We drove through the Loire Valley, and headed to Amboise. The drive was lovely, more rolling fields and colors of green. The Loire is full of castles and chateaus, which were used by kings and royalty and the rich as hunting palaces, often in the winter. It was apparently easier to see the game which was being flushed out of the bushes by your servants when there were no leaves on the trees. We stopped and toured Chambord, which had something like 365 fireplaces. The rooms were giant, made from stone, and quite cold. I can only imagine what it was like in the winter. We camped in Amboise on an island in the Loire River, which was fun.