Marie-Amélie, born near Naples, was the tenth of eighteen children. It was intended she would marry the future king of France, her first cousin the Dauphin Louis Joseph, son of her mother’s sister, Marie Antoinette, but he died of tuberculosis age seven.

In our previous blog we mentioned the portrait of Duchess Hélène of Mecklenburg (Mikla Burg -’big fortress’) in the Royal Château d’Amboise.

The portrait is there because as a close member of the French royal family she stayed in the Château on several occasions. Her husband Crown Prince Ferdinand, duke of Orléans, the eldest son of Louis Philippe, lived in the Château supervising the restoration work commissioned by his father who turned the old, cold, Château into a comfortable holiday retreat for his huge family.

With only days to go, Amboise might still be lucky enough to have a White Christmas. If not, pop into the Château Royal d'Amboise. It has one. And very pretty it is too. Well worth the visit.

In 1558, when the dauphin married Mary, Queen of Scots, Henry II considered his son to be the dauphin of Scotland. Official documents were headed ‘King and Queen Dauphins of Scotland, England and Ireland’.

Sighs of relief all round in Amboise. The prestigious Gustave Eiffel hangar near the station has been saved.

The vole has a rounder head than the mouse and a bigger, sturdier looking body. Muscular even. The mouse has much bigger ears (think Mickey Mouse) bigger eyes and longer tail than the vole.

Barcelona, Brussels, Geneva, Miami, Montreal, New Orleans, New York, Seoul, Shanghai, Tokyo, Venice, Washington and Finland all have his creations. Now Bout des Ponts has one too.