Drive Time

Easter morning at 7:30 a.m. is a very quiet time in Paris, especially when daylight savings time began overnight and everyone just missed an hour of sleep. This was just as I wanted it for my first time driving in France, and especially driving in Paris.

We walked back to Gare du Nord, and after asking around a bit, we finally found the car rental agency tucked into a basement area beneath a stairway shrouded with construction barriers. They had a car ready for us, a "DS" -- a car I'd never heard of (turns out to be a sub-brand of Citroen, a long-establish French car brand). The car was a nearly new, bright red, and well-equipped diesel 5-speed.

Unfortunately, the equipment on the car was just about the least intuitive setup I'd ever seen. It took at least 20 minutes just to figure out the navigation system and the radio. I had driven for some miles before I got the hang windshield wipers. Cruise control took even longer (who knew they hid buttons on the back of the stem hanging off the steering column?). It was a smooth ride, though.

It's been a long time since I drove a straight stick, but it came back to me very quickly. Once out of Paris and onto the tollway, all was well. It was easier than driving in England, because at least the French drive on the right side of the road.

We drove through a flat, very agricultural area that reminded us of southern Illinois, to the Loire Valley, where the nobility of the 16th & 17th centuries built little summer cottages to get out of Paris in hot weather. By cottages, I mean mansions -- huge chateaus that served to demonstrate their wealth and allow them to entertain their friends with hunting and other pleasures of the countryside. There are dozens and dozens. We had time to visit only two.

A shot straight up the center of the "double helix" stairway from the bottom to the top.

Chambord was begun by King Francois I in 1518. There are some indications that Leonardo DaVinci had a hand in the design. If the idea was to overwhelm the guests with the stunning architecture, this filled the bill. The central feature is a double spiral stairway, with the two stairs intertwined as a sort of double helix from ground floor to top of tower. A central shaft brings natural light to the stairs all the way to the bottom. The symmetry of the palace makes for a somewhat confusing deja vu!

Chenonceaux straddles the River Cher (which flows into the Loire at Tours). An old tower standing guard over the river here was turned into a palace by a nobleman named Thomas Bohler. But Tom was off doing the king's business so much that it really became the home of his wife, Katherine Briconnet. She liked spending his money on lavish decor.

Later, King Henry II gave the place to his mistress, Diane de Poitiers, who also liked decorating. Henry had the misfortune of dying in a jousting match, and his wife, Catherine de Medici, quickly evicted the mistress in order to spend her long period of mourning here. Later women also factored into the history of this place, right up to World War II, when Resistance fighters used the covered bridge to get across the river without being nabbed by Nazis.

After a tiring day of driving and touring chateaus, we drove to the little town of Amboise (Ahm-BWAHZ) to find our hotel. Finding a place to park was the more difficult trick. Amboise has its own chateau, made from the old castle, right in the town center. We managed to find a place to eat dinner where we could look right at it.

Location:Amboise, France