Loire Valley

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Saumur (Loire Valley)

July 17, 2014

First thing in the morning we checked out and began the 150 mile drive from Mont Saint-Michel to Saumur in the Loire Valley of France.  Again, we took scenic back roads part of the way. We stopped for breakfast at a small village bakery along the way that had a very small restaurant/bar attached. We enjoyed fresh croissants and coffee. This place had an old pinball machine that I played at no charge. The owner’s dog took the fourth seat at our small table in the attached empty restaurant, and he never let us out of his sight. He appeared as large as Marmaduke when sitting on his hind legs. He was actually pretty good company.

We stopped in Andouille for a late lunch. We ate at the restaurant in the Au Pigeon Blanc hotel in the town center. They really weren’t open for lunch anymore but they kindly served us anyway. We got great service from the staff even though only the chef spoke English. Very nice lunch with wine.

Made our way to Saumur and discovered that it is a much bigger city than we thought. The Hotel Cristal was easy to find, and right on the magnificent Loire River which divided the city. Checked in around 5:00 pm. After checking in we tooled around the city. We climbed very steep streets to Saumur Chateau, 10 mins from the hotel, and got there 30 mins before closing. We paid for admission anyway since this was our only chance to tour the chateau. It turned out to be enough time to see it all. A beautiful chateau, and even more beautiful views of Saumur and the River.

We then walked back down to town center (saw some young men swimming in a fountain along the way…it was very hot).
We hung out in the hopping town square which was encircled by lots of cafes and restaurants, and there was outside live music for everybody to share.  The band made my day by playing Bowie’s “The Man Who Sold the World”. It was a very fun, lively square at night. We got some cheese, bread and wine at Bistrot les Tontons, ate outside and enjoyed the atmosphere.

We met an older couple from England who shared some ideas for wine stops for the next day. Then walked around town until dark and went back to the town square for more wine at a different cafe across from Tontons. Then we ended the night at a creperie in the square, still listening to the live music while munching open faced crepes. A great night.
Back to the hotel for sleep. It was very hot in the hotel, with no breeze from outside with the open windows…but at least we were sleeping in France.

Loire Valley Vineyards

July 18, 2014

We had breakfast the next morning at the hotel restaurant. It was a very good buffet. Then we got the car, which was parked in the public lot on the strip between the hotel and Loire River. Free parking from 7:00 pm – 9:00 am.  We now begin our trip through chateau and vineyard country.

First, we tried to first get to Cristal Cave vineyard pretty close to the hotel, but unexpectedly, the road was closed. So we went on to Chateau Villeneuve, also in Saumur. Emilie rang the dinner bell to get their attention.

   The woman who owned the Chateau with her husband came out to greet us, and then gave us some tasty samples of their wine in their modest tasting room. We wanted to purchase a bottle but it was our first tasting and we thought we should pace ourselves.  Throughout the Loire Valley, I did most of the tasting, being the one who prefers wine, while Emilie sampled lightly and did the driving.

Then on to the Chateau de Parnay in Saumur where a very tall man with a big smile gave us samples of their wine in the tasting cave.

Then on to Chateau d’Usse’, also known as Sleeping Beauty’s castle. The owners actually live on the grounds but open the castle and property up for tours to offset the costs of ownership. This is the castle which was the inspiration for Sleeping Beauty. This was truly a magnificent castle with authentic relics from centuries ago all out on display in the rooms and halls. This included a chair sat in by Voltaire. There were also some Sleeping Beauty related exhibits. The views of the gardens and river and bridge below were so colorful and picturesque.

All was wonderful until I slipped down the narrow, spiral, stone stairway from the tower. I landed on my elbow and split it wide open, and very deep. Blood was bountiful. I got patched up in the gift shop and spent the rest of the trip with a massive bandage on my elbow soaking in the non-stop bleeding and oozing. Good thing I had a good deal of wine in me, and had more to come. The gift shop workers were underwhelmed by my accident and huge gash, they were quite nonchalant about it all which makes me think they see this often, or I could just be convincing myself of that and they really were just unmoved by a stupid, bleeding tourist.

We then proceeded toward the Bourgueil region for more vineyards per advice from the English couple we met the night before. Seeing signs for wine tasting, we parked in the Bourgueil town center (though we didn’t actually know which town we were in at the time).  We first took in what looked like a garage but was actually a tasting cave for Domaine du Cedre. Sampled the reds, and Sz sampled the sparkling wine, too.

We bought a bottle of the Cabernet Franc from the pleasant young woman.

We then walked across the street to the town’s Abby. They had a tasting room for the Abby’s vineyard, “Clos de l’Abbaye“. Tasted the reds here.

We then walked to the tourist center in town. It was actually a vineyard info center. They told us about “La Cave du Pays de Bourguel“. This was a combination museum about the local vineyards and history of winemaking within an authentic wine cave. We did the tour in the cave, and then went to the tasting room cave. We tasted all of the reds, sharing a table with a family with kids on vacation from England. The best wine was the 2012 “Saint Nicolas De Bourguel” from Domain Guy Hersand.

Off to our last vineyard, the “Cave Auger“. We found the tasting room among several small buildings off the large courtyard. We walked in and there was a bunch of older French men hanging out just talking and killing time. They graciously invited us in and gave us wine to taste; though nobody spoke English. When one guy left, he made sure to personally say goodbye to each of us on his way out…though we never even spoke with this guy. They were all so friendly. We bought a bottle of Cab Franc, “Cave Auger Bourguel” vintage 2009…for $9 American dollars.

Then off to dinner. We found an off the beaten path local restaurant that was recommended in our travel book, but it was only 6:00 pm, and they didn’t serve dinner until 7:00. So we decided to make our way back to Saumur.

We ended up having dinner at a terrific new small restaurant recommended highly on Trip Advisor, “Bistrot Les Traditions” about a 10 minute walk from our hotel. We ate outside at a sidewalk table. I had a great lamb dish. Everyone’s meal was great. We met with the owners, who were the chef and his wife waitress/host. She explained the whole menu to us when deciding whether to eat there, as the menu was only in French. They were charming and hard working. It was a rainy evening. We went back to hotel for the night to pack up for heading to Charles de Gaulle via Chartres the next day.

Chartres

July 19, 2014

Our last day in France. We had breakfast at the hotel before checking out. Then, we headed toward Chartres about 150 miles away. This was our final destination before heading to the airport hotel for flights the next morning. Got to Chartres and saw no parking available. Driving around a neighborhood much like the narrow stone streets of the North End in Boston we luckily found free parking at a construction site two blocks away from the Chartres Cathedral. We just hoped we wouldn’t find the car towed or locked in the construction site for the night when we returned, but others were doing it…so what the heck.

Visited the Chartres Cathedral. A magnificent cathedral that was another highlight of the trip. Hard to describe, one needs to just see pictures of the stained glass and the intricate stone sculptures and flying buttresses. A wedding was being performed when we were there. We paid a fee to climb the tower, and then walked out along the flying buttresses. Wow, what a great stop!

We made our way to the airport. It was difficult navigation along the outskirts of Paris and into the crazy busy airport; though we did get a final long distance glimpse of the Eiffel Tower. After a stressful final hour in the car finding the airport and the hotel (the car entrance to which we couldn’t even figure out how to get into!), we were greeted by a professional Hilton staff as though entering a spa….a welcome change to the quaint boutique hotels we had been staying in (which have their own charm, too, we were just ready to be pampered).

A staffer thankfully volunteered to escort Emilie to the car rental return place.  There was a problem with our reservation so the manager upgraded us to one of the larger rooms…rough. We had dinner at the swank hotel, drinking the Cave Auger Cab Franc wine we had bought the day before. Off to sleep.

7/20/14

I caught the shuttle to the airport terminal for my flight to Boston. No issues. Emilie checked out of the hotel an hour later, then she and Sz caught the shuttle to the airport terminal for their flight to Copenhagen. It turned out that the airline screwed up and did not have Suzannah’s reservation. After an hour of working it out, they found the reservation, and then provided a free upgrade to Business Class for them for the inconvenience…rough.

I had no planned ride from Logan airport in Boston to home about 45 miles away. Fortunately I was offered a ride to the Worcester area by the person sitting next to me on the flight since he was passing Worcester on the Massachusetts Turnpike on his way to Connecticut. I got dropped off at the nearby shopping mall, and then called a friend who came and got me.

End of trip!!