Charming Chenonceau
A fun bike ride to a castle
Since I arrived in Amboise to a gorgeous, sunny day at about 3:20 pm, I decided to rent a bike and ride out to the chateau of Chenonceau.
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Since I arrived in Amboise to a gorgeous, sunny day at about 3:20 pm, I decided to rent a bike and ride out to the chateau of Chenonceau.
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| I
rented a bike from Loca Cycle, just down the street from my
hotel. The man didn't speak much English, and his French was
pretty fast, but a couple of tourists from Montreal helped me
out. The price was 11 euros for the rest of the day, and I was
allowed to keep the bike overnight, so I didn't have to hurry back,
which was nice. |
On
the way to Chenonceau, I followed the green-and-white bike path signs. |
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| About
90 hot and tiring minutes later, I arrived at the Chateau de
Chenonceau. Admission was 10 euros ($14). My only tip
for those biking there: bring water or expect to buy a drink when you
get there. (The vending machines were 1.70 euros for a cold can
of Orangina, which went down wonderfully!) |
The
walk from the ticket office to the castle is shaded, then it opens up
to a spectacular view! |
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| What
a pretty castle! (Of course, it was under construction!) |
Next
to the castle is a pretty geometry garden. |
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| This
castle is famous for extending over the river. |
The
room over the water is this long gallery. Spectacular! |
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| It was
fun to look out of the window and see the river. |
A
woman was kind enough to take this picture with me and the chateau. |
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| Unbelievable! I
was walking back to the entrance through the farm area, and there she
was: one of the Las Meninas
scuptures by Manolo Valdés! (In my family, we call them
"The Girls.") We first encountered them in summer 2007 in
Helsinki, Finland. Next, I was in Monaco
in December 2008 and found one next to the casino. Here, it
was like meeting an old friend unexpectedly, half-way across the world. |
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