Day 37: Azay, Chenonceau & Amboise

This is from my journal entry on Thursday:

Thursday, 3 juin 2010
Today we went to Azay-le-Rideau, Chenonceau, and Amboise. I really liked all of them, though for different reasons. Azay was in a little city/town, set on the side with lots of land and kind of built in the water. A queen or king never lived there; it was for a financier. It was more down-to-earth and liveable. Also I loved the path and trees around it.

Chenonceau was just simply gorgeous. And when I use "simply" I mean it had a simple kind of beauty. It wasn't terribly ornate or extravagant. I felt that I could comfortably live there. There were also pretty French gardens surrounded by wilderness. The novelty of being built on water also appeals greatly to me. The history and stories of Chenonceau also fascinate me. Maybe one day I'll write children's or young adult books about Charters and these castles and their history. That really appeals to me. :)

Amboise was the castle of Francois I and it is where Leonardo da Vinci spent three years and has been buried. The history there and the tie to Ever After and Cinderella is appealing (I guess that's my word of the day) too. I watched that movie tonight with Paris and Rachel. Unfortunately they didn't even try to make the Amboise castle in the movie look like the real Amboise castle.