Sheep or goat?

Nouans-les-Fontaines in southern Touraine is also the hometown of some cute little sheep. At least that is what I thought they were when I first found the website of ‘La Ferme des Hauts Bourdiers’. This was the second thing I wanted to see in the village.

After our visit to the local church, where we saw the famous Pieta by Jean Fouquet, we followed the mayor’s instructions and drove in the direction of Orbigny. Pretty soon the road led into the countryside, with open fields on both sides and not a house or farm in sight! 

The mayor had told us to continue for about 5 km, until we saw the sign with the name of the farm. After 6 km there was still on sign. And then, just when we were about to turn back, we saw it! We took a right turn into a narrow road that led to a farmhouse. When we stopped in the yard, a black border collie came running to the car, barking and wagging its tail. There were two cars parked in front of a barn-like building. Behind the barn was a low outbuilding with the word ‘Boutique’ written over the door. While we were walking up to the ‘boutique’ the door opened and two ladies came out. One of them was about to leave and the other one accompanied her to her car, after which she joined us in the shop.

I had come here to buy a poncho made of angora sheep wool that I had seen on the farm’s website. The lady, who turned out to be the mother-in-law of the young woman who makes these garments, immediately set me straight. This wasn’t sheep's wool, but goat’s wool. And she continued: “Would you like to see the goats?” Of course we did!

Our hostess showed us into the barn-like building
we’d seen on arrival.
And there they were; the cuddliest little goats
you’d ever see.  Don't you agree?

The lady explained that this little flock was one year old. The animals had been sheared last February and already their curly white coat had started to grow again. They all had little horns and long pink velvety ears. They were very curious and as soon as we pointed a camera at them, they started to behave like furry professional models, taking elegant poses to show off their best features. They made such easy subjects that we shot dozens of photos …

Don't I look pretty?

Next the lady showed us the adult males that were kept in a separate pen, while the females were grazing in the nearby pastures. At some point the lady’s granddaughter came out of the house. Worried and with tears in her eyes she asked whether we had come to buy one of the goats. We immediately reassured her that we had no extra room in the car, and that it would be too far for the poor animal to walk all the way to Belgium.

Back in the ‘Boutique’ I bought the white and grey poncho I had come for, as well as a turquoise scarf made of angora wool and silk for my mother. It was quarter to five when we left the farm. As we were running late for our rendezvous with Ken and Walt in Saint-Aignan, I called Ken to tell him not to worry. We would be there soon ...

_____

Cultural stop

It’s only half an hour’s drive from Loches to Noauns-les-Fontaines, a village that has two interesting, yet completely different things to offer. We wanted to see both!

The first one wasn’t hard to find. It’s the famous Pieta by Jean Fouquet. The painting is on display in the village church. Jean Fouquet, who’s also the creator of the famous painting of the bare-breasted Agnès Sorel as the Virgin Mary, is unanimously considered as one of the most important French painters of the 15th century.

He was born in Tours – the capital of the Touraine - around 1420. He studied art in his home town, Paris and Italy. Later he became portrait painter to the courts of Charles VII – of whom Agnès Sorel was the official mistress – and Louis XI (who was probably responsible for Agnès’ murder). Jean Fouquet's style was based on that of the Flemish primitive painters, the brothers Hubert and Jan Van Eyck. His work is very colourful and not without some humour, except for the Pieta perhaps. He died around 1480.

Village church of Nouans-les-Fontaines.
The oldest parts date from the 13th century.

Nouans-les-Fontaines is only a small village in the southern Touraine countryside. It has less than a 1000 inhabitants. The church is located near the village’s main crossroads. Next to it is the ‘Maison de Jean Fouquet’, a museum dedicated to the life and work of the painter. We didn’t visit the house, due to lack of time. So I don’t know whether he actually lived there at some point in his life.

We did visit the church though. The Pieta is an impressive work of art. You can walk right up to it and study it from up close. You can't touch it though, as it protected by a large glass case. While we were visiting, four men with ladders, rags and buckets were busy behind the painting. When we approached the altar, one of the men curiously glanced around the corner of the case. “You’ve come to see the Pieta?”, he enquired. We nodded. “You’re in luck”, he said, “as we have just cleaned it.” And he added: “I’m the mayor, enchanté.”

Although there was no sign indicating that it was forbidden to take photographs, we thought it wiser not to do so. Moreover, the glass case would have reflected the flashlight, spoiling the photo. I did take a picture of the vaulted and beautifully decorated ceiling though.

Artfully decorated vaulted ceiling.

Before leaving the church we asked the mayor whether he could direct us to our second destination: ‘La Ferme des Hauts Bourdiers’. After our cultural stop, it was time for a back-to-basics visit …

Update !

Thanks to one of my faithful readers, I can yet show you
a photo of the 'Piéta de Nouans'.

This photo was taken on location last year. Thank you chm!

_____

Lunch in Loches

The main ingredients for a successful vacation are: sunny but not too hot weather, interesting things to see, good company and excellent food and drink. When planning a trip I always take these items into account. This year I made a special effort, as I wanted my friends to fully enjoy their first visit to the region.

The food and drink part was one of my major concerns. I wanted it to be diversified, affordable and a representative culinary sample of what ‘La Touraine’ has to offer. Visiting markets and buying local produce, such as goat cheese and rillettes, was one way of filling in this requirement. The other was to find nice, typical restaurants that in one way or another made a change from the traditional tourist traps.

I think I scored very well with ‘L’Hélianthe’ in Turquant, and my friends had also thoroughly enjoyed their ‘workmen’s lunch’ with Susan and Simon at ‘Le Détour’ on Monday.

Terrace of 'La Gerbe d'Or' in Loches

On Wednesday, after visiting the donjon and Logis Royal in Loches, I took them to ‘La Gerbe d’Or’ (The Golden Bouquet) in the rue Balzac. We had booked a table on the terrace before visiting the castle, and upon our arrival at 1 p.m. were given a nice corner table in the shade. The day’s special at 10.50 euro, was a ‘terrine de boeuf’ (beef pâté), followed by chicken with sautéed mushrooms and potatoes. Dessert was fresh cream cheese with raspberry coulis. It normally came with one glass of red wine. B. was the only one to order the full menu. J.L. and I looked at the menu card and both settled for a main course only.

Beef terrine

I had a (too) generous portion of tagliatelli with fresh pesto and sun dried tomatoes, while J.L. had – at my recommendation – the Géline de Touraine with crayfish sauce, rösti potatoes and green asparagus. The Géline is an ancient chicken breed that used to very popular in the 18th and 19th century but almost became extinct in the beginning of the 20th. Half a century ago it was reintroduced in the Touraine, where it is now known as ‘La Dame Noire de Touraine’, a local delicacy.

Géline de Touraine

The sunny and warm weather was perfect to introduce my friends to a very rare and outstanding rosé wine: le Noble Joué. We ordered a bottle from the winery of the Rousseau brothers who live in Esvres-sur-Indre, south of Tours. In the past my friend and I have visited their winery on two occasions. B. and J.L. really liked it and even considered visiting the winery the next day.

Tagliatelli with pesto and sun-dried tomatoes

J.L. and I both had a ‘café gourmand’ for dessert. It’s a cup of very strong espresso coffee that comes with several small desserts. In this case it consisted of a pineapple crumble, a meringue, cream cheese with raspberry coulis and a ‘canelé bordelet’. The latter is small, dark brown and sticky round cake. As I don’t drink coffee, I gave my espresso to B.

Café Gourmand: I forgot to mention the strawberries!

It was an excellent lunch, in spite of the service being a bit slow and not very professional. The young waiter and waitress were clearly doing their best but lacked the necessary experience. There even was an odd incident with a couple at a nearby table, although we never got the real gist of it. They had come in at the same time as we had and were also given a table on the terrace. Almost immediately the lady had left to go and wash her hands. In the meantime the waiter had come over with the menu cards, which the man declined, saying that he would wait for his wife to return.

The waiter had then come to our table to take the order. By the time the woman had rejoined her husband, the waiter had disappeared into the kitchen. The couple sat around for a little longer. Suddenly they both got up, looking slightly annoyed, and hurriedly left the terrace.

At first we thought that they were tired of waiting for the waiter to return. On second thought this was probably a case of ‘sanitary emergency’ … If they really had had the intention to have lunch there, the husband could very easily have accepted the menu cards when the waiter had presented them to him the first time. Your guess is as good as mine!

______

Renaissance Beauty Queen

It’s only a short walk from the donjon of Loches to the Logis Royal – the Royal residence – where the king and his court lived when they were in town. The area is a traffic-free zone, except for the ‘riverains’, i.e. the people who live in these streets. The houses along the ‘Mail du Donjon’ (the Dungeon’s Mall) are very small and although they are in excellent repair, they look extremely old. I wouldn’t be surprised if some of them were built shortly after the dungeon.

'Mail du Donjon'

The mall is lined with trees and colourful irises. It’s all very pristine and peaceful and the odd car that drives up or down the mall, respectfully limits its speed to 10 km per hour. A bit further down is the ‘Presbytère’, a B and B and restaurant with a large terrace overlooking the town. We had a very nice salad lunch there in 2007. It’s almost next door to a very beautiful private house with an intricate wrought iron gate, painted in blue and gold. I can’t help wondering what it would be like to live in a house like that!

I wish I could have some of these in my mother's garden.

(click to enlarge and fully enjoy their beauty)

Just around the corner is the ‘collégiale’ church, where Agnes Sorel, King Charles VII’s mistress is buried. I’ve written about her short life and mysterious death in an earlier post. She was considered as one of the most beautiful women of her time. If we are to believe the historians, she wouldn’t have had any trouble becoming ‘Miss France 1442’. She would have been 20 years old then; the perfect age to become a Renaissance Beauty Queen.

My dream house ...

We went to see her white marble ‘gisant’ – burial monument with a life-size statue of the deceased lying on top –in the Saint-Ours Collégiale church. Personally, I was slightly disappointed. Even knowing that beauty standards have changed since the 15th century, I didn’t see what all the fuss was about. Okay, I admit, she was a nice looking young woman, but I had expected her features to be more delicate and refined.

This was confirmed by the computer animation that we saw later at the Logis Royal. On a TV screen is shown how her skull, which was dug up in 2005 to do research in order to determine the cause of her untimely death, slowly transforms into a ‘living’ face. Her best features were definitely her clear blue eyes, fair hair, flawless skin and rosy complexion. Apart from that, I found her face rather plump and her nose too large …

Agnes Sorel was not the only noble woman to have lived or stayed at the Logis Royal. It was also the temporary residence of Anne of Brittany and Joan of Arc dropped on two occasions. She came to see Charles VII in order to incite him to travel to Reims to be sworn in as King of France. That’s probably why the Logis, compared to the rough and manly nearby donjon, is such an elegant and ‘feminine’ building.

_______

Clever!

During our visit of the Logis Royal of Loches, J.L. spent some time shooting artistic photos of the cute dog statues that guard the entrance of the castle. In the meantime, B. and I wandered off, exploring the gardens and admiring the views.

Bulldog or a bloodhound? What do you think?
Too cute to be fearsome, though.

Looking over one of the garden walls, we saw this …

Cleverly positioned signboards ...

(just click on the picture to enlarge it)

The landlord of this beautiful Bed and Breakfast has found a very clever and non expensive way to advertise his business. The signboards in his garden are perfectly positioned for tourists visiting the Logis to see the telephone number.

______

Turrets

The Loire Valley isn’t the only place

where castles and homes have 'turrets'!
Take a look at these photos.

Any idea where these 'stately' homes are located?

______

Horror chambers, panoramic views and spelt

We started our tour of the keep of Loches in a humid and musty round cellar with a high dome-like ceiling. The story goes that Cardinal de Balue, a former confident of King Louis XI, was imprisoned here after displeasing the king. A plaque in the cellar, however, explains that this is only a legend and that there is no historical evidence whatsoever that this story is true.

Replica of a medieval prison cage.

As the donjon was mainly used as a prison, we saw several horror chambers where prisoners were locked up in tiny alcoves, evasion-proof cages or buckled to the walls with large iron chains and collars. The limestone walls are covered in medieval graffiti, the last, silent witnesses of the forced residence of long-forgotten and nameless prisoners who lived and eventually died there in the most dreadful circumstances. Cruelty is definitely not an invention of the 21st century!

After this depressing and distressing part of the visit, we climbed to the top of donjon, from where we had a spectacular view over the old and new town of Loches and the surrounding countryside. It made a nice change from the gloomy prison cells.

View from the top of the donjon.

Next we spent a pleasant half an hour in the medieval garden, marvelling over the meticulously kept patches of medicinal herbs and ‘forgotten’ vegetables. My attention was drawn to a patch that was largely occupied by a tall, vivid green wheat-like plant. It turned out to be spelt. Spelt is the original or authentic wheat.

'Epautre' or spelt.

Our local bakery sells great whole-grain spelt bread. It’s very nourishing and extremely good for you. Recently, I’ve also started using whole-grain spelt flower for cooking and baking. It works just as well as plain white wheat flower and the taste is so much better. The only ‘inconvenience’ is that it gives your traditionally pastry and white Béchamel sauce a slightly greyish tint.

I don’t know about the rest of the world, but spelt and spelt bread have become increasingly popular in Belgium over the last 15 years or so. Have you ever tried spelt bread?

______

360 steps

On Wednesday morning – the third complete day of this year’s Loire Valley trip – we set out for the town of Loches. Several bloggers who live or own a holiday home in the area had recommended a visit to the weekly market there. As I only have some vague recollections of visiting the Loches market on one occasion during our first years of Loire Valley travel, I was curious to see whether it was as good as Amboise’s or Bourgueil’s.

However, being afraid that if we went to the market first, it would keep us occupied for the best part of the morning, I suggested we’d start the day by visiting the keep and the Logis Royal. Especially, as later that day we had a rendezvous with Ken and Walt in Saint-Aignan for drinks at their house and some wine tasting with a local 'vigneron'.

It was a warm and sunny morning, and we were lucky to find a parking spot well in the shadow cast by the huge dungeon. Before penetrating the medieval town by one of the rampart gates, we walked over to the restaurant ‘La Gerbe d’Or’ to book a table for lunch. Due to the lovely weather and the market, the town was full of people and we wanted to secure a nice table on the terrace.

The entrance fee to the dungeon also entitles you to a visit of the Logis Royal. After handing us the tickets, the young lady at the reception desk picked up a long pointing stick and walked over to a large aerial photo of the dungeon. Tapping the end of the stick on the different parts of the edifice she explained the sequence of the visit. Like obedient pupils we listened and nodded in agreement each time she turned around to look at us, as if to see we were taken it all in. Finally, she wished us a pleasant visit, specifying that the full tour would take about an hour and a half an included 360 steps!

Some of the 360 steps, leading to the top of the dungeon,
are inside the tower in the middle of the this picture.

There were only a few other visitors around and most of the time we had the halls and staircases to ourselves. This was a good thing, as the winding stairs are often very narrow, steep and worn. Halfway through the visit the batteries of my camera were showing signs of impending failure. I therefore had to cut down on flash photography, until we got back to the car where I had a set of spare batteries.

(to be continued)

______

Pretty in pink

Don't these pink poppies look pretty?
The colour and texture are so delicate ... almost like organza!

Maybe you recognize the turrets and pinnacles in the background ...

______

Enfin du vin!

… Wine, at last!

Not unlike Turquant, but on a smaller and less organized scale, the village of Candes Saint Martin hosts several artisans’
(work)shops too. Across the road from the church is a jewellery maker. Next door you’ll find a pottery store and a bit further down the road is a furniture store, which also accommodates an unusual tearoom and a winery. At the top of the steep alley next to the church is another pottery.

After taking a ‘digestional’ walk along the river bank and the little port of Candes, we dropped in at the furniture shop; simply to have a look around. There were some fabulous pieces of antique which had been done up in an extraordinary and yet contemporary way. Against the back wall stood a large glass-and-wood cupboard that had been restored after a previous life in a castle kitchen. It would have looked great in my living room. And I could certainly have used the space it offered to stock my collection of 30 cm diameter dinner plates! But then, as J.L. reminded me jokingly, there was not enough room in the car and he forgot to bring the trailer!

Enfin du vin, the winery in Candes Saint Martin.

We moved on to the basement where the winery with the appropriate name ‘Enfin du vin’ is located. It has a very low ceiling and the floor is covered in shingles. The racks along the walls hold a large assortment of mainly Loire Valley wines, although other wine regions are well represented as well. I was pleased to see that the ‘Hurluberlu’ which we had for lunch at L’Hélianthe two years ago was part of the collection. Next to it sat a Saint Nicolas de Bourgueil by the same winemaker, with yet another unusual name: ‘Ni Dieu, Ni Maître’ (No God, No Master). The label was very cute too: roughly drawn sheep on a bright green background.

A real connoisseur would never even consider tasting a new wine solely based on these two criteria (a funny name and a cute label). But as we don’t pretend to be connoisseurs, this didn’t bother us. So we each bought a glass of the ‘Ni Dieu, No Maître’. It was a slightly more tannic than I’m used to, and I found it a bit too powerful to have on its own. It would have been perfect with a nice meat dish, though. While we were finishing our glasses, I had a look at the other wines that were for sale. I came across an unknown brand of Champagne. As my friend collects the metal caps that sit on top of the cork, I bought him a bottle of this special cuvee named ‘Sagesse’.

The winery also had a nice collection of professional photos for sale. When I rejoined my friends after buying the Champagne, I found them browsing through a photo book, with a very peculiar theme: outdoor toilets! Some of the pictures were amazingly aesthetic and the texts that came with them were just too funny. J.L. and B. bought a copy of the book to put it as reading material ...in the littlest room of their house!

______

Shipwrecked?

After spending some time in the artisan village of Turquant, we drove back to Candes Saint Martin. On the way I wanted to attract my friends’ attention to the ‘Aigue Marine’ a former river barge that has been transformed into a restaurant. You may remember me posting about it last year. At the time we had even considered having lunch there. However, two things stopped us from doing so. The menu card was rather limited, with very basic dishes. And there was a stiff wind blowing from the river. It had already knocked over two parasols and paper napkins were scattered all over the deck. It looked uncomfortably chilly and windy. “Well, maybe next year.” I’m quite sure that’s what we said to each other then.

L'Aigue Marine in 2009

The boat is moored between Montsoreau castle and the village’s main roundabout. Or better, it was … As this year, it had vanished. The sign on the quay announcing the presence of the vessel was still there, but the boat itself had gone. I don’t think it had gone sailing, as it never looked that ‘river-worthy’ to me. Or maybe it’s a seasonal thing; you know the kind of tourist attraction that’s only operational in summer.

Back home I googled the restaurant’s name. It hasn’t a website of its own, but is mentioned in most online restaurant directories. One clearly states that the restaurant is open all year round, even mentioning the dates: from 1/01/2010 till 31/12/2010. Booking is required for groups. The Montsoreau website, however, says that it’s closed from November till March.

So I wonder what has happened. Unless my eyesight is failing, there was no sign of the boat when we were in Montsoreau in May. Has it been relocated? Or simply towed away because it was in a poor condition? Or did it sink? I haven’t found any local press article mentioning a fire or other catastrophe aboard the ‘Aigue Marine’. So the mystery remains.

I’m really curious to find out what became of it as it was an important landmark on that particular stretch of river. If you’re living in the area or vacationing near Montsoreau you may be able to help me solve this mystery …

_____

Snoozing Sunday

Don't worry, this doggy isn't dead. It's just snoozing
in the afternoon sun in the troglodyte village of Turquant.
It's really 'a dog's life', isn't it?

______

The fairy godmother and the woodworker

Let me start by saying that I didn't buy the mirror after all. My mother more or less left the decision to me, not having seen it herself. And although it was very beautiful, I thought that 275 euros was just too much money for a decorative piece to hang ... in a kitchen.

The woodworker’s shop ‘Le Gîte’ is located at the edge of Turquant’s artisan village. It’s only a short walk from the large cave where the work of the other artists is on display.

When we arrived at the house the second time, the door to the shop which earlier that afternoon had been closed, was open. It gave access to a garage-type square space. It was like a mini-version of the large Aladdin’s cave we had seen further up the road. All kinds of wooden objects, ranging from children’s toys to elegant decorative pieces where lined on the shelves that occupied the two sidewalls and the back wall of the ‘garage’. There were also some glass showcases containing handmade jewellery. We didn’t see any pepper and salt sets, though, and that was exactly the item we had come for.

We were greeted by small smiling lady. It was hard to guess her age. She was rather plump, had very short light-grey hair and rosy-red cheeks. She was wearing jeans and a white jumper. Dressed otherwise, she would have made the perfect fairy godmother. Behind her steel-rimmed glasses, her eyes were twinkling with good humour.

“You must be the people they phoned about” she said. While I was looking around at the jewellery, B. asked the lady about the pepper and salt sets. When the little fairy godmother said: “I make the jewellery”, we more or less expected that it was her husband who did the woodworking. So we were rather surprised when she continued “My sister makes the wooden objects. I’ll go and get her!”

She disappeared inside the house to come back a few minutes later, followed by grey-haired person dressed in workmen’s blue. The sister, who looked very manly, was holding a pepper and salt set that was similar to the one we had seen at the restaurant. “Bonjour”, she said. “My sister tells me you wanted one of these sets. I’ve changed the model, though, and this is the first piece of the new series” handing the piece to B. And she added “It isn’t finished yet. I still have to rub it with line seed oil to protect to wood.” B. and J.L. liked the new model too, and decided to buy the set as a present for their son, who’s a chef.

While the sister in blue returned to her workshop to give the set the finishing touch, I bought two pairs of earrings from the fairy godmother sister. She explained that they had originally lived in Nantes, but had come to Turquant little over a year ago when they had heard about the artisan’s village reopening. They were working in close collaboration with the central troglodyte shop we had visited earlier, but only sold directly from their own shop as they liked meeting the people who bought their artefacts.

When the woodworking sister returned with the finished piece, there was some banter between the two of them about who ‘wore the trousers and kept the books’. You could tell that these two sisters were very close and devoted to each other.

We also learned that you should put some crushed nutmeg in a new wooden pepper and salt set. It neutralizes the smell of the wood and the line seed oil, and stops them from ‘contaminating’ the authentic taste of the salt and the pepper. After two weeks it is safe to remove the nutmeg. The sister in blue had already put the nutmeg in the set B. and J.L. bought.

The two sisters accompanied us to the gate and watched us walking back up the hill. When we turned around to wave at them one last time, they were still standing there, side by side, in perfect symbiosis.

_____

Alladin’s cave

‘L’Hélianthe’, the restaurant in Turquant where we had lunch, had some very attractive and crafty pepper and salt sets. They were made of wood and rather elegantly shaped. The restaurant owner explained that they had been tailored-made by a woodworker living in the new ‘artisan village’ further down the road. The original idea for the village dates from the late eighties. But due to a lack of talented artisans and motivated visitors, the project was never very successful … until last year.

I remember seeing the renovation work that was being done to the old troglodyte dwellings when we were in Turquant in 2008. At the time however nothing indicated that a revival of the artisan village was imminent.

After finishing lunch we walked back to the car and drove down the road, following the restaurant’s owner directions. Before long we saw the intriguing and oddly shaped caves of the artisan village. We parked the car in a large empty car park that apparently was part of the premises of a ‘Pommes tapées’ producer. We assumed that it was only meant for his customers, but as there were no other people around we took the risk. When I looked up to the cave that was located high up in the flank of the cliff, I saw a man with a black hat staring at us. I attracted J.L. attention to it and suggested we’d move the car. We were about to do so when I noticed that the man was rather motionless. Either he was very angry about us parking there or it was a dummy. It turned out to be the latter!

A very angry ... dummy!

It was warm and sunny and the walk down the road to the woodworker’s workshop, called ‘Le Gîte’, was very pleasant. When we got there, we found the place deserted. The door to the little shop was closed and nothing was moving behind the windows of the house. We therefore decided to try our luck at the main cave where most of the artisans’ work was on display.

The entrance into Alladin's cave.

The spacious, high-vaulted troglodyte room could have been a copy of Aladdin’s cave. There was handmade jewellery, mirrors with intricate handmade frames, pottery, paintings, cutlery, ... I immediately fell in love with a 50cm x 50cm mirror, which would have looked great in my mother’s newly decorated kitchen. The price was bit steep though, especially as I wasn’t sure that she was going to like it as much as I did.

While I went outside to ring her on my mobile phone and describe the mirror to her – reception being poor inside the cave – my friends asked the saleslady about the woodworker’s shop. By the time I got back, the woman had called the artisan to announce our visit.

(to be continued)

_____

An outstanding lunch

Whilst driving home after spending a week in Vouvray, I asked my friends which were the highlights of their first Loire Valley trip. The very first thing they mentioned was the lunch we had at L’Hélianthe in Turquant. It started with and aperitif on the sunlit terrace. B. and J.L. had the ‘house aperitif’, which was a chilled Saumur Champigny in which bay leaves had been macerated. I had a glass of Crémant de Loire, a local bubbly. With the aperitif came a ‘verrine’ – a very fashionable presentation of an appetizer served in a small glass – of broccoli mousse. While sipping our drinks we studied the menu card and were pleasantly surprised by the prices. Starters were at 5 euros and main courses at 10 to maximum 15 euros. This is extremely good value for this type of restaurant! What did we eat?

Aperitif, wine and cod with sweet patatoes ... some elements of an outstanding lunch!

J.L. was the only one to take a starter. It was a mousse of salmon and red peppers, tightly sushi-style rolled in a piece of seaweed. It was served with a nice crayfish sauce. Next B. and I had a perfectly steamed filet of cod with a kind of pudding (not a mash) of sweet potatoes and a delicate lobster sauce. It was simply devine. J.L. had a stew of river fish and ‘forgotten’ vegetables, which he thoroughly enjoyed. Dessert was a Fourme d’Ambert blue cheese with a ‘poire confit’ and gingerbread for J.L. and me and a ‘Pain perdu’ with ‘pommes tapées’ and vanilla ice cream for B. The unusual Saint-Nicolas de Bourgueil called ‘L’Hurluberlu’ which we had two year ago was no longer on the wine list. The landlord recommended another Saint- Nicolas de Bourgueil with an unusual name: ‘Tsoin Tsoin’. When something is ‘tsoin tsoin’ it means that it’s top of bill. And it was. All through lunch we were wondering what was hidden behind the red curtain hanging from the back wall of the restaurant. When I returned from washing my hands, my travelling companions had disappeared! I thought they had left without me (but they wouldn't do that, would they?), until I heard a stumbling noise over my head. I looked up at the mezzanine, and there they were!

Mezzanine at L'Hélianthe: notice the mysterious red curtain! When they had asked the landlord what was hidden behind the mysterious red curtain, he had invited them to go and have a look for themselves. They had discovered a staircase that led to the troglodyte upstairs dining room. It was fabulous: a very intimate décor which would be perfect to spend a romantic tête-à-tête over a candlelight dinner. Something to keep in mind the next time we are in the area! Hungry anyone? ______

Musical Wednesday

If you live in Europe, you’re probably familiar with the Eurovision Songcontest. The first edition goes back to 1956 with seven participating countries. Belgium was one of them, but won the contest only once, in 1986, thanks to the performance of the, at that time, 15-year old Sandra Kim. We came in second on one or two other occasions, but over the last decades it was mostly a matter of trying/hoping not to end last! Nothing to boast about ...

Just another pretty picture from this year's Loire Valley vacation.

The most recent and 55th edition took place on May 26th in Oslo with no less than 39 countries entering the competition.

Ever since the introduction of a semi-final system in 2004, Belgium never ever made it to the final round … until this year. It even turned out that our entry was voted best song in its semi-final. “And the result?” you’ll ask … Well, we didn’t win, but came in 6th. However, the song certainly has international hit potential! That's why I want to promote it on my blog. Just click on the following link and judge for yourself! It takes a few seconds before the actual song starts. So please, be patient.

Me and my guitar, by Tom Dice, Belgium’s entry for the 55th Eurovision Songcontest.

If you were to rate this song on a scale from 1 to 10, with 10 being the best score, what would your verdict be? You may have to listen to it twice to appreciate its true value!

Btw, I know the videoclip was filmed on a 'secret' location in the US. Maybe you recognize the spot?

____

What happened to the mayor?

Two years ago we had a fabulous lunch at ‘L’Hélianthe’, a troglodyte restaurant in the village of Turquant, between Tours and Saumur. The place is sheer magic and the food utterly delicious. I’ve written about this outstanding experience in a previous post, in which featured an unusual ‘statue’ of the mayor. The ‘Mairie’ being right across the road from the restaurant, we kind of had our aperitif in the company of this handsome fellow, made of terra cotta flower pots.

I thought it would be nice to take my friends to ‘L’Hélianthe’. As their son is a chef, they know all about good food and really appreciate it. And I must admit that the idea pleased me as well.

I only vaguely remembered the way to the restaurant and thought that the best way to find my bearings, was to look out for the ‘Mairie’ and the little flower pot statue. Suddenly I recognized the spot where we had parked the car two years ago. This meant that we had passed the restaurant without noticing it. We therefore walked back in the direction we had come from. There was no sign of the ‘Mairie’ or the restaurant, until we turned the corner, and there it was: the sunny terrace of L’Hélianthe’! What relieve!

However, it looked deserted. In spite of the nice weather there were neither chairs, nor tables and the wooden floor planking was covered in dust. We walked up to the door and saw that the lights inside the restaurant were on. When we walked in, we were warmly greeted by the same man who had served us two years ago.

When the landlord wanted to show us to a table for three, I stopped him and asked whether we could have our aperitif on the terrace. “I wouldn’t recommend it …”, he said “ … because of the dust and the noise. You may have noticed that they’re doing some serious building work on the ‘Mairie’.” It was only then that I saw that all the windows and doors and been removed and that a new wing was being added to the main building. I also noticed that the little flower pot man with the tricolour sash was gone.

As the builders were having their lunch break, the street was calm and there was no dust in the air. I therefore insisted. “It’s so nice and sunny outside that it would be shame not have our apéro alfresco.” The man looked at me in a friendly way. “I suppose it can be arranged, considering that the sun doesn’t shine a lot in Belgium …” he said, tongue in cheek. Ouch, my Belgian accent had clearly betrayed me! But I didn’t mind … after all it got us what we wanted: an aperitif on the terrace.

  

The new chef-like figurine
on the terrace of 'L'Hélianthe' - May 2010

While a waiter brought out a table and three chairs I noticed a flower pot man sitting on the edge of the terrace. “Ha, I see you’ve rescued the mayor.” I said. The landlord looked at me, tears welling up in his eyes. “I’d rather not talk about that. It’s too sad.” he replied. While he went back in to get the menu cards, I took a closer look; it wasn’t the little fellow with the sash, but a flower pot figurine dressed as a chef. When the landlord came back out, and considering his earlier reaction, I didn’t have the heart to ask the question that was burning on my lips: “What happened to the mayor?”

______

The result

Did you enjoy yesterday's quiz? And did you find the four items that had been changed? Here's the result!

With thanks to chm, who pointed them out beautifully!

From top to bottom and from left to right:

1. the window in the keep
2. on the left: the lower part of the wall
3. the tourist or gardener in the red T-shirt
4. in the foreground, the little bush in the middle

Thanks for playing the game!

_____

Spot the differences!

It's been some time since I've posted a quiz...
So here goes!

Take a close look at the following photos.
The first one is the orignal. In the second,
I have changed four items!
Can you spot the differences?

The gardens and ruins of the keep
at Langeais Castle

Before

After

Have fun!

______

When 'boire' takes a new meaning!

On our first Loire Valley trip in 1999 I have fallen in love with the village of Candes Saint Martin, on the confluent of the Loire and the Vienne Rivers. So, every year, on Tuesday, after visiting the market in Bourgueil, we cross the Loire at Port Boulet and drive west, following the river in the direction of Saumur.

This year was no different, as I really wanted to share this lovely spot with my friends. After taking a right turn from the main road, you come upon the bridge over the Vienne. I asked J.L. to stop and park the car in a small parking spot near bridge as I wanted to show them the breathtaking view. I just can’t get enough of it! The village looks so pretty, sitting on the banks of the river, with its small yet sturdy ‘collégiale’ church sticking out over the rooftops of the old houses.

Candes Saint Martin: my all-time favourite view in the Loire Valley.

The sky was almost cloudless, and the weather was perfect for shooting photos. We walked up and down the bridge, trying to find the best angles and the prettiest views. While J.L. was still shooting artistic shots with his semi-professional camera, B. and I wandered to the other side of the bridge, looking upstream the Vienne. Almost hidden by the long grass near the railing of the bridge, we noticed an explanatory panel. At first we thought it was some kind of orientation table, but when we took a closer look, we saw that it attracted the passer-by’s attention to the nearby ‘Boire’.

At the time we thought that ‘Boire’ was the actual name of the short stretch of water that runs parallel to the main river, in which it throws itself near the bridge. Since then, I’ve googled ‘Boire’ in order to find some more information about this ‘miniscule’ stream. And it turns out that ‘boire’ is a synonym for the French word ‘bras’, in this context meaning ‘arm’ as in ‘tributary’. The use of the word ‘boire’ as a noun to describe a still tributary is proper to the Maine-et-Loire department.

The steep banks of the Vienne, near the 'boire'
where in spring the 'pikes' come to fool around!

According to the pictures and text on the panel, this ‘boire’ near Candes Saint Martin is the perfect breeding ground for the pike that live in the Vienne River. Every year, in early spring, from February till May, the pike return to the secluded and protective environment that this almost motionless and shallow stretch of water has to offer. The males arrive first. Once the females have found their way into the ‘boire’ the mating period starts. Over a lapse of several weeks, the eggs are deposited between the leaves of the aquatic plants. One female can produce 15.000 to 20.000 eggs per kilo bodyweight. As soon as the job is done, the females leave the breeding ground. The males stay on for a while, but they do not protect the eggs.

Although the ‘boire’ is a very safe place as there is no current to tear the eggs away from the plants, it is not completely without danger. In times of draught, it can dry up. If this happens before the eggs are hatched or when the small pike are still lingering in the ‘boire’ waiting to be big enough to venture into the main river, the eggs and/or young pike are exposed to the open air and the predators that are constantly on the lookout for a juicy bit of fish.

So far the explanation on the sign near the Vienne bridge in Candes Saint Martin. It was the first time in twelve years that I actually noticed the panel, although that, judging by the wear, it has been there for quite a while. I’m so happy to have learned something about the pike’s private and secret life! Pity the banks were too steep to actually go down to the water’s edge to see if we could spot them.

_____