Bumping into to locals

2006 - Halfway between Azay-le-Rideau and Richelieu you’ll find the sleepy village of Crissay-sur-Manse. It’s a member of the association ‘Les Plus beaux villages de France’.
The ruins of the 15th century castle remind the visitor that this was once a viscounty, belonging to the town of I’Ile-Bouchard and the archdiocese of Tours. The ruins are privately owned and can only be visited from the outside. There’s also a 16th century church.
When walking through the village in 2006 we literally bumped into to one of its 115 inhabitants. We were coming up an alley, when all of a sudden a solid metal garden gate opened into the alley, blocking our way. A lady appeared from behind the door, standing with her back to us. She was wearing gardening gloves and pruning some branches that were growing over the top of the gate. Completely oblivious of our presence, she took a step backwards, and bumped straight into us. ‘Oups’ I said, which made her shriek with surprise.

All this happened in a split second and it was impossible to avoid her. We apologized to each other and started chatting. She was very talkative and told us that there were only 35 of the original inhabitants of Crissay left in the village, and that she was one of them.
We asked her whether there were many tourists (like us) who visited the village. No, although things had changed slightly since the ‘Auberge de Crissay’, the only ‘watering hole’ in the village, had opened four guestrooms. Apart from the guests it was mainly people cycling though the area that stopped for a walk around the village and sometimes a drink in the Auberge.
After leaving her, we walked up to the Auberge, where we were greeted by a charming young lady. At her recommendation we had a glass of chilled rosé from the nearby AOC of Chinon. We were surprised to find a Chinon rosé, as the AOC is mainly know for its excellent red wine.
It was almost one o’clock, and we asked whether it was possible to have a light meal. Our hostess suggested ‘une planche’. We followed her advice and enjoyed the selection of charcuteries and cheeses that she served us, sipping some more Chinon rosé.

We haven’t been to Crissay in 2009, but apparently there is now a second restaurant called ‘La Table de Béa’. Maybe we should check it out the next time we’re in the area.

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