The Loire Valley. July 31 - August 2.
Our B+B in Amboise was beautiful. I am not sure what the buildings once were, but there were 2 old stone buildings set in about 5 acres of parkland right on the edge of Amboise. The owner – Annick, was very welcoming and chatty – she apparently runs the joint on her own, and her 2 daughters do little to help! Also roaming the property were 2 horses, 3 cats and 2 dogs, also a number of frogs and lizards. Rebecca was very happy! Unfortunately we were all in one room, but it was quite large and the bathroom was big and had a real shower! We also had our own outdoor table and chairs and a guest kitchen area with a fridge!!! Not many of accommodation places had provided a fridge for guests – cold beer is not a priority in this part of the world.
We walked into town to enquire about hiring bikes, but the place was closed, good old French labour laws. You must not work more than 35 hours per week and most places close at 7.00pm. So we wandered towards the Chateau D’Amboise and the centre of town, where there was a small market set up and some plastic tables and chairs had been set up. After a good look up and down we decided that would do for dinner tonight. I had a chicken and rice dish – with African origins, Rebecca got a French version of a hot dog, Courtenay a pancake type thing and Brian was going to get some sausages – until he smelt the smell – TRIPES!!!! Once bitten twice shy. He went for a local dish of mushrooms and ham – which he then swapped with mine because he does not like mushrooms! We also bought a bottle of locally produced wine for Euro5.00.
An American couple sat down next to us also with a bottle of wine. We made small talk and they asked the ages of the girls, and commented that they ahd children of a similar age, who were off sulking somewhere. We concurred as ours have had their moments! They left and a couple of French blokes sat down. The girls had gone off and come back with marshmallows on a stick, dipped in hot chocolate. They laughed at them licking every last scrap of chocolate. They spoke a little English and were obviously in the tourist trade as they knew the hot air balloon operators and the Kayak/canoe operators. I had picked up a brochure on the Kayak adventure and we decided that we might do it. They gave us a glass each of their bottle wine – which was better that ours, so we bought another bottle and enjoyed the warm evening and great French ambience. The girls were kept happy with several more chocolate marshmallow sticks!
Time to get bikes and do some cycling at last. We visited Richard cycles – and some of my best French to date we hired 4 bikes for 2 days. Let’s just say they were not quite the standard or style of bikes we usually ride. If only the DOW riders could see Brian now!
We had bought a map of local cycle tours and off we all went. The maps were not very detailed and the instructions were in French, and the bikes were not the best!!! I will say no more. But we clocked up about 30km, felt like we had ridden a hard 100lm and arrived back at Annick's with seriously sore bottoms!
We had nothing booked for dinner, so Rebecca and I walked into town, while Brian and Courtenay cycled – there was no way I was getting on that bike seat again today! Amboise has many, many restaurants, and unfortunately for us they were all full. Eventually we found one – beware of the only restaurant in town that is not booked out. Crap food at tourist prices best sums it up!
Yesterday we cycled along the north side of the Loire and did not see any really spectacular château’s – which was quite disappointing. So today we are going to the River Cher and probably one of the most photographed of all the Loire Chateau’s – Chenonceaux. The first meeting of bike seat and rear end was not a happy reunion! I felt sorer than the day after “around the Bay”. The château was a hilly 12 km away. We arrived around 10.30am and it was already quite crowded – bloody tourists!
Inside was even more crowded – and as we have seen a lot of castles we did not linger too long, but had a good look around. It is quite interesting, but the gardens and overall view of it sitting over the river Cher probably its best feature. I guess we may be getting a bit castled out.
We bought some baguettes in the village, ate them on the river bank opposite the main entrance – (one advantage of being on a bike), then went back to Amboise. Courtenay and Rebecca spent the afternoon relaxing and Brian and I went for a ride down to a small town called Vouvray – stopping at a couple of wine caves dug into the river banks on the way. It would have been quite pleasant if we had not been riding something the weight of a German tank and into a 40 knot head wind!!! But at least we had the tailwind for most of the way home.
Tonight we had booked a restaurant in advance, and were looking forward to a slightly more upmarket French dinner. We had chosen well and it was very French and quite intimate – a pity we had the children! I decided to be adventurous and order duck breast – cooked medium. Medium in French I remembered all too late is what we would call rare – very rare! I ate the outside bits and gave the rest to Brian who had worried down a feed of snails followed by Coq au Vin.
August 2nd.Today Annick has given us a special early breakfast so we can go kayaking on the Loire before our drive to Paris. It is a beautiful day with a cloudless sky and no wind. We have hired 2 kayaks and 1, 2 person canoe. The tour company drives us 20km up stream to Chambord – the home of another famous chateau. We hit the water with Rebecca and me in Kayaks and Courtenay and Brian in the canoe. The Loire is magical – flat as a pancake and very quiet. We glide past the chateau and after a couple of km’s pull into an island and swap vessels. A few more km’s and we drag the kayaks and canoe ashore and scrambled up the bank for a bit of wine tasting at a “cave”. We buy a couple of bottles for Euro3.00 each and back to the water. The Loire is the last truly “wild” river in France and meanders its way to the coast. It is very wide in places and has lots of islands. It is hard to describe, but the experience is wonderful. We arrive back in Amboise all too soon. We could of easily done another 20km – as long as it was downstream!
Time to drive the 200km to Paris and farewell the Renault!
Our B+B in Amboise was beautiful. I am not sure what the buildings once were, but there were 2 old stone buildings set in about 5 acres of parkland right on the edge of Amboise. The owner – Annick, was very welcoming and chatty – she apparently runs the joint on her own, and her 2 daughters do little to help! Also roaming the property were 2 horses, 3 cats and 2 dogs, also a number of frogs and lizards. Rebecca was very happy! Unfortunately we were all in one room, but it was quite large and the bathroom was big and had a real shower! We also had our own outdoor table and chairs and a guest kitchen area with a fridge!!! Not many of accommodation places had provided a fridge for guests – cold beer is not a priority in this part of the world.
We walked into town to enquire about hiring bikes, but the place was closed, good old French labour laws. You must not work more than 35 hours per week and most places close at 7.00pm. So we wandered towards the Chateau D’Amboise and the centre of town, where there was a small market set up and some plastic tables and chairs had been set up. After a good look up and down we decided that would do for dinner tonight. I had a chicken and rice dish – with African origins, Rebecca got a French version of a hot dog, Courtenay a pancake type thing and Brian was going to get some sausages – until he smelt the smell – TRIPES!!!! Once bitten twice shy. He went for a local dish of mushrooms and ham – which he then swapped with mine because he does not like mushrooms! We also bought a bottle of locally produced wine for Euro5.00.
An American couple sat down next to us also with a bottle of wine. We made small talk and they asked the ages of the girls, and commented that they ahd children of a similar age, who were off sulking somewhere. We concurred as ours have had their moments! They left and a couple of French blokes sat down. The girls had gone off and come back with marshmallows on a stick, dipped in hot chocolate. They laughed at them licking every last scrap of chocolate. They spoke a little English and were obviously in the tourist trade as they knew the hot air balloon operators and the Kayak/canoe operators. I had picked up a brochure on the Kayak adventure and we decided that we might do it. They gave us a glass each of their bottle wine – which was better that ours, so we bought another bottle and enjoyed the warm evening and great French ambience. The girls were kept happy with several more chocolate marshmallow sticks!
Time to get bikes and do some cycling at last. We visited Richard cycles – and some of my best French to date we hired 4 bikes for 2 days. Let’s just say they were not quite the standard or style of bikes we usually ride. If only the DOW riders could see Brian now!
We had bought a map of local cycle tours and off we all went. The maps were not very detailed and the instructions were in French, and the bikes were not the best!!! I will say no more. But we clocked up about 30km, felt like we had ridden a hard 100lm and arrived back at Annick's with seriously sore bottoms!
We had nothing booked for dinner, so Rebecca and I walked into town, while Brian and Courtenay cycled – there was no way I was getting on that bike seat again today! Amboise has many, many restaurants, and unfortunately for us they were all full. Eventually we found one – beware of the only restaurant in town that is not booked out. Crap food at tourist prices best sums it up!
Yesterday we cycled along the north side of the Loire and did not see any really spectacular château’s – which was quite disappointing. So today we are going to the River Cher and probably one of the most photographed of all the Loire Chateau’s – Chenonceaux. The first meeting of bike seat and rear end was not a happy reunion! I felt sorer than the day after “around the Bay”. The château was a hilly 12 km away. We arrived around 10.30am and it was already quite crowded – bloody tourists!
Inside was even more crowded – and as we have seen a lot of castles we did not linger too long, but had a good look around. It is quite interesting, but the gardens and overall view of it sitting over the river Cher probably its best feature. I guess we may be getting a bit castled out.
We bought some baguettes in the village, ate them on the river bank opposite the main entrance – (one advantage of being on a bike), then went back to Amboise. Courtenay and Rebecca spent the afternoon relaxing and Brian and I went for a ride down to a small town called Vouvray – stopping at a couple of wine caves dug into the river banks on the way. It would have been quite pleasant if we had not been riding something the weight of a German tank and into a 40 knot head wind!!! But at least we had the tailwind for most of the way home.
Tonight we had booked a restaurant in advance, and were looking forward to a slightly more upmarket French dinner. We had chosen well and it was very French and quite intimate – a pity we had the children! I decided to be adventurous and order duck breast – cooked medium. Medium in French I remembered all too late is what we would call rare – very rare! I ate the outside bits and gave the rest to Brian who had worried down a feed of snails followed by Coq au Vin.
August 2nd.Today Annick has given us a special early breakfast so we can go kayaking on the Loire before our drive to Paris. It is a beautiful day with a cloudless sky and no wind. We have hired 2 kayaks and 1, 2 person canoe. The tour company drives us 20km up stream to Chambord – the home of another famous chateau. We hit the water with Rebecca and me in Kayaks and Courtenay and Brian in the canoe. The Loire is magical – flat as a pancake and very quiet. We glide past the chateau and after a couple of km’s pull into an island and swap vessels. A few more km’s and we drag the kayaks and canoe ashore and scrambled up the bank for a bit of wine tasting at a “cave”. We buy a couple of bottles for Euro3.00 each and back to the water. The Loire is the last truly “wild” river in France and meanders its way to the coast. It is very wide in places and has lots of islands. It is hard to describe, but the experience is wonderful. We arrive back in Amboise all too soon. We could of easily done another 20km – as long as it was downstream!
Time to drive the 200km to Paris and farewell the Renault!
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