Da Vinci's last home and Orleans

Most people (even in France) don't know that Leonardo Da Vinci's last home was 2 hours southwest of Paris in the town of Amboise at the Château de Clos Lucé.  We went to see it on Easter Sunday, 2014 along with a lot of other tourists, French and otherwise.  This house (not really a castle), built in 1471, was lent to Da Vinci by King François I in 1516.  He lived there for 3 years til his death. Da Vinci brought with him from Italy a painting of a smiling lady, called in French La Jaconde, and in English The Mona Lisa, as well as two other canvases that he completed in France: The Virgin and Child with St. Anne, and St John the Baptist, all of which now rest in the Louvre in Paris.

Château de Clos Lucé

 The estate of Clos Lucé includes an extensive part with a restaurant, a small cafe (where we had lunch), and lots of land, gardens and a meandering stream, with a collection of Da Vinci inventions from his extensive notebooks, brought to life by IBM. 

Cafe

Among the many inventions of Da Vinci, some concern military matters, including the swinging bridge (it swings away from the bank to prevent someone crossing if unwanted) and the first armored car, made with wood!  A turn jack brought water up a hill in a very efficient manner and the basic idea for a double hulled ship.  One of Da Vinci's inventions, an aerial screw was meant to lift up two people who turned it--this clearly doesn't work!  No one says all inventions have to.

Chuck on the swinging bridge

Lifting Jack

Double Hulled ship

Aieral screw

After we left the château, we decided to visit the little town of Amboise.  It has its own very large castle which was the home of King Francois.  We hadn't expected what we found there--a town fair, complete with a wine fair in the cave of the hillside!  We decided to taste the wine and see if we wanted to take some back with us.  Well, the wine was tasty and we bought a red, a white and a rosé; rosés are unusual for us, so we'll have a interesting meal coming in Paris.

Castle at Amboise

Amboise Center

Amboise has houses built into the cliff in the town!

A visit to a Wine Fair in a Cave

Chuck holds our wine with Loire River behind

We also stopped at a glassblowers to see a glassblowing demonstration (we were the only ones there).  I got to help the glassblower turn the glass form on the blowing rod and tap off the glass.  Then we drove to Orleans to spend the night.

While Easter and Easter Monday are not official holidays in France (because religious holidays are not recognized by the state--France strongly believes in separation of church and state), it's a holiday time nonetheless, and Easter Monday in Orleans meant the city was largely closed up.  No museums were open and few stores or restaurants.  We had breakfast at our hotel, and despite threatening weather, went to the town center to see the sights.

The cathedral of Orleans is old, as the first of its building was in the late 13th century, and is associated with Jeanne D'Arc, who was from Orleans.  Just behind the cathedral, we noticed something unusual--an old synagogue.  We investigated, but because it was the end of Passover as well as Easter, the synagogue was closed.  Jews have lived in Orleans since the 6th century, but have been banished many times due to religious persecution.  Of Jews in France, 77,000 were killed in the Holocaust.  In recent times (post 1970) a small Jewish community has returned to Orleans.

Chuck at Orleans Cathedral

Orleans Cathedral

Entrance to the oldest synagogue in Orleans

Synagogue in Orleans

While most museums were closed, we were able to visit the Old City Hall, built in 1530.  It was originally a home for a prosperous person, one Jacques Groslot, but became the city hall in 1790.  It is a lovely old building and in very good repair. Nowadays it is used for official functions and weddings.  The current city hall is across the street.

Chuck in front of the Old City Hall

Main Dining Room, Old City hall