AmaWaterways 3-day Loire Valley Land Extension

Hank Schrader, USMA '71, Europe Destination & Europe River Cruise Expert

Anne Schrader, Certified Travel Counselor & Certified Luxury Cruise Specialist

www.dreamdestinations.com

Most folks who travel to Europe from the US want to stay in Europe a few days before or after their 7-day river cruise. They often ask about the land extensions and what exactly one might get to see and experience on these extensions.

So, this will be the first in a series of land extensions offered by the various river cruise companies. We are going to start with the Loire Valley. To make this similar to what is posted on the website from AmaWaterways, I have put it in a bullet format and added some descriptions to enhance the visits with our pictures.

Transferring to Amboise

• BORDEAUX – DISEMBARKATION – LOIRE VALLEY/AMBOISE

• Disembark the ship and transfer to Tours for free time for lunch before arriving in the Loire Valley, where you will check into your Amboise hotel. (B)

Amboise

• Visit three of the Loire Valley’s regal châteaux starting with the Château de Chenonceau, one of the most beautiful castles in France.

• This château has been referred to as the “Women’s Castle” since it is the only castle in the region that has been built, inhabited, and saved by women during the Renaissance.

• Château du Clos Lucé was Leonardo da Vinci’s last home where he completed some of his most famous works under the patronage of the King of France.

• The Château d’Amboise, perched on a promontory overlooking the Loire River, was the first Renaissance château built in the Loire Valley and features extravagant residences, gardens and a Gothic chapel, where Leonardo da Vinci is buried. (B)

Amboise

This is a cool little town—great castle, good food, and the palace where the genius, Leonardo De La Vince spent his last 3 years. In 1516 Leonardo traveled to France and among the items he brought was his painting of the Mona Lisa and accepted a position working for the King of France as an engineer, painter and architect.

Chateau du Clos-Luce is an interesting look at Leonardo’s creativity—each room seems to emphasize his talents for painting, building, and inventing. The models of some of his inventions and ideas are really well done.

Chateaux Chenonceau—a Woman’s Palace

Built over the Cher River, this is an impressive chateau that I intuitively knew was going to be a special visit. From the entrance to this historic site, it is about a 15-minute walk to the chateaux through some wonderful gardens, a cool duck pond and a carriage house with splendid examples of horse drawn transportation and farming carts of the era. Here are some of our photos:

The tour took us through this palace, which originally was gifted by the King of France for his mistress. Diane De Poitier. We started of with the Guard Room and Chapel.

We next visited Diane De Poitier’s Bedroom, the Green Study, and the library. Here is the story about control of the palace.

Diane De Poitier is an interesting women—she was the mistress of King Henry II and he gave her the palace in 1547. When Henry died as a result of a jousting tournament accident in 1559, Henry’s wife, Catherine de Medici’s, quickly made sure Diane was no longer welcome and she took control of the Chateau.

My favorite room was the 200-foot-long Gallery. It instantly reminded me of the Hall of Mirrors in Versailles except with 18 windows instead of mirrors. The Gallery is actually the bridge over the river Cher. The dazzling chandeliers and tufa and slate floor of black and white tiles are stunning. It would be easy to imagine a wonderful evening ball here—there would be plenty of room to dance and socialize and this was exactly how this area was used by the royals for lavish parties.

**Chateaux Chenonceau 200-foot long Gallery Room over the Char River**

Amboise to Paris

• Check out of your Amboise hotel and, enroute to Paris, visit two more majestic châteaux.

• While Château de Chambord, located at the heart of Europe’s largest enclosed wooded park, began as an unassuming hunting lodge, it is now the biggest château in the Loire Valley with 426 rooms, 77 staircases and 282 fireplaces.

• Next, either marvel at the residence of seven kings and ten queens of France at the famous Château de Blois where you’ll discover the secrets of the French court or enjoy free time.

• Afterwards, transfer by motor coach to your hotel at Charles De Gaulle Airport. (B)

Château Chambord

One of the largest Chateaux in all France, Chambord has over 400 rooms. It was created as a hunting lodge and to impress visitors. On first sight, it does just that—this place is massive. 80 of the rooms are on display. This is a great example of French Renaissance architecture.

Château Chambord

There are 4 main areas of interest of this palace.

We entered and went up the double-helix staircase, the first of the must see in the chateau. It was designed so users could pass without seeing each other since there are two flights of stairs. It is rumored to be inspired by Leonardo De La Vince and some say it was designed so the King’s mistress and the queen could pass without having to meet.

The second area of great interest is the furnished apartments of the first floor. These are lavishly decorated and have furniture fitting for a king (although they are recreations—most of the original furnishings were looted during the French Revolution).

The third area is the keeps—the vaulted rooms of the second floor. The symbol of the king was the salamander and there are many carved into the walls and ceilings.

There are over 300 salamanders carved into the walls and ceilings of Chambord. It was the personal emblem of Frances I and symbolized resilence and fortitude.

The forth area is the terraces. The sweeping views, the turrets, the walkways are really special. In the center of the terraces is the lantern tower crowned with the fleur-de-lis.

The Lantern Tower—this is the highest tower in Chambord

Château du Bolis

This is a stop to view another great palace. There are 17 rooms of the Royal Apartments, 9 rooms of the Fine Arts Museum, and 4 other spaces including the largest room in this structure, the Estates General room, which has 6,720 flour-de-lis on the panels.

Our Final Thoughts

Sometimes, it is plain cool to visit royal palaces built to impress and try and imagine what it was like during that era to live as a royal.

This 3-day land extension is one of the best offered by Amawaterways, as it captures the heart of this region in an efficient and comprehensive manner. We would recommend this as well worth the extra expense.

We are travel experts, ocean and river cruise specialists, and Europe destination experts. We have first-hand knowledge of almost anywhere you want to visit in Europe. We know our products and the vendors who sell them to you. We have designed special tours for dozens of clients, led several and will continue to find just the right vacation that will exceed your expectations.

When you are spending your hard-earned money for a vacation, you want an advisor who can match you with the right trip. You want someone who will understand your expectations and fuel your anticipation (or excitement) to get you the best possible trip experience. And, you want someone who can help you with the decision making process. We think we have all these qualities.

Whatever your Dream Destinations are, we are here to help you get the best possible vacation based on what is important to you! We will provide you high quality, expertly planned travel. Please give me a call 713-397-0188 (Hank) or email me at hschrader@visitdd.com . We want to help you: Savor life…make memories…Visit Dream Destinations! Your journey begins here!

ANNE has earned a degree from the University of Houston in Hotel and Restaurant Management. Serving as the President of Visit Dream Destinations, LLC, since 2016, she is uniquely experienced professional travel advisor with over 26 years’ experience in the travel industry. Among her numerous certifications, she is a Certified Travel Counselor (CTC) by the Travel Institute, considered the gold standard in travel agent certification and she is also an Accredited Cruise Counselor (ACC) by the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), as well Luxury Cruise Specialist also from CLIA. Having traveled often to Europe since 1989, she has expanded on her certification as a Destination Specialist in Western Europe (DS) with extensive first-hand experience in luxury vacations. She holds numerous other specialty designations from individual vendors. An expert photographer, she delights in capturing the true essence of destinations to share with all.

HANK is a certified Western European Destination Specialist (DS) who has been traveling to Europe for 52 years. He is also an Accredited Cruise Counselor (ACC), conferred by the Cruise Line International Association (CLIA). This recognized expert in cruise and leisure travel is a retired Army Officer, and taught World Geography for 8 years. He is a `71 graduate of West Point and has earned 2 master’s degrees. His other Certifications:

AmaWaterways River Cruise Specialist
Viking River Cruise Specialist
Scenic River Cruise Specialist
Emerald Waterways Specialist
Avalon Waterways Specialist
Brit Agent

AmaWaterways 3-Day Loire Valley Land Extension

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