights on in Scotland. Hey! It wasn't dark ... yet. |
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| A quaint abode for a summer getaway They say Rome wasn't built in a day. It turns out that, like many fancy old places in Europe, the Château Royal d'Amboise wasn't either. The rock outcrop above the village was the perfect spot for an 11th century fortress. Fast forward 500 years and Charles VII of France decided it would be a fun place to live, so he took it. It's good to be the king. Some decades later, Charles VIII decided it needed a refresh ... and the remodeling didn't stop there. But I'm going to because there's only so much construction history anyone can take before eyes glaze over. Feel free to use this Wikipedia article as an efficient, but informative, sleeping aid. My favorite story of the chateau? On April 7, 1498, the 27-year-old Charles VIII slammed his head into a low stone door frame while watching a tennis match, fell into a coma hours later, and never woke up. There's no clear explanation of why his head would have had such a violent encounter with a door frame while watching a game of tennis. It must have been quite a match! He really should have gotten a better seat. Clearly, he forgot the thing about how it's good being the king. FUN FACT: Tennis originated in France in the 12th century as a game called jeu de paume in which the ball was struck with the palm of the hand. The use of rackets started in the 17th century! |
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| Who lives here? Cute as a button, the Saint-Hubert Chapel sits across from the chateau and is a spectacular sight towering above the village below. No one lives in the tiny chapel, but someone is taking a very long nap there. The official website says, "It is in this setting that you can discover the tomb of Leonardo da Vinci." The word discover might overplay it a bit because, other than fine ornamental stonework, da Vinci's tomb is the only thing in the tiny chapel. It's pretty hard to miss. |
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| He's up from his nap! Reports of da Vinci's passing in 1519, at the age of 67, were clearly exaggerated, as evidenced by my sighting of the original renaissance man at his residence in Amboise at Château du Clos Lucé. It was such a treat to see him emerging from the château's wine cellar. Assuming what I saw wasn't a life-sized cardboard cutout, the now 574-year-old appeared to be doing just fine 😊. For most of his life, da Vinci lived in Italy, but in 1516—facing political headwinds and professional pressure from rising stars like Michelangelo and Raphael—he received an offer from King Francis I of France that included a new title, a nice pension, use of the chateau, and freedom to work as he saw fit. And? He took the offer! When da Vinci moved to Amboise, he brought the Mona Lisa with him. He started the masterpiece in 1503 but never considered it complete, making refinements to it until his death. In the beginning, the Mona Lisa was commissioned by Florentine merchant Francesco del Giocondo. In the end, King Francis I decided he would buy it instead. It's good to be the king! FUN FACT: The Mona Lisa is worth over $1 billion but can't be sold because it belongs to the people of France. The thieves of the 2025 Louvre heist clearly missed the target. FUN FACT: Some da Vinci paintings—such as the Mona Lisa and the Last Supper—are well known. What isn't as widely known is that there are only 20 paintings—give or take, depending on your source—that are accepted as his work. |
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| Class is in session Basket Weaving 101 takes on a different meaning at the Amboise Saturday market when this guy's leading the class. I mean, come on! Look at him! It's like Popeye and Superman were melded together to will reeds into baskets! If you're a younger reader, and don't get the reference to Popeye, you should eat your spinach ... with a bit of Olive Oyl. If you want to creep yourself out—and you should—take a quick minute to learn the "I'm Popeye the Sailor Man" tune. You will never forgive me. You're welcome. |
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| It's a market miracle! Besides on-the-spot basket weaving, the Saturday market featured piles of fresh fruit and vegetables arranged artistically, as only the French can, as well as flea-market-type items like sunglasses, hats, and other oddities. But the market also featured giant pans of bubbling paella, dozens of chickens roasting on rotating spits, and other hot goodies so tempting on a cool, drizzly morning. Resistance was useless. Pictured above, our purchases were:
We're proud of the healthy choices we made. Well, except maybe the morning beer ... and the chicken-fat-cooked potatoes ... and perhaps the saucisson. Oh, never mind ... They were all delicious! |
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| Mon Dieu! The crowds! To get the hang of our e-bikes, we made a brief ride along the Loire River toward the city of Tours on our first full day. It all went well ... until the rain came, putting a damper on things ... more specifically, us. Our second outing sent us in the opposite direction on a 30-mile loop with Château de Chenonceau, our destination along the way. The château is considered a must see ... and we saw it. We also saw the masses of people queuing just to enter the gates and decided we did not need to be a part of the day's crowd. For us, there are only so many enormous castles filled with antique furniture, tapestries, statues, and paintings of rich royalty that we can take in before our limit is reached. Add in the crowd factor ... and Chenonceau was over the limit before it even started. Instead, we rode the short distance to the village of Le Fourneau and enjoyed a morning coffee in a quiet cafe courtyard. It was the right choice. |
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| On the other hand Maybe it was luck, but the day we cycled to Chaumont-sur-Loire, we enjoyed a fascinating château that had no crowds to speak of. The original structure was built in the 10th century by Odo I, Count of Blois. This is worth mentioning because Odo is such a cool name. There were other iterations of the château until Pierre d'Amboise made King Louis XI angry, resulting in Pierre losing the property and the King decreeing it should be deconstructed—which it was in 1465—proving once again that it's good to be the king! BUT THEN, its reconstruction was started by Charles I d'Amboise in the same year (1465) and King Louis XI was still king! Maybe someone (hint: the king) should have thought that one through a bit more? What makes Chaumont-sur-Loire different for visitors is that it blends the old and the new. Sure, there are plenty of period items to see, but there are also works of modern art displayed inside and throughout the gardens. It was a nice change; maybe we hadn't reached our castle limit after all. |
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| Madame Femme and Chien-chien Wherever our daily excursions took us, we always ended up at our favorite sidewalk pub—Le Café du Château—situated on the main pedestrian street and just around the corner from our Amboise home. Being creatures of habit, I always enjoyed an IPA; Natalie, a fine white wine; and both of us, a "bol de frites," a.k.a., an order of fries. It was a super fun way to wind down the day, do some people watching, and put off dinner for a while. It was here that Madame Femme and her dog, Chien-chien befriended us.* I speak tourist-level French, but that didn't stop Madame from talking to us as if we clearly understood her every word. We did not. Still, we somehow had an entire conversation. Simply incroyable! It was also at Le Café du Château that we met Rob and Becky Wheal from England one afternoon. Talk of travels and photography led to two beers and two glasses of wine; you do what you have to do. *If you remember any French from school, you have probably surmised that Madame Femme and Chien-chien are not their real names; we can't recall their names. So translated, they will forever be, "Mrs. Woman and Dog-dog." |
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| So much satisfaction On our last ride, we landed in the village of Noizay. It was lunchtime on a weekday, but the place was deserted. So strange. We stopped at a plaza where it looked like there was a restaurant ... or maybe a post office? The sign on the door indicated the post was closed. But then a person went in ... so we did too. It was the post office. But was also a restaurant—La Bonne Fanquette. Once inside, it was clear why Noizay was so quiet: Everyone was in the restaurant's courtyard having lunch! Traveling by bike slows everything down. That's why Amboise is such a great hub. We could pedal in any direction and be confident of not getting seriously lost ... just relax and enjoy the ride. We always had a general goal, but we could also turn this way or that and do our own thing, like stopping in Noizay. Did we have any regrets on our biking route choices? Well, yes. We didn't know until too late that we could have stopped by Mick Jagger's petite bungalow, Château de Fourchette. From Amboise, we were literally a 20-minute bike ride from enjoying spontaneous afternoon hors d'œuvres and drinks on the terrace with Mick. Oh well ... his loss ... maybe next time. Hey! Travel has its ups and downs, and sometimes you have to accept ... you can't get no ... satisfaction. |
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| You can hear it, can't you? Near the end of our time in Amboise, during a photo walkabout on a drizzly evening, I came upon this guy playing to an audience of one—me. Yet he was still performing. That's the sign of a true professional. Here's the thing: Today, we travel with very little cash because credit card use is so ubiquitous. Alas, though he put on a show, I could only give appreciation with a nod and a smile. Next time, I'll have a bit of cash ready to share when a spontaneous performance pops up. |
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| That time of night Amboise isn't big (13,000 people call it home) and that was fine with us. In the heart of the old town, where we stayed, everything calms down when the day trippers fade away, the shops close, and the restaurants button it up. You have the place to yourself ... and that's the best time to take a walk and listen to the growing silence. |
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| Somewhere along the road from Amboise It was nice to be in the heart of Amboise ... our home for a few days. Could we have stayed longer? Yes. There were so many paths we didn't wander. But after 33 days on a trip that included the Azores Islands and Paris, it was time to jump back across the pond. Hey! It's good to be the king or queen of your adventure because that's how you do ... get some satisfaction. |
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And now, a DOUBLE-DOWN ROYAL DECREE ...
PICTURES! ... carefully curated with you in mind.
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| Strutting his stuff at Clos de Lucé. Da Vinci would be proud! |
The blog post tells just one part of the story ... the photo album fills in the rest. And hey! Each photo includes a brief caption, so you know what you're looking at.
Here you go ... Loire Valley Images!
Enjoy!
Ciao! ~ Todd
For optimal photo viewing:
- When the album displays, click the Play slideshow icon in the upper right corner.
- When the slideshow begins to play, click the Pause slideshow icon at the lower center.
- Now you can advance the slideshow at your own pace using the right or left arrows at the bottom center of the screen.
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Fantastique!
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