These days we enjoyed a sumptuous French country breakfast: French cakes baked by the proprietress herself; and homemade yogurt - it was so delicious, very rich and sour, much better than the yak yogurt that An Qingju and An Chuyu had in Tibet; in addition, there was jam made by the proprietress herself from the fruits in her yard - the fig jam was so sweet!

Sometimes, even if you have done a thousand things on your own, it is not as effective as a suggestion from a local - this shows that communication is really beneficial. ,: . An Qingju and An Chuyu planned to go to Chenonceau Castle today (very close to where An Chuyu lived).

After consulting the proprietress, Marie suggested that An Qingju and An Chuyu go to Chenonceau in the morning. It is only 18 kilometers away and a short drive away, so they can avoid the large crowds of visitors.

For lunch, An Qingju and An Chuyu were recommended to go to a restaurant in the garden of Chenonceau Castle. She said that it would be worthwhile to have lunch there. After a rest in the afternoon, you can go to the town of Amboise to see the Amboise Castle. It turned out to be a good route.

An Qingju and An Chuyu were both lazy. They shamelessly took a nap after breakfast and didn't set off until 10:30. They arrived at Chenonceau in half an hour. Fortunately, there were not many people here - later they learned that the main group arrived around noon.

The castle tour ticket is 12.5 euros per person, which is the most expensive of all castle tour tickets. After entering, we followed the proprietress's suggestion and went straight to the l'orangerie restaurant (now we know it's called the "Orange Garden Restaurant"), holding the restaurant name written by the proprietress for An Qingju and An Chuyu and found it all the way. We made a reservation for dinner at 1pm.

Then we strolled back to visit Chenonceau. You don't need to carry a heavy travel book to visit Chenonceau. In fact, among the several castles where An Qingju and An Chuyu bought tickets, all the more famous castles provide free color simplified Chinese introductions. The castle's history (gossip), architectural style, and key points of the visit are all described in great detail.

It is indeed beautiful and charming, and deserves to be called the "Women's Castle". The overall style is feminine. Basically, everyone who plans to visit this castle knows that Henry II's wife and mistress were jealous of this castle. However, the colorful brochure does not introduce how this castle came about:

The earliest documented evidence of this castle dates back to the 11th century, when it belonged to a local lord. Later, the lord of this castle rebelled and it was burned down. It was later rebuilt, but it was not what it is now. At the end of the 15th century, the lord of the castle was heavily in debt and sold the castle to Thomas Bohier, the finance minister of Charles VIII, at a low price.

The wealthy minister completely remodeled the castle, but it was actually his wife and daughter who supervised and designed it, so the castle was designed with a very feminine vision. However, at the beginning, the castle did not have the long corridor across the Cher River at the back, it just stretched into the water - but that was already very beautiful.

Not long after the Minister of Finance built the house, he was framed by the king and went bankrupt. He had no choice but to sell the castle to the king - Francis I, and the castle became royal property.

Later, Francis I died, and his son Henry II (note that this time it was the King of France, not King Henry II of England; to be honest, are these the only names Europeans would give themselves?) took over the property and gave the castle directly to his favorite concubine, Diana de Poitiers.

Later, after Henry II died, his wife, the famous Catherine de Medici, drove this favorite concubine to Chaumont-sur-loire Castle, where she lived herself, handling government affairs while building the Water Gallery that An Qingju and An Chuyu saw later.

Later, the castle was no longer owned by the royal family. During the French Revolution, it was owned by Mrs. Louise Dupont. Later, during World War II, the castle was owned by the Menier family, known as the Chocolate Kingdom. Ms. Simone Menier, as the head nurse, transformed it into a field hospital and sheltered members of the resistance organization.

The castle was originally designed and built by women, and its famous owner was also a woman. This is the origin of the name "castle built by women for women". However, many fireplaces and wall decorations in the castle have traces of wars between women.

Especially the famous Catherine de Medici, as the wife of Henry II, she had never made much trouble when her husband was alive, but she became very powerful after her husband's death.

First, she chased her husband's mistress away (which is completely understandable). Then she built a castle in the mistress's castle, using her husband's initials "h" and her own initials "c" to decorate the room.

At the same time, this Medici was also the mother of the next three French kings (Francois II, Charles IX and Henry III), and was good at using poison and poisonous schemes. It was she who instigated her son Charles IX to launch St. Bartholomew's Day, which massacred Paris overnight and killed thousands of Huguenots.

Those who are interested can learn more about this history and sit in this "women's" castle to experience it.

Let's summarize the tour ideas. Let's talk about the castle first. The castle is divided into two parts: the main body and the water gallery. The main body is on the shore, and there are rooms one by one inside - it seems that each "female" host has her own room. There are also many "salon" rooms, which are full of collections. ——An Qingju didn't have much enthusiasm for the castle part.

What impressed An Qingjue most was the gallery on the water, which was the masterpiece of Henry II's wife. Let's talk about the first floor first. The first floor is a kitchen lying directly on the water, which has everything. Yes, a woman has to entertain her admirers and keep their stomachs.

Moreover, during the French Revolution, Madame Dupont established the Chenonceau Salon here. Voltaire, Rousseau, and Montesquieu all came here to discuss ideas, and the hostess naturally had to entertain them.

There are special hinges in the kitchen that extend from the window to the river surface. Farmers hang grain, meat, fruits and vegetables from the river surface to cook in these kitchens. There are countless copper pots in the kitchen, which is really an eye-opener.

The second floor is a super long ballroom. It lies across the river and has great light. The floor is black and white square bricks, and there are soft couches under each long window for resting. Just imagine how wonderful the ballroom would be. But its legend is more than that. During World War I, Menier, the chocolate empire, transformed Chenonceau into a hospital.

During World War II, the Cher River was a dividing line. The entrance to the castle was in the occupied zone, and the southern "gate" of the promenade led to the free zone, which was Vichy France. So many people walked from here to the free zone with the help of the resistance organization. Although the Germans were reluctant to give up the beautiful French art, they were always unhappy to see someone escaping under their noses.

Throughout the war, a German artillery company was on standby at Chenonceau, ready to blow up the beautiful hallway at any time. To An Qingju and An Chuyu, the castle and the courtyard were beautiful, but the French meal was even more tempting! At almost 1 o'clock, the two could not wait to go to the l'orangerie restaurant that An Qingju and An Chuyu had booked.

l'orangerie is a large and grand restaurant. If you don't have a reservation, you may have to wait outside - Marie is really considerate. The restaurant is very elegant. Guests with reservations sit in the glass 'flower' hall outside the main hall of the restaurant. The light is excellent, and you can see the green courtyard outside through the floor-to-ceiling glass.

At this moment, An Qingju and An Chuyu were not familiar with the French menu, and they needed to try many times before they could gradually "feel" their way around it. This time, the two of them ordered two sets of meals, which included four dishes: appetizer, main course, cheese, and dessert.

The knives and forks are placed on the table according to the four courses, and are used like this: the outermost is the appetizer, then the main course is served with the knife and fork above, and the dessert spoon is served separately.

An Chuyu's set meal is as follows: the appetizer is duck, the main course is pork in red wine, and the dessert is dailydelight, which is the chef's recommendation of the day - a dessert made according to the chef's mood: An Qingju's set meal is as follows: the appetizer is pork puree, the main course is stewed chicken leg, and the dessert is ice cream.

After finishing the meal, I thought this was French food, quite refined. It was delicious, and the portions were large. I really couldn't accept the cheese. It is said that every place in France has its own favorite cheese. The cheese here is a baked goat cheese, served with lettuce and crisp bread.

This cheese is included in every set meal, and it is obviously the specialty. Just as foreigners can't stand the stinky tofu and pine eggs of Chinese people, we will also feel pain when eating authentic cheese. One bite in. The food in An Qingju's stomach started to roll up and down as if it came alive. The taste was really... He gritted his teeth and ate a piece. The rest was eaten by An Chuyu.

se is a very heavy food. If you eat this at noon, you will not be able to finish your dinner. An Qingju and An Chuyu spent their dinner today digesting their lunch.

The lunch for two people cost nearly 70 euros. I think it is worth it. You would definitely not pay this much in Paris, and the food is really fresh and delicious.

After eating too much lunch, the two of them went back to their accommodation to take a nap after leaving Chenonso. It was 5:30 in the afternoon when they set out again. They went to the supermarket to refuel and bought some tomatoes to eat as fruits and vegetables in the evening.

Even though it was 5:30, the sun was so high that it seemed like it was only 2 o'clock. So even though I had a good sleep, I didn't feel that I had wasted any time at all - this is probably the benefit of traveling in Europe in summer.

According to the previous plan, the two crossed the river again and came to Amboise, a small town built along the Loire River. The wall of Amboise Castle was right by the river, which looked very impressive.

There is no mistake in the poem, post, content, and read the book on 6, 9, and bar!

This castle and the monuments around it are famous for two things: First, it is the birthplace of Charles VIII.

He was the last legitimate monarch of the Valois dynasty of France. Later, his relative Louis XII succeeded to the throne. Louis XII was at least the cousin of Charles VIII, and he did not even have cousins ​​below him. He directly gave the throne to his son-in-law, who later became Francis I.

(As a side note, the queens of Louis XII and Charles VIII were actually the same person: Anne of Brittany.) In any case, Charles VIII had deep feelings for his birthplace, and after he ascended the throne, he began to build this castle on a large scale.

His successor, and his successor's successor, Francis I, successively expanded the Château d'Amboise, making it a combination of defensive and artistic qualities.

Since the time of Charles VIII, France has been constantly conquering Italy, which has gradually made France fascinated by the Italian Renaissance art. When Francis I came to power, he directly began to promote the Renaissance in all aspects of French architecture, painting, and sculpture, which also earned the French king the title of "the founder of the Renaissance in France".

This is the second famous place of Amboise: it became the place where Leonardo da Vinci lived and was buried in his later years. Francis I brought Leonardo da Vinci from Italy and gave him a residence in Amboise.

You probably know this. In return, Leonardo da Vinci brought Francis I his most famous painting from Italy: Mona Lisa - which was also the first collection of the Louvre.

The entrance ticket to Amboise Castle is 10.7 euros per person. After buying the ticket, walk up along the road below. Opposite the building where An Qingju and An Chuyu met is a very beautiful white church. Leonardo da Vinci is buried here:

An Qingju and An Chuyu learned that this was the burial place of Leonardo da Vinci from Linda's book "Take a Book to Paris". I guess not many people actually know about it, and there are only a few words about it in the travel book. Leonardo da Vinci's tomb is embedded in the ground. There is a black marble relief of Leonardo da Vinci on the ground in a corner of the church. This is it.

The church itself is the king's private church in the castle. The eaves are carved with intricate animals and plants, which looks very beautiful.

One of the deepest impressions of visiting Amboise is its spaciousness. First of all, the castle is built by the river, with a very wide view, and you can see far and wide at once.

Second, the castle is mainly white and very high, which makes it look bright against the blue sky. Third, the castle is built on a high slope, which has a defensive function. In order to allow the carriage to go directly to the top of the castle, all the ramps are built very wide, so that the carriage can run directly:

Maybe it was because I felt refreshed after a long nap, walking around Amboise Castle, bathing in the sunshine, blue sky and rolling white clouds, and overlooking the Loire River, I felt extremely happy:

After leaving the castle, we walked along the ancient streets of Amboise to the last residence of Leonardo da Vinci before his death. It is said that many of Leonardo da Vinci's designs, such as windmills and aircraft, have been restored there according to Leonardo da Vinci's drawings. I didn't expect it to be closed. It's almost 8 o'clock! I went home.

After breakfast, the two of them walked around the town called Pocésurcisse. The advantage of staying here for a long time is that you can walk around these towns at will. Opposite where An Qingju and An Chuyu lived was a public park, which was very large, with a wide lawn, very thick and ancient pine trees, and even a castle. I guess it should be the castle of Mr. Pocé.

After a stroll, An Chuyu came back and took a luxurious nap. He didn't go out until 11 o'clock. The first destination today was not the castle, but the city of Tours; not for sightseeing, but for a Chinese meal.