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
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La vie en Amboise

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