Loire Valley. After driving through thunder storms all day yesterday, last night was for the gorgeous chateau Chenonceau, where we toured the castle (the children's audio guide was better- like a radio theater production that made it come alive), then walked the gorgeous grounds, including a hedge maze. Had dinner at the base of Amboise castle, in the quaint pedestrian district where we watched hot air balloons float luxuriously by.We started our morning today at Clos-Lucé, the last home of Leonardo da Vinci. The gardens were our favorite, with life- sized replicas of many of his incredible inventions that we could try out. Our rainy day continued as we had a delicious lunch before touring Cheverny, which is beautiful and also fun because the family still lives there (with their pack of 120 hunting dogs)! It was a whirlwind stop, but each place felt cozy in it's own way and we met the resident cats and dogs of each place-so surprising and delightful to find them napping peacefully in these famous museum settings.