Day 3 - Visit to the Da Vinci Museum and Paris Diner Cruise


1st stop of the codebreaker tour was at Chateau Clos Luce, Ambroise. This was the home of Leonardo Da Vinci where he spent the last three years of his life, painting and pursuing his many passions until he died in this house on 2 May 1519. We got to explore the Master's bedroom, the kitchen with its monumental fireplace, the beautiful brick and stone Renaissance rooms and the delightful chapel built by Charles VIII for Anne de Bretagne. We also got to view the entrance door to the secret underground passage which is said to have linked Clos Luce to the Chateau d'Ambroise (a castle) and was used by Francis I when he visited Leonardo.


And this is the exterior view of the house that we are talking about. It may not be a big house but it does own a beautiful garden.











This is the bedroom of the Master.












Aha! This is the place where we had our lunch. Let me just brief you the lunch menu.

Buffet Lunch:
Pie with fresh herbs from the vegetable garden
Potted meat from Touraine
Salmon Flan with dill
tabbouleh with fresh mint
Scallop flan with dill and bed of leeks (don't remember eating this)
Saint Maure de Touraine goat cheese) with salad
Potted pear with fine wine from Chinon

Drinks:
Vin d'hypocras (red wine prepared with spices)
White wine prepared with sage and fresh mint
White wine prepared with strawberry and mild pepper

Haha, trust me. It's not that fantastic cos Joyce and I were not full. Somehow, the food all came in finger sizes and there was not really a main course with solid meat. But the wine was good. Interestingly, we had our lunch in this beautiful garden where we mingled with people from Poland and Finland.


After leaving Singapore, I thought I would be able to enjoy a cooler weather! How wrong! It turned out that Paris was going through a heatwave and the weather was worse there. So there I was in the free cap! We were leaving the master's house and taking a 15-minute walk to the castle of the French royals.







See. I am not alone in wearing the cap.













And this is the entrance to the castle or otherwise known as the fort. Like the temples in Ang Kor Wat, all castles come with a moat for defence purpose.









This is the catsle - Chateau d'Ambroise, the most important royal castle along the Loire, a courtly centre for French kings from mid-15th to mid- 16th century. Amazingly, I thought that the castle is well-maintained.









The princesses in front of the castle.













Notice the cat-like figures jutting out of the castle walls. These grosteque figures are one of the key features of the gothic architecture adopted by the Italians. The main function of the gargoyle is to displace the excess water from the roof.








Only in European countries do I get to see manicured gardens.











This is Saint Hubert Chapel within the castle ground. This is also the place where Leonardo was buried.


















A close-up view of the carvings on the chapel's walls. Notice the gargoyles.











And there is the tomb where the master lies.

We then took another 3-hour ride back to the heart of Paris. Unfortunately, the aircon in the bus was spoilt and we ended up sweating and suffocating in the heat for a full 3 hours. The windows were sealed and it was pretty unbearable. Joyce's perspiration literally dropped in beads and we were really sweating like pigs!












The last event of the day was a dinner cruise on the river Seine. And, yep, this is the Eiffel Tower in the day. We thought that the cruise would be something good. But after the suffocating ride, we ended up with finger food and all the guests just went forward to snatch the food!
















Me on the open-air ferry. Ironically, we changed into a more formal attire, hoping for a pleasanr surprise. It was disappointing to know that the cruise was just like this! Like those ferry that you take to cross between Hong Kong Island and Kowloon Island.












And there is my partner who was beaming!











Hmnn, this is Notre Dame Cathedral. It is a pity that we did not get to go there. The architecture is actually grand. So that concludes our Day 3 itinerary and the day ended in sweats and many hungry stomachs. Lucky we had brought the apples and chips from London.