Pays de la Loire The Loire

[Lisa in Ottawa]

Here we are in France for 10 days at the beginning of our 4 month travel adventure. We flew business class on Ron’s points from Toronto to CDG. Sooo much better than economy. I’m afraid I’m forever spoiled. Less said about the drive from the airport to Tours the better. We were pleasantly surprised by Tours especially the old town. Another lovely mid sized French city with lively squares filled with cafes. The street in front of the hotel de ville (city hall) reminded me of a mini Champs d’Elysee with fountains in front and traffic circling round.

The wedding in the cathedral and reception at Chateaux Villandry was wonderful. The one solemn and moving and the other lots of fun. The French really go at it and dance till dawn but not us. Chateaux Villandry has the most amazing gardens. They are a recreation of a renaissance garden. Very authentic. Done organically.

After brunch, at the chateaux ( I don’t know how they did it. Danced till 4am and back for brunch by noon), we were off to tour the Loire. We drove directly to our b&b in the heart of the countryside near Montrichard about 15 kms from Amboise. This is the first time in many years that we’ve rented a place without cooking facilities. It was a trade off. We didn’t want to stay in Amboise and many of the gites require you to stay 1 week. I looked for a long time before deciding on Moulin Mensil place. And I’m happy I did. We have a separate annexe suite. Very bright with a huge deck overlooking the river Cher. It’s truly lovely. The owner Yvonne is incredibly accommodating. She gave us all the dishes and silverware we need to assemble a small meal if we so desire and then we just return everything to her for washing. She delivers a tray with coffee in the morning and we can either have breakfast at the main house just steps away, or she’ll bring trays of breakfast food to us. Today she did our laundry. Pretty cool.

Yvonne insisted we go to Chenonceaux our first evening as it was the last night of the light show. It was very romantic to see the chateaux reflected in the serene waters of the Cher. It was a dark but clear evening with the chateaux and gardnes softly lit. Quite magical. We didn’t go inside. We will do that today.

Yesterday we went on a long cycle ride. They have 2 bikes here that you can rent. We took off from our room and did a 5 hour loop that took us through Chissay-Touraine to Chisseau through the Forest of Amboise to Souvigny de Touraine to Amboise and back through Chenonceaux along the Cher to St Georges-sur Cher where we are staying. The route was quite lovely. I was surprised at how hilly it was in parts. The forest was beautiful. Most of the route was on smaller roads and some of it was on cycling paths. IAnd bits were along the river Cher. It was busy at times. The bikes were sturdy and could be slow going especially uphill.

We stopped for lunch in Amboise. It was a busy little place in the shadow of the chateau but the rest of the town was locked down as it was their closing day. I liked Amboise better than I thought I would but glad we decided not to stay there. I imagine it is very busy in high season.

Today we drove to Blois and walked around. A busy town. We plan to visit it Chenonceux late this afternoon as the tourists thin out. It may be the only chateau we actually go inside. It’s supposed to be one of the loveliest in the Loire Valley stretching across the Cher.

I'll try to post pictures next time.

 

[Pauline]

What fun to read about your trip! Yes, business class on these long haul flights is great. When we lived in the US I watched my airline miles carefully so we could upgrade.

We did not get to Tours on our Loire trip. Sounds nice!

And the bike ride sounds great!

 

[Lisa in Ottawa]

Well, I was going to write every day. The heart is willing but ….Pauline I don’t know how you do it. Not only are you vegetarian which is a difficult thing in rural France but you write the most amazing and detailed trip reports.

This is the last night of our Loire rambles. On the whole it has been quite wonderful. However, we have had some hiccups. Like filling up our diesel car with petrol and spending a night and part of a day waiting to see if we had total destroyed it. I wrote about this mishap on ST. Quel adventure!

Prior to that we had 2 good bike rides. It’s been hot and sunny the whole trip. Arriving in a small town hot and sweayt at 1:15 pm does not provide one with many good eating choices. Hence my comment on the fate of vegetarians. As we are not cooking for ourselves this trip, It was a challenge to find eateries sans meat. I am not a vegetarian. Far from it. Just would have liked a little a little more veggie options. It’s true the better quality restaurants do have more to offer in that respect. And I guess there is always pizza and bread and cheese.

We loved our BB near Montrichard and wouldn’t have changed it for an apartment. It was very beautiful with a lovely host, gorgeous views etc.And she was truly gracious when we arrived back without our car explaining about our mishap. A bottle of wine, some food and tales about her own petrol/diesel misadventures cheered us up.

We limited our chateau viewing. We were near Chenenceaux so that was the 1 large chateau we went inside. Seeing it at night spanning the river Cher is truly wonderful. We saw Chambord from outside. Mon Dieu! It’s big. We wandered through many lovely towns. Our favorite was Montresor. It is designated one of the most beautiful villages of France. It spanned a small arm of the Indre. Wooden bridges heavy with large baskets of flowers criss crossed the banks affording views of village back yards. Many lovely gardens. Some seemed to be allotments.

We had a late start as we had to wait for the garage to fix our car. Plus it was about 20 kms from where we were staying. Finally arrived in Chinon only to discover Ron had left bag with his shoes back at previous bb. Good grief so we had to return the next day. Both of these mishaps kinda crimped our style.. But things happen.

Now Chinon is a lovely little town. We were told it was quiet with lots of parking but when we arrived someone with a terrible voice was “singing” out of a mic and it sounded like he was in our bedroom. And there was no parking. Twisty, narrow 1 way streets. We were told it was end of the year celebration for the tennis club. Well this club must be comprised of folks 80 plus years b/c it sure wasn’t dance music. It stopped about 10 pm. Thank goodness.

The next day as we were returning from 1 of our jaunts, again as we made our way to our bb, there was a lot of traffic and what did we see but a wedding happening across the street just where the tennis club reception was held. As we drove to our door, we had to point to the bride’s train for her to pull it in otherwise we would have run over it. I think ½ the town was at the reception. Oh, no! I know French weddings. They dance till dawn and you can hear everything in our room. However, our host assured us this was the reception and dancing was elsewhere. It was finished by the time we returned from dinner. Whew!

Chinon has an amazing amount of good restaurants. We chose 2 for our special meals and were not disappointed. Last night we went to a little intimate one run by a young couple. She cooks and he waits. Very sweet and quite wonderful. Today, Sunday lunch we chose a more traditional French upscale one. I think it has a Michelin star or 2. Again lovely. They are both listed on TA, of course. I haven’t found it too expensive dining in good French restaurants esp if you do a set menu. Forgot to mention we had a lovely meal in Loches just before our car disaster. Honestly you would never find such places in small towns in Canada.

I would return to Chinon. There was a little farmer’s market in the main square today. I’d love to explore the countryside. We would have done more except for our 2 mini disasters. Tomorrow we drive back to CDG to catch the plane to LHR via Frankfort and then on to Oxford. I can’t believe that is up next.
PS. I was going to upload pics but as taken on my cell and then emailed to myself....too complicated for me at this moment.

 

[Lisa in Ottawa]

I have no idea how this works. I've tried to upload some pictures of the trip.

 

[Lisa in Ottawa]

Mmm they went double. ok, the first 1 is Chenonceux at night. The 2nd is a village on our bike ride. The 3rd is Montresor.

 

[Chris]

I've really enjoyed reading about your stay in the Loire! I've been there three times, staying in a little cottage near Montrichard. I also love Montresor.

 

[Kathy]

Thanks for sharing all this Lisa. I've actually never really been to the Loire... sounds like I need to go.

Looking forward to your posts from Oxford!

 

[Roz]

Thanks for your report, Lisa. We really enjoyed our trip to the Loire, too, several years ago. If you get back to Montrésor, its chateau is very interesting, and a big change from most of the Loire chateaux. It is in a Polish Victorian style, if you can imagine that. Also, we were given pretty much free rein when walking around inside. I'm not sure this was approved behavior, but my husband and our friend decided to check out the pool table!

Also, have you seen the film "The Lion in Winter," which takes place in Chinon? There are actually two versions, one from 1968 with Peter O'Toole and Katharine Hepburn, and one from 2003 with Patrick Stewart and Glenn Close. Both are very good (about Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine).

 

[Lisa in Ottawa]

Roz,we actually went to the chateau. We meant only to look at the gardens. But the scruffy looking guy in the ticket booth persuaded us it was worthwhile and discounted our tickets. According to our bb host, he's the owner. What a hoot! Bit it was different and bitesixe. I wasn't impressed by the mounted stag head killed in 2000. They still hunt.

 

[Pauline]

Pauline I don’t know how you do it. Not only are you vegetarian which is a difficult thing in rural France but you write the most amazing and detailed trip reports.

I think we do less each day than you, and others. We really put the "slow" into Slow Travel. For us maybe it is Relaxed Travel. I always have the evenings to write up notes and since I started these forums it is easy for me to do a post instead of writing my notes for myself. What I find more difficult is organizing photos after and writing a summary trip report for my blog.

Yes France is difficult for vegetarians. We always stay in vacation rentals so I can cook our meals. I remember one trip with Chris to Gascony where we went out for lunch every day and always found vegetarian for me and fish or vegan for Steve, and had lovely meals, but on our more recent trips I am finding it harder. Usually I can find a goat cheese salad or an omelette in restaurants. Or pasta or pizza.

I have kind of given up on restaurants in France and make our meals when we are there, and sandwiches for days out. Our trip to Tuscany reminded me how nice it is to travel where there are lots of vegetable dishes in restaurants.

I was so sorry to read about the petrol mistake. I heard so many stories about people doing this that I am overly cautious when filling a rental car. I bet it never happens to you again! In the US and Canada you do not have the diesel option at each pump like we do in the UK/Europe, and it is easy to forget. Plus I always get the French or Italian words mixed up.

Looking forward to hearing about Oxford!