July 22
Back to Saumur
The beautiful 17th century farm and B&B, La Cornilliere, owned by Didier (what a character!: “Oh, my wife, she does not like to send the guests to the provincial restaurants because they are too Frenchy, but I say, ‘When I go to New York, I do not want to eat in a French restaurant!’). The also had pet chickens to the farm… "they are stupid like the aristocracy!" and Catherine where we stayed last nite, had a nearby dolmen, “Grotto aux fees” right around the way in a wheat field. It is surrounded by large trees…amazing…amazing…amazing…
We headed south again back toward Luynes, to discover yet another amazing site: the many arches of a Roman aqueduct stretched across a farmer’s hay fields. Too cool.
We wended our way back to Yolaine’s chateau at Saumur to spend this lazy beautiful July afternoon, just lounging about.
I will have plenty of pics to go through when I get home for the photo journal- several thousand at least!
The beautiful 17th century farm and B&B, La Cornilliere, owned by Didier (what a character!: “Oh, my wife, she does not like to send the guests to the provincial restaurants because they are too Frenchy, but I say, ‘When I go to New York, I do not want to eat in a French restaurant!’). The also had pet chickens to the farm… "they are stupid like the aristocracy!" and Catherine where we stayed last nite, had a nearby dolmen, “Grotto aux fees” right around the way in a wheat field. It is surrounded by large trees…amazing…amazing…amazing…
We headed south again back toward Luynes, to discover yet another amazing site: the many arches of a Roman aqueduct stretched across a farmer’s hay fields. Too cool.
We wended our way back to Yolaine’s chateau at Saumur to spend this lazy beautiful July afternoon, just lounging about.
I will have plenty of pics to go through when I get home for the photo journal- several thousand at least!
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July 21, 2007
The day began with sneaking up on Chenonceaux via a back road sans tourists, to come upon the bridge-like castle reflected in the river. Breathtaking.
We then went on to Loches on a hunch due to a flyer we’d seen about a Ren fair there. When we got to the center of the small town, there was a meager looking Ren fair set up in the town square which had been there a good 1000 years (the square not the fair), and with a closer look the artisans and players were revealed to be folks that were preserving the ancient ways of their (our) ancestors: wine, cheese, and preserved meat making, traditional medieval weaving, scabbard and blade making. D got a beautiful small spiral handled knife made my the knife maker at his forge. Wow. What a find. We starting driving out of town, and then quickly saw the enormous castle keep rising from the small town. We parked and explored, probably, the most amazing medieval castle we’ve seen: the fortress of Folques Nerra, King of Anjou, circa 1000-ish AD. Wow. We’d seen the remnants of a Folques Nerra fortress at the beautiful medieval chateau Langeais, as well. This bigger, totally amazing castle in Loches, was also the site in the 1400’s when Jean d’Arc met the dauphin-to-be-king for the second time, after winning the battle of Orleans, and convinced him to ride into France and claim the crown as Charles (whichever number). We explored the keep with its spiral stair towers and historical graffiti that let to the incredible vista of the valley, which surely revealed any approaching marauding army…and of course the dungeons for political prisoners. We tired about before seeing the later church and chateau in the vicinity.
Without a room for the nite, we headed toward Tours (sort of), and stopped in Cormery to call our previous lodging to see if they had a vacancy (on a Saturday nite in high season). Of course, they didn’t, but had a referral, and that place had a referral, and another referral, and so did the next, etc, until we found this AMAZING little place in Mettray. It is gentleman’s farm of the most amazing sort- beautiful little houses surrounding the main estate house- gardens and gardens, surrounded by wheat and sunflower fields. Our room’s door is wreathed in an old grape vine and when we returned from dinner, fresh figs from the garden were on our little breakfast table. Dreamy. The couple who owns it, of course, speak beautiful English and are full of personality—showing us every corner of the property and gardens including the soon to be restored pigeonnere. Love it. Then off to dinner at a wonderful, very local restaurant for homemade treats of all sorts, and of course, local wine, wine, wine.
Tomorrow it is back to Saumur for two days before whisking thru Paris on our way to London for a couple of days, and then back to Paris to catch the plane home.
July 21, 2007
The day began with sneaking up on Chenonceaux via a back road sans tourists, to come upon the bridge-like castle reflected in the river. Breathtaking.
We then went on to Loches on a hunch due to a flyer we’d seen about a Ren fair there. When we got to the center of the small town, there was a meager looking Ren fair set up in the town square which had been there a good 1000 years (the square not the fair), and with a closer look the artisans and players were revealed to be folks that were preserving the ancient ways of their (our) ancestors: wine, cheese, and preserved meat making, traditional medieval weaving, scabbard and blade making. D got a beautiful small spiral handled knife made my the knife maker at his forge. Wow. What a find. We starting driving out of town, and then quickly saw the enormous castle keep rising from the small town. We parked and explored, probably, the most amazing medieval castle we’ve seen: the fortress of Folques Nerra, King of Anjou, circa 1000-ish AD. Wow. We’d seen the remnants of a Folques Nerra fortress at the beautiful medieval chateau Langeais, as well. This bigger, totally amazing castle in Loches, was also the site in the 1400’s when Jean d’Arc met the dauphin-to-be-king for the second time, after winning the battle of Orleans, and convinced him to ride into France and claim the crown as Charles (whichever number). We explored the keep with its spiral stair towers and historical graffiti that let to the incredible vista of the valley, which surely revealed any approaching marauding army…and of course the dungeons for political prisoners. We tired about before seeing the later church and chateau in the vicinity.
Without a room for the nite, we headed toward Tours (sort of), and stopped in Cormery to call our previous lodging to see if they had a vacancy (on a Saturday nite in high season). Of course, they didn’t, but had a referral, and that place had a referral, and another referral, and so did the next, etc, until we found this AMAZING little place in Mettray. It is gentleman’s farm of the most amazing sort- beautiful little houses surrounding the main estate house- gardens and gardens, surrounded by wheat and sunflower fields. Our room’s door is wreathed in an old grape vine and when we returned from dinner, fresh figs from the garden were on our little breakfast table. Dreamy. The couple who owns it, of course, speak beautiful English and are full of personality—showing us every corner of the property and gardens including the soon to be restored pigeonnere. Love it. Then off to dinner at a wonderful, very local restaurant for homemade treats of all sorts, and of course, local wine, wine, wine.
Tomorrow it is back to Saumur for two days before whisking thru Paris on our way to London for a couple of days, and then back to Paris to catch the plane home.
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