June 30, 2016
Amboise to Blois
Amboise and Château du Clos Luce- Leonardo’s genius displayed.
June 30 Thursday 41km
Amboise to Blois.
Amboise and Château du Clos Luce- Leonardo’s genius displayed.
Up the hill from the river we find the chateau Close Luce where Leonardo da Vinci was invited to stay and settled in 1516.
The house and gardens are great to wander about as they have on display working models of everything from Leonardo’s supposed tank design to his plan for a bridge across the Bosphorus.
Would they have worked in reality? Who knows, but the school party visiting with us really enjoy the experience of operating them. The gardens are also a beautiful setting .
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The trail from here takes us up and away to Blois – small hamlets and easy roads make for easy cycling. Blois, scene of our 1978 camping trip, seems quite a stately town with beautiful narrow twisting streets and half timbered houses. On the way in we stop off at the museum of the resistance- interesting details and memorabilia of the locals’ efforts, assisted by the allies in WW2.
I manage to get another puncture in my new tube, possibly pinched, so I have to switch to a new one. Instead of camping we opt for a small hotel – 45euros.
It is situated directly across the river from the old city and has the usual creaky stairs but a pleasant enough room with a view- of the back yard. And there’s a garage for our bikes. We walk about the town in the evening and find the spot on the battlements where we had stood 38 years before.
A meal at Gabriel’s – cous cous and chicken and a walk back over the bridge accompanied by the roar of the Loire flowing below complete our action packed day.
Today's ride: 41 km (25 miles)
Total: 822 km (510 miles)
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