The Loire， the longest river in France， rises south of the Central Massif and flows into the Atlantic Ocean 1020 km later. This is the part that goes from the city of Orleans to the city of Tours， enclosing that area of the Loire Valley in which over 100 magnificent castles lie.

What we are looking at is the castle of Beauregard. In this residence the central part has a double gallery with arcades opening onto the ground floor， which was commissioned by Jean de Thier， secretary of state to Henri II. There is a collection of paintings quite unique in the world.

This sumptuous salon， built in the 17th century， which is covered with exquisite woodwork and has a marvelous ceiling with decorated beams， contains over 300 portraits going from the first sovereign of the Valois up to Louis XIII of Bourbon. Here is Charles VIII， Louis XII and Francois I， it was primarily they who brought to the region： painters， cabinet-makers， sculptors， and architects， who were to live and work here.

In this chapel， which has a nave and two aisles， there lies the tomb of a genius： Leonardo da Vinci. Leonardo arrived in Ambries in 1517， having been invited to the court by Francois I， and was put up in this residence which is called Cols Luce. The artist lived out the last years of his life here and Francois I acquired that masterpiece that even today represents one of Frances treasures： the Mona Lisa.

We continue on our way to visit another very special castle： Villa dry. Built on the banks of the Loire in 1536 it is distinguished by its architectural peculiarity， which is characterized above all by its rectangular pavilions instead of round towers. But its fame is especially connected to the marvelous Italianate gardens. Here in Villa dry he called Don Pacello da Mercogliano to the courts， which were more a great Italian artist rather than a gardener. On the lower level， there is the decorative vegetable garden， the most visually striking and original of the whole estate. It is amazing to see how simple lettuces and vegetables manage to have this ornamental quality.

Excellent wines are produced in the many vineyards in the ancient province of Touraine， which lies around Tours. Wines that make you love this area even more， just as the great writer Honore de Balzac also loved it. And in Touraine you also learn to love wine. Its history dates back as far as the Gauls and its international. Reputation has certainly no need of further comment.

The ones here are the dry white Sancerre， strong and vibrant， Vouvray， sparking and clear， it looks like a waterfall of pearls. This wine reminded Rabelais， the great writer of the 16th century， of taffeta， a silky and delicate fabric.

Those who love glowing reds will not be disappointed by the Loirs Valley： here is Bourgureil， with the strong perfume of raspberries. Chinon， on the other hand， has a delicate hint of violets.

And so， glasses raised. A toast to the beauty of these dreamlike places.

A journey on the Loire is a meander in history， art and daily life. It is in corner of Europe that etched itself deeply in the heart and mind.

盧瓦爾河是法國(guó)最長(zhǎng)的河流。它發(fā)源于中部山區(qū)的南部，綿延1020公里后，流入大西洋。這里是位于奧爾良和圖爾斯之間的河段，其中就有盧瓦爾河谷， 100多座宏偉的城堡屹立于此。

現(xiàn)在我們看到的是波爾加德堡。這座建筑的中心有一個(gè)雙層畫廊，其拱廊通向第一層。它是由亨利二世的國(guó)務(wù)卿Jean De Their授權(quán)修建的。這里收藏了世界上獨(dú)具特色的繪畫作品。

這座修建于17世紀(jì)的豪華藝術(shù)沙龍，外部飾有精美木藝，房頂?shù)拇右脖痪难b點(diǎn)。這里保存的300多件人像的歷史可以上溯至Valois開國(guó)王朝時(shí)代，下到波旁王朝的路易十三世時(shí)期。主要是查爾斯八世、路易斯十二世和佛蘭索瓦一世這些統(tǒng)治者把畫家、木匠師、雕塑家和建筑師帶到了這片他們生活工作的地方。

在這個(gè)設(shè)有一個(gè)小廣場(chǎng)和兩道回廊的禮拜堂里，安葬著一位天才——來(lái)昂那多·達(dá)·芬奇。應(yīng)佛蘭索瓦一世約見，達(dá)芬奇于1517年來(lái)到安布瓦絲堡，并被安排住在Cols Luce。藝術(shù)家在此度過了晚年，而佛蘭索瓦一世也得到了堪稱法國(guó)國(guó)寶的不朽之作——《蒙娜麗莎》。

我們繼續(xù)向前，參觀另一座很有特色的城堡——Villa dry。它于1536年建于盧瓦爾河畔，建筑特色使該城堡聞名遐邇。矩形的亭子是它最為顯著的特色，而不是尋常的圓塔。不過跟它的大名尤其相關(guān)的是那意大利式的花園藝術(shù)。在Villa dry，意大利園藝師皮埃爾·德·邁柯利阿諾更像是一位藝術(shù)家，而不是園藝師。在地勢(shì)低的地方，還有一個(gè)裝飾性的蔬菜花園，自然最原始的本色成為最令人賞心悅目的景致?？吹竭@些最普通的菜蔬這么努力地裝扮一方天地，不禁讓人贊嘆。

優(yōu)質(zhì)的葡萄酒產(chǎn)自法國(guó)省區(qū)——都蘭的許多葡萄莊園中，這些莊園遍布都蘭，歷史悠久。葡萄酒會(huì)令你對(duì)該地更加神往，就如同偉大的作家巴爾扎克一樣對(duì)這里產(chǎn)生迷戀。在都蘭，你還能學(xué)會(huì)愛上葡萄酒。追溯歷史，早在高盧時(shí)期，當(dāng)?shù)仄咸丫频拿烂鸵呀?jīng)響譽(yù)天下，無(wú)需贅述。

這里有桑塞爾白葡萄酒，味烈勁大。沃萊白葡萄酒，振奮清爽，看起來(lái)就如珍珠串成的瀑布，這種酒曾被16世紀(jì)的偉大作家拉伯雷喻為柔滑精細(xì)的絲綢織品。

這里出產(chǎn)的酒有濃烈鮮艷的Sancere和眩目清澈的Vouvray，那看上去如同珍珠般的瀑布。這種酒在16世紀(jì)法國(guó)作家Rabelais的筆下被比喻成一種精美的絲織品。

那些喜愛紅酒的人也不會(huì)在盧瓦爾河流域失望，這里的Bourgureil酒散發(fā)著懸鉤子果濃郁的香氣。Chinon酒則呈現(xiàn)出著紫羅蘭雅致的韻味。

那么，就讓我們舉杯，為這里夢(mèng)幻般的美景慶祝。

暢游在盧瓦爾河，仿佛漫步在歷史、藝術(shù)與現(xiàn)實(shí)的交錯(cuò)中。在這歐洲的一角，它已被深深鐫刻在人們的心靈中。