Loire Valley wine and riding

On our second day in the Loire Valley, we rode to a winery for a tasting and a tour of the caves where the wine is stored.  After a stop for lunch, we were scheduled to ride on to the "Sleeping Beauty Castle, but a rainstorm dampened our spirits a bit.  The van took us to the castle which does look like Sleeping Beauty is inside, but we did not go inside as only the outside is impressive. 

Then we got back on the bikes.  It was a long day of riding but mostly along the rivers, through two (certified) most beautiful villages in France, and on small roads by vineyards and farms.  There are far more bikes on the road than cars, many carrying their belongings in saddlebags.  The riding is so popular and so great here that I almost feel like I could manage a trip without Backroads.  Almost.  It is nice to have everything arranged and a van to go into when it rains.  Tonight they took us to a farm-to-table restaurant where I expected not to like the meal.  Farm?  Sounds like vegetables to me.  But I thought the food was great - foie gras (again) and duck.  I could turn into a foodie if I spent more time in France.  Nah.  Not likely.  I did have a glass of wine with dinner.

On Tuesday we rode to another winery for a tour and tasting.  I could become a wine connoisseur.  Nah.  Then we rode to the lovely town of Amboise which has not one but two chateaux.  We expect to come back to visit Chateau Amboise, but today we visited Clos de Luce where Leonardo da Vinci spent the last three years of his life.  Besides his bedrooms and art studios, the chateau has his drawing and working models of several of his inventions such as:  a car, an airplane, a parachute, a bicycle, various types of machine guns, various types of bridges, and lots of things with gears and pulleys that were beyond me.

Airplane invented by da Vinci

Seriously, this is a car.

Our hotel tonight is not a chateau but a hunting lodge which is even nicer than the chateau we stayed in.  French royalty apparently treated themselves quite well.

To give our legs a rest, we blew off the morning ride on Wednesday and got driven to the incredible Chenonceau Chateau.    Built on the north side of the river, the owner wanted to hunt on the other side without having to ride around, so she built a bridge from the chateau.  Later, when Catherine de Medici owned the chateau, she enclosed the bridge into a long ballroom.  The gardens are beautiful here as well.  The last time I was here, the weather was so rainy and windy that I have pictures of myself with my hair blowing straight to the side.  This week we have really lucked out with the weather.  The temperature is warm but not hot, and everything is in bloom from previous rain.

Another ride through small villages and rolling countryside.  Another great French meal topped, tonight with creme brulee.