The highlights of this village was the Calanques (inlets from the sea) and the food. Lots to see and do, with the hustle and bustle of (mostly French and local) tourists.

Le Mistral was still incredibly prevalent, so we were pretty bundled up. Not as much as some people, mind you – many people were wearing winter coats and toques.

And look at the colour of the water! Amazingly turquoise blue.

Travel

The beautiful seaside town of Cassis

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To start the day off right, we enjoyed a fantastic breakfast with our wonderful hosts, Marcel and Katharina. Sadly, we then had to say goodbye and drive to Amboise. We wandered the village for a bit and found a place that made sandwiches… and then ate them on the bank of the Loire river. Good views seem to always make the food taste better.

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After lunch, we walked over to the palace in downtown Amboise, where Leonardo da Vinci is buried – what a gorgeous site! He’s been there since 1519, but got moved from a lovely spot in the garden to the chapel in the 1800s at some point, poor chap. Still, I hope my resting place is half as nice.

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Plus, his view isn’t too shabby either.

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Along with that, the grounds and the palace are pretty great.

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After touring the palace, we thought we’d go off to check out old Leonard’s digs. It seems he had a pretty good gig going, with the king inviting him to come live in France at the princely sum of 300 crowns a year, and offering him a gorgeous house to boot. Alas, the house was overrun with seemingly hundreds of yelling children, and at $20 a person, we decided to give it a pass and go drink wine on our bedroom’s patio instead. And that brings us to the present; with good Chinon wine and good Amboise cheese in our bellies. A demain…!

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  • Aperture: ƒ/4.5
  • Camera: Canon PowerShot G12
  • Taken: 16 May, 2013
  • Focal length: 18.098mm
  • ISO: 200
  • Shutter speed: 1/1250s
General

La vie en Amboise

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As I said, tres froid. In fact, we were both so unprepared for the wind, we each had to go to the local supermarket and buy a fleece sweater. Nonetheless, we had a great day, visiting the local city’s castle in the morning and going on a wine tour in the afternoon. Laid back, but lovely.

Tomorrow, we’re off to Chenonceau, where there is even larger and more impressive chateaux. Can’t wait!

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Travel

A cold and windy Wednesday

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What a great evening and Tuesday! We had a fabulous meal last night thanks to our hosts, and today we managed to see three chateaux (one just from a distance as we’d heard it was all Disneyfied inside), have a fantastic lunch, visit a caveau for a mini wine tasting and go out for some authentic Italian pizza.

Sheena and I are pooped. Tomorrow we’ve got a winery tour lined up and we’re going to wander around Chinon some in the morning. Can’t wait!

 

 

 

The above were from last night’s walk in the neighborhood, then dinner ( check out the cheese selection and the homemade apple pie!) …  the following are from today.

See you tomorrow!

Travel

Mardi en Loire

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