Happy birthday to Michael! I know! Let's celebrate with a stomach bug from last night's dinner, that will give you a close intimate relationship with the bathroom! That sounds like fun. I suppose today we'll just take it easy and stay a bit local. Or at least close to a toilet at all times.
The Château du Clos Lucé is walking distance from where we're staying. Leonardo da Vinci lived his last three years here. The château gives a glimpse of his life in those last few years, and has a nice exhibit describing many of his inventions. To say that Da Vinci was an amazing person just doesn't do him any justice. He was so insanely skilled in many areas, that it's mind boggling. His interests included invention, painting, sculpting, architecture, science, music, mathematics, engineering, literature, anatomy, geology, astronomy, botany, writing, history, and cartography. The scope and depth of his interests were without precedent in recorded history. Can you imagine what it must have been like to know such a man?
Leonardo da Vinci is perhaps best known for painting the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper. Ellie and Addie really enjoyed investigating some of Da Vinci's inventions. There were models in the basement of the home, as well as larger ones on the garden grounds. Some of his more famous inventions include the parachute, helicoptor and tank. Others include the Vitruvian Man (a cultural icon), flying machines, adding machine, concentrated solar power, the double hull, movable barricades, hydraulic pumps and even a steamed canon. And the best invention of all? According to Addie, spoken with such a sense of amazement and respect, "he even invented the playground!" It goes without saying that this man was hundreds of years ahead of his time. Relatively few of his designs were constructed or were even feasible during his lifetime, and he had so many inventions!
No comments:
Post a Comment