After checking out at the hotel and deposited our belongings at the counter because we would be coming back in the afternoon, we went to the train station. We wanted to buy a ticket to Chenonceaux and from there to Amboise. However, to go from Chenonceaux to Amboise, we had to return to Tours. As such, the man at the counter recommended that we take the shuttle bus there. While he was processing, we were unsure if we should buy the ticket from Chenonceaux to Amboise or go to Chenonceaux to check the bus timing. In the end we chose the latter which was the wrong choice.
Everyone on board the train was going to Chenonceaux to see the castle. There was a group of British tourists and another group of Chinese tourists. By now, I had seen quite a number of British in the Valley and I just love their accent. I can’t wait to go to London. When we reached Chenonceaux, we headed to the Tourism Office but it would only open at 10am. Hence we went on to the castle thinking that perhaps the office there could help us. At the entrance, we met the driver who was with us yesterday morning. He helped us check for the bus timing and indeed there was one at around noon. However, he said the bus company might not be operational because of a major strike today. He said he could bring us to Amboise for 10 euros each. After doing a quick mental calculation, that driver was really trying to kah us.
We went back to the Tourism Office and the lady there wasn’t sure if the bus line would be affected by the strike. She was kind enough to call for us but no one pick up the phone. In the end, we decided not to waste anymore time (though half an hour has been wasted) and went to buy the tickets. We were both unfamiliar with the machine and decided to buy from the controller on board the train later. With that decided, we quickly went back to the castle, Chenonceau. This castle like all other castles had a forecourt and gardens around it. The interior was nothing special but still we hope there was more time. As usual I was reading and following the pamphlet while hui was snapping all the way. With 20 min remaining, we went out of the castle to take the classical view of its exterior. This castle has a portion of it built across the river connecting to the mill at the other end. Hence, the most beautiful picture to take was to capture the long portion over the river. And in order to take a good pic, hui climbed the parapet and accidentally damaged his waist pouch. Sacrificing for art of photography.
We went back to the ulu little train stop waiting for the train. This castle was the most beautiful in the Valley but yet we had only a little time for it. The train came shortly and it was really small; just one single car. There was one controller onboard and we told him we wanted to go to Amboise. It must have disrupted his routine duty because not only must he write the ticket for us, he had to check the tickets of those passengers who had just boarded the train. He took a long time in getting the small task done. Hui felt that he was unprofessional as he had to look at the instructions on how to write and issue a ticket onboard. I didn’t notice that.
When we reached Amboise, we wanted to find our way to the tourism office. However, hui suggested that we could ask the people at the train station. My first impression of the train station was it was small and hence whoever was behind the counter couldn’t speak English. I was completely wrong. The guy not only spoke English well, he even had a brief map of the town and pointed to us where the tourism office, the museum of Leonardo and the castle were. On the way, we stopped at a sandwich shop and bought some tasty sandwiches for lunch. We had about 2 hours in Amboise and my priority was to visit the home of Leonardo. The castle visit was secondary. Anyway, I guess it would be somewhat the same as other castles. Leonardo Da Vinci spent his remaining three years here at the invitation of the French King. It was here that he finished Mona Lisa. However, this museum featured mainly on his inventions. Hui was very excited about all the inventions and was running around trying the gadgets. I was just quietly walking and admiring and he thought I wasn’t interest. I am as usual interested in anything that belongs to the past. I knew about his inventions a long time ago and hence wasn’t that surprise. Also, I was pretty tired and my mood was somewhat affected by the short visit of Chenonceau in the morning. It was too short.
The museum was packed with students on excursion and I really wanted to tell them to fuck off from here. They were making so much noise and a couple was kissing while looking at the exhibition. It was the same in other castles where it was just too crowded and noisy. I had absolutely no mood at all to admire the beauty of the castles and wanted to get out of there. The garden outside the museum displayed some of his inventions remade in real size. Courtesy of IBM. After touring the castle, we left the museum. We had too much time to linger around the town which was quite empty but too little time to visit the castle of Amboise. In the end, we just took some pictures of the castle and headed back to the train station.
We went back to Tours and retrieved our belongings from the hotel. Then I waited in McDonald’s for hui to go and buy his bread. That would be his meal on the long journey back. For me, I ordered a Mac set called Royal Deluxe. But it tasted just like double cheeseburger. Soon we had to part but in a month’s time we would be meeting again. After he left, I still had 1.5 hours more and I spent that time reading a book which I had bought on the castles in the Loire Valley. I felt tired soon and started to draw the people in Mac. There were 4 elderly chatting at a table opposite me. It was a great contrast. Elderly and Mac. Most of the people in that Mac were ah bengs and lians. Then there was a Korean family and the toddler girl was really cute. Running around, getting balloons from the counter herself.
It was time for me to go. At the platform, before boarding the train, a French woman asked if this train was bound for Le Mans. I said yes but hope she wouldn’t ask any further question because I don’t think I can help much. At Le Mans, I was supposed to change to another train back to Rennes. However, the screen displayed that the train would be an hour late! Freak! I sat at the platform and started drawing again. There were constant announcement about the late train but I couldn’t figure out the details. The announcement was quite frequent and I began to feel suspicious. Why did they have to keep announcing that the train is late? Can’t we see it with our eyes? I walked to the giant display and saw that 5 min later there would be another train coming which was going to Rennes also. As soon as I figured out that, the train came but it was at another platform. I ran down the underpass to that platform, caught a train assistant and asked her if I can board this train. She couldn’t speak English but luckily I understood a bit of what she was saying. She was telling me to find the controller of that train and get his approval. I ran to the head of the train and heard whistles behind me. Shit. They were closing the door. I found the controller, showed him my ticket and said that the original train was late. He allowed me to board this train and I just hopped into the nearest door before all the doors were closed.
Another close shave. But I was more worried that because I was rushing, I might board the wrong train. That however, didn’t happen. When I reached Rennes, it was 10pm and it was still quite bright. In fact, it was brighter than in Tours. Either I had not been going out at around this time (my soccer games are normally after this time or much earlier) or the weather had changed suddenly over the weekend. In any case, I felt quite safe being in Rennes as if I was back home. Everything was familiar and comfortable.
This Loire Valley trip served as a starter for my 3 week tour starting in June. It also allowed me to visit one of France most visited tourist attraction. This ironically pissed me quite a bit. The freaking crowd in the castles really dampened my mood. After this trip, I would re-look at my tour plan and do some adjustment so that we would have enough time to visit and rest in between. I think resting in between visits is essential, esp. for me. If I am too tired, I wouldn’t be able to fully appreciate what I am seeing. That means dropping some places of interest if necessary. I rather go for quality than quantity.
Everyone on board the train was going to Chenonceaux to see the castle. There was a group of British tourists and another group of Chinese tourists. By now, I had seen quite a number of British in the Valley and I just love their accent. I can’t wait to go to London. When we reached Chenonceaux, we headed to the Tourism Office but it would only open at 10am. Hence we went on to the castle thinking that perhaps the office there could help us. At the entrance, we met the driver who was with us yesterday morning. He helped us check for the bus timing and indeed there was one at around noon. However, he said the bus company might not be operational because of a major strike today. He said he could bring us to Amboise for 10 euros each. After doing a quick mental calculation, that driver was really trying to kah us.
We went back to the Tourism Office and the lady there wasn’t sure if the bus line would be affected by the strike. She was kind enough to call for us but no one pick up the phone. In the end, we decided not to waste anymore time (though half an hour has been wasted) and went to buy the tickets. We were both unfamiliar with the machine and decided to buy from the controller on board the train later. With that decided, we quickly went back to the castle, Chenonceau. This castle like all other castles had a forecourt and gardens around it. The interior was nothing special but still we hope there was more time. As usual I was reading and following the pamphlet while hui was snapping all the way. With 20 min remaining, we went out of the castle to take the classical view of its exterior. This castle has a portion of it built across the river connecting to the mill at the other end. Hence, the most beautiful picture to take was to capture the long portion over the river. And in order to take a good pic, hui climbed the parapet and accidentally damaged his waist pouch. Sacrificing for art of photography.
We went back to the ulu little train stop waiting for the train. This castle was the most beautiful in the Valley but yet we had only a little time for it. The train came shortly and it was really small; just one single car. There was one controller onboard and we told him we wanted to go to Amboise. It must have disrupted his routine duty because not only must he write the ticket for us, he had to check the tickets of those passengers who had just boarded the train. He took a long time in getting the small task done. Hui felt that he was unprofessional as he had to look at the instructions on how to write and issue a ticket onboard. I didn’t notice that.
When we reached Amboise, we wanted to find our way to the tourism office. However, hui suggested that we could ask the people at the train station. My first impression of the train station was it was small and hence whoever was behind the counter couldn’t speak English. I was completely wrong. The guy not only spoke English well, he even had a brief map of the town and pointed to us where the tourism office, the museum of Leonardo and the castle were. On the way, we stopped at a sandwich shop and bought some tasty sandwiches for lunch. We had about 2 hours in Amboise and my priority was to visit the home of Leonardo. The castle visit was secondary. Anyway, I guess it would be somewhat the same as other castles. Leonardo Da Vinci spent his remaining three years here at the invitation of the French King. It was here that he finished Mona Lisa. However, this museum featured mainly on his inventions. Hui was very excited about all the inventions and was running around trying the gadgets. I was just quietly walking and admiring and he thought I wasn’t interest. I am as usual interested in anything that belongs to the past. I knew about his inventions a long time ago and hence wasn’t that surprise. Also, I was pretty tired and my mood was somewhat affected by the short visit of Chenonceau in the morning. It was too short.
The museum was packed with students on excursion and I really wanted to tell them to fuck off from here. They were making so much noise and a couple was kissing while looking at the exhibition. It was the same in other castles where it was just too crowded and noisy. I had absolutely no mood at all to admire the beauty of the castles and wanted to get out of there. The garden outside the museum displayed some of his inventions remade in real size. Courtesy of IBM. After touring the castle, we left the museum. We had too much time to linger around the town which was quite empty but too little time to visit the castle of Amboise. In the end, we just took some pictures of the castle and headed back to the train station.
We went back to Tours and retrieved our belongings from the hotel. Then I waited in McDonald’s for hui to go and buy his bread. That would be his meal on the long journey back. For me, I ordered a Mac set called Royal Deluxe. But it tasted just like double cheeseburger. Soon we had to part but in a month’s time we would be meeting again. After he left, I still had 1.5 hours more and I spent that time reading a book which I had bought on the castles in the Loire Valley. I felt tired soon and started to draw the people in Mac. There were 4 elderly chatting at a table opposite me. It was a great contrast. Elderly and Mac. Most of the people in that Mac were ah bengs and lians. Then there was a Korean family and the toddler girl was really cute. Running around, getting balloons from the counter herself.
It was time for me to go. At the platform, before boarding the train, a French woman asked if this train was bound for Le Mans. I said yes but hope she wouldn’t ask any further question because I don’t think I can help much. At Le Mans, I was supposed to change to another train back to Rennes. However, the screen displayed that the train would be an hour late! Freak! I sat at the platform and started drawing again. There were constant announcement about the late train but I couldn’t figure out the details. The announcement was quite frequent and I began to feel suspicious. Why did they have to keep announcing that the train is late? Can’t we see it with our eyes? I walked to the giant display and saw that 5 min later there would be another train coming which was going to Rennes also. As soon as I figured out that, the train came but it was at another platform. I ran down the underpass to that platform, caught a train assistant and asked her if I can board this train. She couldn’t speak English but luckily I understood a bit of what she was saying. She was telling me to find the controller of that train and get his approval. I ran to the head of the train and heard whistles behind me. Shit. They were closing the door. I found the controller, showed him my ticket and said that the original train was late. He allowed me to board this train and I just hopped into the nearest door before all the doors were closed.
Another close shave. But I was more worried that because I was rushing, I might board the wrong train. That however, didn’t happen. When I reached Rennes, it was 10pm and it was still quite bright. In fact, it was brighter than in Tours. Either I had not been going out at around this time (my soccer games are normally after this time or much earlier) or the weather had changed suddenly over the weekend. In any case, I felt quite safe being in Rennes as if I was back home. Everything was familiar and comfortable.
This Loire Valley trip served as a starter for my 3 week tour starting in June. It also allowed me to visit one of France most visited tourist attraction. This ironically pissed me quite a bit. The freaking crowd in the castles really dampened my mood. After this trip, I would re-look at my tour plan and do some adjustment so that we would have enough time to visit and rest in between. I think resting in between visits is essential, esp. for me. If I am too tired, I wouldn’t be able to fully appreciate what I am seeing. That means dropping some places of interest if necessary. I rather go for quality than quantity.
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