Amboise in Black and White

These last three weeks, when we go to Spain – as we do every January – to catch up with the Catalan family and dodge the English winter, have not gone according to plan. The weather was just as awful in Spain as it apparently was in England, and all those named storms spread themselves liberally about, making sure nobody was spared. So our plan to have a final week driving home in a leisurely fashion, exploring Spanish towns we haven’t so far visited just got junked. We stayed on with the family and cleared out cupboards for them.

You’ve seen what the drive home was like. Here are a few shots from our very last stop-over, in Amboise, a charming historic town on the River Loire with a glorious Royal Château. It managed not to rain, but goodness, it was cold! We’ve promised ourselves we’ll go back, when the weather’s kinder, and when we haven’t got a ferry to catch later in the day. Here’s a taster:

Here are three shots of the Château: well, one’s of a perching pigeon really, and one of the town gates. The featured photo is of the Château too, dominating the riverscape as night fell and the full moon pierced the misty night sky.

In my shallow way though, I’m also going to show you a window display that caught our eye. It’s just the kind of shop you need if you require a suit of armour, a sword or two, or some sexy underwear for a half-sized doll.

For Leanne’s Monochrome Madness.

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Author: margaret21

I'm retired and live in North Yorkshire, where I walk , write, volunteer and travel as often as I can.

20 thoughts on “Amboise in Black and White”

  1. You know France so much better than me, Margaret. I have to consult Google maps. It’s a nice looking chateau, but a January ‘holiday’ always comes with risks. I’m sorry that this one didn’t go so well, and hope you’re all feeling in fine fettle for Spring. I’m sure it’ll be along soon xx

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  2. Ah, Amboise… long time since I went there. Your first night shot looks most impressive, and you have shown off French twee with the Tapisserie window display and your description of same!

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  3. Gosh this brings back memories to our first holiday to France in about 1985. We saw the chateau as we drove through on our way somewhere else. Always meant to return to actually visit the place but somehow it hasn’t happened yet

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    1. Here’s what AI, Google style, told me: ‘The Château Frontenac in Quebec City is not directly modeled on the Château d’Amboise, but rather is designed in the “Châteauesque” style inspired by the broader, picturesque 15th- and 16th-century châteaux of France’s Loire Valley. Architect Bruce Price created the design in the 1890s, using steep roofs, turrets, and towers, which evoke a general romantic, medieval French feel rather than a specific copy of Amboise’

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  9. We stayed in Amboise for a week on our first trip to Europe in 2001. We visited the chateau, of course, and we also had a most memorable meal at Les Hauts de Loire. (We don’t shop when we’re overseas, and we don’t buy souvenir tat but we always try to have one meal at a posh restaurant in each place we stay at. We are usually the only people there who fly economy and have a mortgage. The waiters know that, of course and they are always nice to us because they know that we are there for the food, not to be ‘seen’.)

    Anyway, we sat on antique chairs in a stunning anteroom while we chose our courses, and then the sommelier made suggestions for wines to accompany them. Then into the dining room with the world’s most attentive waiters. Apart from the superb cheese trolley, my favourite part of that meal was when I ordered an after dinner cognac and (in my imperfect French) asked the waiter’s advice because I didn’t recognise any of the brands. It was truly a divine cognac, a perfect ending to a magnificent unforgettable meal.

    To give my husband credit, he did not even flinch when the bill came. That cognac was $80AUD. It was probably the least expensive one they had. When I tell this story I always say that when I’m an old lady in a nursing home and they’re feeding me mashed unrecognisable everything, I will remember that magical cognac!

    BTW when you do get back to Amboise, take yourself up on the ramparts with a wide lens camera and get a shot of the pedestrian walkway and the shops from up above.

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