In between our visits of huge chateaus in the Loire Valley, we visited a tiny one called Clos Luce, where Leonardo da Vinci spent the last years of his life. It was then French King Francis I, upon the advice of his sister Marguerite de Navarre, who invited da Vinci to this chateau. So, from Italy, he rode a mule and brought with him his most important works, namely, The Mona Lisa, The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne, and the Saint John the Baptist. Here, da Vinci was free to dream, think, and work.

It is said that he received a pension of 1000 gold crowns a year and was even named "The King's First Painter, Engineer, and Architect".

Marc particularly enjoyed the visit here. Da Vinci's inventions, displayed, inside the chateau amazed him. It was indeed impressive to find out da Vinci's foresight into the future.

As for me, I was particularly impressed by the Mona Lisa painting on display here. Unlike in the Louvre where the painting is enclosed in bullet proof glass, the oil painting here hung on a wall where everyone could look at it very closely. It was equally magnificent even though it was just a replica.

From here we proceeded to Amboise, where there stood another super big chateau similar to Blois'.