Dave hoping his leg does not get the hydrant treatment |
Château d'Amboise |
Exiting Château d'Amboise |
Château d'Amboise |
The fortified walls of Château d'Amboise |
Amboise-The narrow road to Château du Clos Lucé from Château d'Amboise |
A marker commemorating natural cave air raid and artillery fire shelters
Chateau d'Amboise sits on top of a limestone cliff that is honeycombed by natural caves and man made tunnels which served as shelters for local civilians during WW II when Allied bombers attacked nearby German Army positions.
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A cave residence in Amboise
Today, many of the caves and tunnels in the limestone cliffs below the chateau serve as rustic dwelling places for residents of Amboise.
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My new friend, Monsieur Roger
Some weeks back, our tour director Guillaume befriended Monsieur Roger, a very fine and friendly gentleman in his 70s who resides in one of cave dwellings beneath Chateau d'Amboise. After Guillaume introduced us to Roger, he graciously invited us to tour his cozy cave home.
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Monsieur Roger's cave residence |
Monsieur Roger's grandfather, a WW I combat veteran, and his campaign cap
While touring his residence at his invitation, Monsieur Roger noticed that I was studying this photograph, he explained to me (in French) that this was his grandfather, who had been gassed by the Germans during WW I, but had survived. Roger was astonished when I revealed to him (in very bad French) that my maternal grandfather also fought the Germans as a member of the famed "Fighting 69th" Regiment of the US Army and had also been gassed by the Germans and had also survived. This common thread in our heritages seemed to form an immediate bond between us. Guillaume later explained that Monsieur Roger was fond of Americans, still grateful for the role that our Army played in defeating the Germans in both World Wars and liberating France during the Second World War.
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Le Comptoir des Reines-"The Tavern of Kings" |
The Royal Salamander--The symbol of King Francis I of France |
Château du Clos Lucé or simply Clos Lucé
Clos Lucé is a small château in Amboise. The place is famous for being the official residence of Leonardo da Vinci between 1516 and 1519, when Leonardo died. Clos Lucé is located at 500 metres from the royal Château d'Amboise, to which it is connected by an underground passageway. In 1516, King Francis I of France invited Leonardo da Vinci to Amboise and provided him with the Clos Lucé, then called Château de Cloux, as a place to stay and work. Leonardo, arrived with three of his paintings, namely the Mona Lisa, Sainte Anne, and Saint Jean Baptiste. Leonardo lived at the Clos Lucé for the last three years of his life, and died there on 2 May 1519.
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David and Guillaume confer on the grounds of Clos Lucé |
