A Day Out in Amboise...Part 1

Amboise is a town to the east of Tours that is also situated on the River Loire. After  a big day out yesterday, we thought we would have a quiet day by visiting Amboise...but as you will see, we got that a bit wrong!

We had noticed over breakfast that there was a lot of people in the street outside our hotel...and that seemed rather strange for a Sunday morning. When we stepped outside, we discovered  the reason...a proper French "flea market". We couldn't resist having a stroll up and down...but somehow we managed to stop ourselves grabbing a bargain or three.

 

After our market visit, we headed down to the station to catch our train to Amboise. Using the French trains to get around is working out quite well. Not too expensive in comparison to hiring a car...and certainly a lot less stressful. About 20 minutes after leaving Tours, we were stepping down in Amboise and setting off for the town...located on the other side of the River Loire.

Perched high on a rocky bluff overlooking the town and the river is the Chateau d'Amboise. Thinking we would have plenty of time to look through the town later, we went first to the Chateau. While notable in French history for many reasons, significantly it is the burial place of Leonardo da Vinci.

Chateau de Chenonceau

The whole point of coming to the Loire was to see a chateau or two...and today we decided it would be the Chateau de Chenonceau, a rather spectacular example that is constructed to span the River Cher. But first we had to get there...which would be quite easy as it is opposite Chenonceau railway station.

The plan was to catch a lunch-time train so after a late breakfast, we visited the Cathedrale Saint-Gatien and the adjoining Cloitre de la Psalette instead of walking past as we did the day we arrived.

With the morning taken care of, it was down to Tours station and out half-hour train ride to Chenonceau. Before heading off to the Chateau, we wandered up into the village for some lunch.

Then it was off to join the crowd at the Chateau for a interesting and pleasant afternoon before catching a train back to Tours.

A Wet Day in Tours

The morning started off wet and drizzly as we set off for a extended walk around the town of Tours. It is an interesting place with a mix of very old interspersed with the rather new.

After lunch the drizzle turned to rain and we caught a local bus to La Riche to visit Saint-Cosme Priory, the home of French poet Pierre de Ronsard (1524-1585).

A Tour of Tours

After we had settled into our hotel we went for a walk around our little corner of Tours...

Our European Adventure Really Begins...

Paris was really only an appetiser...we have spent plenty of time in Paris with our previous trips so this time it was only a couple of nights to find our feet and clear the jet-lag. After wandering around Montparnasse this morning, we grabbed our bags and headed off to Gare Montparnasse and the 12h14 TGV to Tours.

A Stroll Around Paris

As we had seen plenty of Paris on our last visit here, we had no real objective for the day other than to wander around...and to get over our jet-lag. We started with a quick visit to Montparnasse station to get our bearings for tomorrow and from there, found ourselves in a local street market.

After that we made a brief visit to the Cimetiere du Montparnasse to find my first Geocache for this holiday before setting off in the general direction of Champ de Mars and the Eiffel Tower. 

Having walked quite a long way...Paris does that to you...it is a very easy place to just wander...we caught a bus to Le Jardin du Luxembourg, near where we stayed on our last visit. We bought lunch nearby and enjoyed a picnic in the park...until it started to rain. Not raining heavily enough to worry us, we wandered on to the Pantheon. When we visited Paris last, it was being restored and the dome was shrouded in scaffolding. With the work complete, this time we were able to see the building's exterior. 

Our wandering then took us down past the Sorbonne to the River Seine and Notre Dame. Here I found another cache before we started back towards our hotel. 

As the rain was now starting to get a little heavier, we opted for the Metro. This turned out to be a good idea as the rain was pouring down by the time we got off...fortunately just outside our hotel door. After a rest...make that a sleep...we went out for dinner. Spoilt for choice, we had a pleasant meal at Cafe Odessa nearby. Somewhat exhausted, it was back to our hotel for a well deserved rest...as out Fitbits recorded us of having walked 13.5 kilometres today!

Paris...at last!

Twenty eight and a half hours after taking off from Tullamarine we landed at Paris Orly airport. Immigration was relatively quick, Customs seemingly nonexistent and then it was on to the Air France les cars (bus) to Montparnasse. From there it was only a short walk in some light rain to Hotel Arcadie, our home for the next couple of nights.

Time now to catch up on some sleep because we didn't get all that much on the planes. 

A Brief Visit to London

To be precise, it was 3 hours and specifically London Heathrow Terminals 3 and 5...in transit on our way to Paris (our travels in the UK are still a month away).

As you can see, it was a bit wet outside and we are expecting Paris to be the same. 

Anita has decided that she likes the idea of Lounge access and express queues through security...so she wants me to keep working and flying around to earn enough points. 

Mind you, I don't mind either with "help yourself" 15 year old Glenlivet available. 

Dubai Stopover

All that business travel over the past six months has paid off...Lounge access!