Tuesday, July 1, 2014
France Roadtrippin' Part II: The Loire Valley
Our first stop in the Loire Valley was a town called Orléans. It’s a quaint town on the river, famous for its Joan of Arc museum, as she liberated the town from opposing forces in 1429. Unfortunately, we were only in town for the afternoon and evening, so we didn’t get the chance to check out the museum. Instead, since the weather was so pleasant, we enjoyed dinner and drinks outside. We ordered a variety of Flammkuchen, which is basically flatbread pizza. The place was a bar and restaurant with several hundred foreign beers on tap – perfect for Matt who is also looking to try new brews!
The next day, we drove further within the region to a castle called Chateau Chambord. Originally built as a hunting lodge for Francois I, it is the largest chateau in the Loire Valley. It was really interesting to go inside the castle, however, it wasn’t furnished or decorated, so we only really saw the structure of the castle itself and the surrounding grounds. The most impressive architectural feature of the castle (in my opinion) is the huge double helix staircase situated in the center of it. It connects the three floors of the castle and is really spectacular. Additionally, there was a small stagecoach museum which showcased several different coaches from throughout the years. One other interesting fact that I discovered through later research: This chateau was the inspiration for the Beast’s castle in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. Pretty cool!
After touring the castle, we headed to our next destination, but not before making a quick pit stop in the tiny town of Blois. We stopped here for lunch at a cute cafe in town. The narrow cobblestone streets here were so charming.
Next, we arrived in the town of Tours. Tours was not as old-fashioned and quaint as I had imagined it to be, but we did have one of the best (or THE best) meals of our trip here. For dinner, we chose a small, cozy restaurant called Le Saint Honore. The place only had a handful of tables, and the chef himself took our dinner order. The service and presentation were outstanding – especially for such a tiny place. Matt and I shared chateaubriand, which is basically fancy French beef tenderloin (I think?), prepared to be especially tender and juicy. It was divine! Any piece of steak that can be cut with a butter knife is okay in my book! Mom was also very satisfied with her veal. Our meals were served with baby asparagus, which I had never even seen before. Of course, we each got our own desserts to try after the main course. Mom chose a bananas foster-type dish, Matt had a chocolate cake, and I had French toast with a scoop of homemade ice cream. Everything was incredible! What a wonderful experience. Meals like this are one of our favorite parts of traveling.
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The next morning, we enjoyed bagels for breakfast ( a rare treat for the expats!) before driving to our next destination: Chateau Chenonceau. Situated on the Cher River, this castle is perfectly picturesque. We all enjoyed this castle much more than Chateau Chambord. Although it doesn’t seem quite as large from the outside, there are several floors, each with a couple of rooms decorated as they would have been when the castle was still in use as a residence. Even the kitchen was restored to what it would have looked like in the past. There also is a full explanation of the history of the castle and who owned it and lived there. At one point, Henry II gifted the castle to his mistress. But when Henry died, his widow, Catherine de’Medici, kicked the mistress out. Can you say awkward? Another woman moved in to the castle for the purpose of mourning after the death of her husband. Accordingly, she decorated the entire castle in black. One of the bedrooms was re-done to show this and honestly, it was kind of creepy. The gardens of the castle were also stunning. Although it was raining during our visit, it mostly held off enough so that we could explore the extensive grounds!
After we were finished at the castle, we drove to the next town on our itinerary: Saumur. Saumur is a small town situated in the Loire Valley and surrounded by wine country. We ended up arriving in Saumur in the late afternoon. In France, many of the restaurants close during the afternoon hours between lunch and dinner. Since most places were not open, we had to settle for sandwiches at a sports bar. The town of Saumur was very cute, although it also was a bit different than what I had expected. It was also very small, so there wasn't too much to see. Since we had a late lunch, we decided to get bread and cheese for dinner. We stopped in a little shop to get some local goat cheese and wine. We spent the rest of the evening relaxing at the B&B. Later in the evening, the cheese and wine really hit the spot! The next morning, we started off the day with breakfast served by the owner of the B&B. She was from Ireland and was very funny -- She shared some hilarious stories. Most of the other guests were from the UK, as well. The breakfast was delicious – very tasty croissants, yummy bread, fresh fruit and yogurt, delicious coffee, and more. After breakfast, we stopped at a wine cellar for a quick tour and a tasting. Our guide was very informative and friendly. We even had our own private tour, which was great. Afterwards, we tried some of the different wines. They were really good, so we purchased a few bottles. They had a red sparkling wine, which I found especially interesting. I bought a bottle for my next girls’ night back in Munich. For lunch, we headed back into the town and found a cute creperie. It was cold and rainy outside, so it was nice to have a warm, cozy lunch. After lunch, we stopped at one more winery for a tasting. These wines were very unique – very dry, and earthy. Not really my taste, but Matt enjoyed it. We then headed back to the B&B to get ready for dinner. Dinner was back in the town at another charming little bistro. The menu was small, but the food was delicious. We had a warm cheese appetizer, roasted duck, and delicious potatoes. The dessert was just mediocre, unfortunately. After dinner, we chatted with our waiter while we waited on our cab. He was originally from Sweden and had some interesting opinions that made us chuckle. It was an interesting evening. The next morning, we got to enjoy one more delicious breakfast before leaving Saumur.
After two wonderful days in Saumur, we made the drive north to the area of Normandy.
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