Chambord Chateau * Light and Sound at Amboise Chateau
Today we tackled our first chateau - the largest one in the Loire Valley, 440 rooms with over 200 fireplaces. It was a hunting lodge for King Francois I (more about him later). It was impressive to look at the architecture and the rooms were huge, but bare. In the middle there is a double helix staircase so the royalty could go up and down one side and the servants the other without ever needing to pass each other. Speculation is that the entire chateau was designed by Leonard DaVinci because of it's mathematical layout and the double helix staircase, but there is no proof. We enjoyed the chateau and picnicked on the front lawn. We came home to relax and nap because in the evening we were going to the Light and Sound Spectacular at the Amboise Castle.
We had our concerns about the Light and Sound show after our experience at Notre Dame (basically a projected movie on a screen about the story of the saints) - but we read and heard good things about this spectacular and heard there were even fireworks after. It gets dark LATE here and it didn't start until 10:30 p.m. The Light part was amazing. They used the castle as a backdrop and screen for the many scenes of the show and the coloring and images were impressive. There were horses, soldiers, and 400 locals dressed in amazing costumes all telling the story of the rise of Francois I to the king of France. The only problem was it was a 90 minute narrative all in French. No songs, no music, no dancing - and the story was complicated. (Eric sat next to a French woman who learned English as a summer exchange student with a Mormon family in New Mexico - and she would give Eric bits and pieces of the story line).
All I figured was that there were some battles, close calls with death, a cameo appearance by Leonard DaVinci, and everyone lived happily ever after. The kids are not going to let me take them to any more light and sound shows for sure this summer!
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| Chambord Chateau |
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| Double Helix Stair Case |
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| Amboise Castle |
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