May 12 Amboise, Château de Chenonceau

Cloudy morning in the Loire Valley. First Breakfast with Chef Justine. In search of sunshine we set out for markets, a Chateau and small villages. Amboise market was our first stop. A lovely market all full of great looking fruits and vegetables. This market is on the banks of the Loire River the longest river in France and this is the best market in the area, they say. It was really neat especially on Fridays.

*Market view of one of the rows of venders to expore*

*The locals are out with a mission in mind*

*Fresh Mediditerrean Olives beckoned us. We bought some for nibbles and lunch… so yummy*

*Picked up some Madagascar Vanilla beans and Spices at the this booth*

Making our way through the many booths we stopped one particular Bakery booth known in this area for winnning the best croissants, unfortunately we were to late. Already sold out, instead, we purchased some of the best fruit and nut bread. (Unfortunately we weren't able to make it to their bakery which is close to Tours, maybe next time we visit this area.)

*The bakery booth was out of the award winning croissants. We settled for the best fruit and nut bread.*

The strawberries we purchased were free from pesticides the best ones we have ever had, super sweet.♡ Wishful thinking, wishing I had a great big market basket to fill with veggies and fruits. Maybe next time:).

Crossing the street in the town of Amboise we found ourselves meandering the quaint streets.

*Found lunch on this street at the Patissier*

Here we bought Téo a little black car to remember the trip to resemble the black Mini Fiat 500 we are driving. Jeff went into a shop to get us some sandwiches for lunch.

In the meantime,Téo was getting hungry and making quite a fuss. So we went back to the vehicle to feed the baby and Jeff walk to the nearby Boulangier/Pattasaier called Bigot known to habe the best icecream/gelato. We splurged on some Pistachio and Coconut gelato to eat Before lunch.

*Yummy and silky smooth. Pistachio and Coconut*

Everyone was ready to go again.We set out for the grand Château de Chenonceau to find a place to have a picnic to enjoy our market shopping and then tour the Château.

Finding a picnic area nearby in a quiet peaceful area near the entrance to the estate.

We enjoyed our spread while the boy played nearby in the grass. (*The bread in these sandwiches wasn't the best. With so many excellent bread options around it was a little disappointing) The other food options we bought at the market were so delicious!

Picnic over, we paid the entree ticket booth 18 Euros for per adult and soon found ourselves walking down this long, magistic, tree-lined lane leading directly to the Château de Chenonceau in the distance.

*Stunning tree lined lane leading to the Chateau*

Château de Chenonceau oh the beauty of the past. Why do we let beauty go? The whole earth could be a fairy garden full of positive energy. This Beautiful Château is built over the river capturing the energy of the flowing water.

So many buildings and beautiful gardens on the grounds of the Château.

These pictures will give you a peek into some of the rooms on the inside of the Château including the long bridge portion spanning over the river below.

Téo fell asleep in the carrier on Jeff's back as we strolled around the gardens, carriage houses and the apothecary. Yes, an apothecary. In this era they knew the power of the plants surrounding us in nature. All labeled beautiful jars for herbs, rare plants etc..

Next we ventureed by the nearby carriage house and surrounding buildings. Here we learned this area was used as a hospital during the world war.

We wandered through the Château's large vegetable gardens nearby.

Enjoying the beautiful sunshine in the gardens, our day was filling complete. All that was lacking was spending time around Chef Justine's dinner table.

On the drive back we drove by Château Montressor. Feeling like we had seen enough Château for the day, we decided a look from the outside was good enough.

We continued on through the countryside and small towns.(* The streets are so narrow throughout the towns; one way is always given the right away. You have to watch the signs and the obstacles in the roads. Cones, speed bumps, wire cages with rocks etc. Anything to go around to slow you down or a obstacle course as Jeff would call it. It did seem like a obstacle course with partial roads blocks at random places. No texting and driving here 😀. There may have even been a speed trap coming into these small town (electronic police). Hopefully we don't have any tickets coming in the mail. We weren't aware of the signs and what they meant at the first part of our trip. Thanks to Jean-Yves advice, we now know.

Passing through the beautiful agriculture countryside called for converting our Fiat into a convertible to enjoy weather.

Back at our B&B, Justine gave a tour of her yard and garden and Téo spent some time with his buddy Napoleon the dog.

Then we cleaned up a bit before dinner. Justine served us Olive Tapenade Toast for a starter, fresh bread, fresh Tomatoes Avocado Mousse for the entrée, Pasta with fresh Pesto and Pine nuts for the Plat. Last but not least, a Rhubarb Crisp for dessert.

Such Yumminess, Thank You Chef!

Cozy ending to a beautiful day!

(Till tomorrow)

Amboise Market, Château de Chenonceau, Loire Valley

Tours, Château Villandry, Loches, France

Lyon, On to River Loire Valley, France