Loire Valley Day II

I cannot begin to tell you how great the hospitality is at this place! Every morning we wake up to an all out breakfast feast. Today our hostess said it took her an hour just to make these perfect little grapefruit slices for us. Anyway, we ate breakfast at 9 this morning and got on our way to Le Clos Lucé which is a chateâu where Leonardo DaVinci spent the last few years of his life. The house itself was outstanding but the really special part was the room of his inventions and the gardens. His inventions were replicated and had an animated video to go with each one. I was stunned at how smart and ahead of his time DaVinci was. After touring inside we went into the gardens. They were absolutely amazing! There was a river, streams, and an awesome pond that had misters that made it look as if it were foggy. Of course there were many flowers and plant too. We continued to walk through the forested area where lifesize replicas of DaVinci's inventions were displayed. The best were an armoured tank that spun (Brynn loved it) and a machine gun that fired smoke. There were also other inventions but they weren't as impressive. DaVinci's house was definitely one of the best places we have toured so far. After that we headed to a winery to tour and tasted some wine. I am so surprised how many people here speak English. I am a little disappointed that I haven't spoken as much French as I had liked but instead I read a lot and sometimes try to listen to people having conversations in French. Anyway, the lady at the wine place spoke English. She let us tour the caves that they make and store the wine in. She told us the special process of making sparkling wine. She also explained the caves stay at a constant cool temperature perfect for the wine-they don't have to use any cooling systems. Next the adults tasted some of the wine. This area is known for their white wine so they don't make red wine. We enjoyed looking around and I guess Grandma, Grandpa, Dad, and Mom liked some of the wine. Yesterday the owner Anna asked us to have some wine and a snack with her this afternoon. We complied and enjoyed conversing with her. She told us she learned English from staying in Arizona for 3 years. She is a really nice lady-I am so glad we get to meet people like her. She reserved us a spot for dinner at a well known restaurant called Les Gueules Noirs. It was only a little ways away (after going in the wrong direction for a while) and had really good food. It was traditional French cuisine- I had beef with green beans wrapped in bacon. Grandma had pieds de cochon (pigs feet). I purposely didn't even look at her plate:) Besides that, everyone was happy- especially with dessert! Brynn and I had waffles with homemade rasperry whipped cream. Mom and Grandpa tried the sorbet and said it was awesome. The coolest thing about the restaurant was that it was in a cave. It was well lit and everything just the walls were rock! We are now going to bed because we have to get up early to catch a flight to Venice. I am really excited for Italy but disappointed to be leaving France. We all have loved this bed and breakfast so much that we would gladly come back. I guess the stereotypes about snobby French people either aren't true or we've been very lucky!

Gardens at Le Clos Lucé

Dad and Brynn at dinner tonight (notice the rock walls of the cave)