A M B O I S E
Tour Day: 3
Our first Rick Steves bus ride, a stop at Château de Chambord (a modest hunting lodge 😉), then arrive in the quaint town of Amboise
After the long day of walking we had the day before, a LONG air conditioned bus ride was exactly what we needed! After eating a delicious breakfast included at our hotel, we were guided to our bus with the rest of our group by Steve. We had a nice bus ride, then got to stop at our first Château!!!!!! EEEEEK! I am so excited to pretend to be a princess...although the first castle, Château de Chambord, was technically designed with men in mind, since it was built to be a hunting lodge! It doesn't matter, I still felt like royalty on the double helix staircase! I pretended to avoid my royal advisor as I ran up and down the stairs! We had plenty of time at this stop, and even had time to grab some gelato! It was extra yummy on a day that was 95 degrees Fahrenheit! After another ride on our comfy tour bus, we arrived at our hotel in Amboise, and let me tell you, it did have a very beautiful view of the river in Amboise! It's also important to note, since I am American, and it was VERY hot while we were here, that we had wonderful air conditioning HAHA
Admiring Our Hotel & Amboise
The hotel booked by the Rick Steves' Europe tour company was PERFECT! It had the most beautiful view of the river and the location was right in front of a CHATEAU!!!!!! There also were so many restaurants, shops, GELATO places (very important 👍🏼)! It was the perfect quaint town to do some walking around and exploring. Boot felt so comfortable that he went into a small shop to practice his minimal Duolingo French by ordering "jus de banane" ( which means "banana juice"...sounds weird, but it was good) and "des pommes" (apples)! I was so proud!
Amboise had so much charm!
Mid-bite photo op
Our view from the hotel
This beautiful town was RIGHT behind our hotel...literally a 2 minute walk! Our hotel was in the perfect spot!
I like to call this "Vacation Boot" 💕
This was one of our favorite moments the whole trip! Imagine this, you're in France, just sitting in a quaint picturesque town, people watching, eating gelato as the sun sets, admiring the castle in the middle of town and a street musician shows up an starts playing the accordion!...Well this actually happened to us! It was the most perfect European moment! Although we were in a touristy area, the moment felt authentically French and it's a moment that I will treasure for the rest of my life! It sounds cheesy, but it was a small moment that changed this American girl's view on life!
Tour Day: 4
The Lady's Castle (Chenonceau) & the Château of the great inventor Leonardo Davinci (and a cat)
Ahhhh, now it's time for beauty and grace at the Lady's Castle...Chenonceau! We ate a delicious breakfast at our hotel! Then were provided with transportation on our tour bus with our amazing bus driver, Hervé, and our helpful guide Steve! The castle itself looked like an impressionist painting...it was so beautiful and had so many touches of beauty in the gardens!
Château de Chenonceau
A fairytale dream!
💕
*Tip: Don't forget to save lots of time to meander in the gardens!
Le Château du Clos Lucé
Boot was so excited to see Leonardo Davinci's home! He was freaking out to see his workshop and blueprints! Boot has an inventive mind and Leonardo Davinci is one of his heroes!
Our delicious lunch at the restaurant onsite at Clos Lucé!
Always love to meet a cute furry friend!
We were actually able to walk back to Amboise and our hotel from Clos Lucé! Anyone interested in traveling better invest in some good walking shoes...I'm just saying! 😂
A troglodyte home
Our absolutely adorable hotel hallway!
We ended our time in Amboise with a beautiful sunset on the river, right across the street from our hotel!
