A Festive Amboise
This is our third time at this very convenient and well equipped motorhome aire with a fantastic view of Amboise Château. We had such a wonderful time last New Year’s Eve that we decided to come back and welcome 2013 at one of our favourite places in France and, where better that right on the banks of the river Loire? We were more than happy to pay the €20 for our two-day stay here, as it has clean water and electricity included in the price, not to speak of the extremely pleasant walk all around L’Île d’Or, right in the middle of the river, dividing the north and south parts of the town.
A festive Amboise
We arrived yesterday after spending one night at Vars, practically on top of the Charente, as the river was so swollen it had burst its banks and the place we had chosen to stop for the afternoon at Le Portal was badly flooded and we were worried that if it rained again, we might get stuck. Still, we spent a very pleasant afternoon there and Adonis managed to do some fishing for the first time this holiday and caught two roach. Vars is just about 10km north of Angouleme, as we were quite keen to find a new overnight stop in the Charente area in order to have more options for the future.
The swollen river Charente at Vars, our overnight stop
A flooded Le Porta,l where Le Charente burst its banks
From Vars we went back on the A10 north of Poitiers, Châtellerault and Tours, where we came off at junction 22, south of La Loire and east on D751 to Amboise in time for lunch.
Sasha enjoying a good run by the Loire on L’Ile d’Or
After our afternoon walk with Sasha around L’Île d’Or, we went into town to admire the Christmas decorations and enjoy a beer in one of the many lively café bars along the main street by the Château.
Christmas lights at Amboise
Christmas lights at Amboise
This morning I went on a long search for mussels and king prawns, as we fancied these as our last supper of the year. I first went into the town on the south side of the river, but I couldn’t find a fishmongers or a supermarket selling fresh shellfish, but plenty of oyster sellers on little stalls on the street. I asked a gentleman who looked local, as he had a carrier bag with shopping in it, and he told me to cross the bridge to the north side and find the market there. I followed my instinct out of town until I saw signs for Aldi and Intermarché. I tried the first, but had nothing in the way of fresh fish and so I carried on to Intermarché in Villeret, where I struck lucky and got what I needed. I was surprised to see it was nearly noon by the time I got back to the van, as I’d left at 10am!
Posing by Leonardo da Vinci Statue at L’Ile d’Or
I quickly got changed and we set off to visit Château du Los Lucé Parc Leonardo da Vinci, home to the Artist/Genius from 1516 to 1519 and where he died on 2nd May 1519. We thoroughly enjoyed our tour of the place and it seemed quite surreal to be standing where he’d lived and worked and by the bed in which he died. We particularly enjoyed the models (both small and life-size) of the inventions he dreamt of, tanks and aeroplanes included. We loved the fact that there is an exhibition of interactive life-size models in Leonardo’s Garden for people to admire and enjoy and we couldn’t resist the temptation of trying them out: great for children of all ages (especially those pushing 50!).
Trying out one of Leonardo’s inventions (an early tank)
The prototype for a helicopter
A parachute
Car and bicycle
Double staircase: you can see people on the opposite side, but you never meet!
Various models of Leonardo’s inventions
Tank model
A paddle steamer in Leonardo’s Garden
Leonardo’s study
Leonardo’s bed
We made it back to the van for 2pm for a later than usual lunch, followed by a quick siesta and another walk around the island and we are now going to get ready to celebrate New Year’s eve with the king prawns and mussels I walked so far to get.
I wonder if we’ll come back here next New Year’s eve again!
Fatima Saysell 