The Women of Loches – 3

I know you are curious to read about the lunch we had with blogger friends Jean and Nick at La Gerbe d’Or in Loches. But bear with me just a little longer, because I still have one painting to show you. By now you probably know that I was fascinated by these three contemporary portraits of the women who at some point in history visited or lived at the Logis in Loches. 

The first one was Joan of Arc, who on June 3^rd, 1429 – after her victory at Orleans – visited the future King Charles VII (Agnes Sorel’s ‘boyfriend’, remember) to insist on him travelling as soon as possible to Reims for his official coronation. In the previous years there had been some doubt and dispute about the King’s ancestry. I suppose that since Joan had won the battle with Charles’ moral and financial support, it was important to get him on the throne while his popularity was at its peek. Mind you, this is my personal interpretation of the matter. There might have been a more important, political reason for the sudden rush. 

While Joan only visited the Logis and never actually lived there, Agnes Sorel became a permanent resident of the elegant castle after leaving the court at Chinon, where Louis XI, the dauphin, had been doing everything in his power to make her life as miserable as possible. The logis became Agnes’ hide-out where she spent many a happy hour with her lover and companion Charles VII.

21th century Anne de Bretagne.

The third and last woman who inspired our contemporary artist is Anne de Bretagne. As the widow of Maximilian of Austria, After the annulment of her mariage to Maximilian of Austria she was successively married to Charles VIII and Louis XII. She lived in Loches at the end of the 15^th and/or the beginning of the 16^th century (she died in 1514, age 37). She took up residence in the northern part of the Logis where she had a small yet profusely decorated room at her disposal. The intricate cord and other motives are still as exquisite and delicate as they must have been at the time when Anne had them carved.

15th century Anne de Bretagne.

Of the three portraits, Anne de Bretagne’s is my favourite. She looks so diva-like in her silk gown. And is it my imagination, or do I detect some of Ava Gardner’s features in her face and posture?

 

This is where my saga of the Women of Loches ends (do I hear a sigh of relieve there?). I hope you’ve enjoyed it. After meeting these three grand ladies, it is time to move on to our rendezvous with another special lady, blogger friend Jean (and her husband Nick) from Derbyshire and holidaying in Le Grand Pressigny.

The Women of Loches – 2

As you can see, I'm 'back in business - email-wise, and can therefore publish the post I had prepared yesterday.

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The woman in the portrait in last Friday’s post is indeed Agnes Sorel. Agnes was the mistress of King Charles VII, and the first woman to be recognized as such. She was brought to court as a lady in waiting to the Queen. Because of her extraordinary beauty she caught the eye of the King who installed her as his official mistress.  

If we are to believe the history books, Agnes was truly in love with Charles, and followed him where ever he went, even in battle. She died an untimely and suspicious death before even reaching the age of thirty. It is believed that she was poisoned by the ‘dauphin’, the king’s legitimate son; because he felt that she had gained too much (political) influence over the sovereign.

A bronze bust of Charles VII. Charles VIII
By the look of it, people rub his nose for good luck.

Ever since my first visit to Loches I have been intrigued by Agnes’ story. Why would a young and extremely beautiful woman fall in love with an ugly man like Charles? The first things that spring to mind of course are money and wealth. Or was it power? Was Agnes an intelligent, yet scheming woman, who wanted a say in ruling France? Or were the history books right and was it true love?

Mats and Vera exploring the logis.

During my recent visit of the Logis with my friends Vera and Mats, I found Vera extremely engulfed in the leaflet that we had been given at the entrance. When we stood in front of the famous painting by Fouquet of Agnes Sorel depicted as the Virgin Mary with child, with one of her breasts uncovered, I explained to Vera that Agnes had set a new trend in court, encouraging women to bare their breasts. Vera listened to my story and then in a most cunningly way said: “Of course she would go bare-breasted. With the king constantly keeping her pregnant, she was breast-feeding all the time!”  

And then she explained to me her point of view on the whole matter. It wasn’t love, power of wealth that had brought and kept Charles and Agnes together. It was sheer lust. Agnes had been the victim of her beauty with the king claiming her as his mistress. Agnes had had no say in it. He saw her, he wanted her and he took her. It’s as simple as that. Maybe Vera is right. Maybe the historians tend to embellish the story by portraying this young girl as the first woman who wasn’t a queen to have political power and influence – as a true feminist ‘avant la lettre’.

Joan of Arc if she had been living in our day and age.

 

Maybe the same can be said about that other woman, who visited the Logis and saved France from the invading English: Joan of Arc. Maybe the historians romanticized her life too. After all, there is a well under built theory that the real Joan wasn’t a peasant girl, but was of noble birth – probably a bastard daughter of the king. And that she didn’t die on the stake. I’ve written about that theory here, after visiting the castle of Jaulny in the French Lorrain where the real Joan lived ‘happily ever after’ with her husband after being rescued from the stake. 

The women of Loches - 1

After an invigorating night of sleep, almost undisturbed by the chiming of Vouvray's bell tower, we set out the next morning for the town of Loches. The plan was to visit the Logis and the Donjon of Loches in the morning, have lunch with blogger friends Jean and Nick (A Very Grand Pressigny) and spend some time in Amboise on our way back to Vouvray in the afternoon. But the best made plans tend to change when you are having fun ...

This was to be my third visit of the Logis and I thought that I had seen it all. That is, until I saw this exquisite contemporary (2011) painting in one of the halls of the Logis. It was the second in a line of three, representing the women who 'passed' or lived at the Logis. Do you know who she is? She was famous for her beauty and the unique role she played at the French court.

I really adore this painting and wouldn't mind having it hanging on my livingroom wall ...

A quiet evening

After our interesting visit of Valmer castle, our first day in de Loire Valley was slowly drawing to an end. It had been a very intense experience: leaving Brussels a t 5 a.m., driving the 550 km to Amboise, shopping at Amboise Sunday market, a musical aperitif, a delicious lunch, wine tasting at the ‘Cave des Vignerons’ and seeing the gardens of Valmer. 

It was almost 5 p.m. – 12 busy, busy hours since leaving Brussels – when we returned to the car (and the overwhelming ‘aroma’ of the ‘dead goat’) to drive to our last destination of the day: our Bed and Breakfast in Vouvray. It’s located at the foot of the village church and the chiming bell tower is one of the place’s mind-clinging characteristics. This was my fourth stay at this B&B and I know from experience that you only hear them the first night. From the second night on, they become part of the charm and when you wake up during the night you kind of like to stay awake till the next chime: one on the half hour and the chimes on the hour, telling you the time. At seven in the morning the village priest ‘sonne les matines’:

The Vouvray bell tower.

Wikipedia: In the West, the Office of Matins or Vigils is the first office of the curriculum of the Divine Office, intended to sanctify the time of the night. It is characterized by a prolonged chant (reciting psalms alternating), interspersed with readings and song of long responses for the internalization of readings. The time of its celebration has varied greatly throughout history. Originally it was sung at the end of the night. The time of its commencement was calculated so that the Office of Lauds that follows begins at sunrise. During the Middle Ages it came to be celebrated at a fixed time in the middle of the night, then in the evening, after Compline and before bedtime. By the fact of a tolerance much more recent, the secular clergy could recite it at a time that suited them, in their pastoral activities …

My troglodyte room.

In this case the bells are ringing to inform the congregation that morning prayers are about to commence. I don’t know whether any of the Vouvray inhabitants actually attend these morning prayers in church. At that time of the day, I’m still in my comfortable bed, relaxing, knowing that I still have another hour before I have to get up (a nice change from my daily routine when I need to get up at quarter to six to go to work), looking forward to the day that lies ahead. 

‘My room’ is located in a troglodyte cave, with all the modern amenities: an extremely comfortable bed, a bathroom with a toilet, shower, hairdryer, fluffy white towels, courtesy soap, shower gel and shampoo. The room doesn’t have air co, because the 10 or so metres of solid rock efficiently keep out the cold and the heat. Mats and Vera had one of the four rooms in the outbuilding. It’s located on the ground floor, next to the main kitchen where breakfast is served every morning between 8 and 10.30 a.m.

Mats and Vera enjoying an alfresco picnic supper.

That first evening we had a light alfresco picnic supper on the terrace in front of my room. Although we were very tired, we really enjoyed it talking about what we had seen that day and our plans for the next day. We decided to have a well-deserved late morning, with breakfast at 9. I was in bed before ten and fell asleep as soon as my head touched the pillow …

More Valmer photos

As promised, here are some more photos of the gardens of Valmer and the special event that was taking place in the courtyard of the 'Petit Valmer', the current residence of the owner Alix de Saint Venant. But let's start with some more 'castle' photos.

The interior of the troglodyte chapel.

One of the guard towers.

A decorative brick wall overlooking the now dry moat
and a fearsome looking gargoyle.

And now up to the side-event. In the couryard of the castle we came across this line-up of vintage cars.

They belonged to the TACOT Club de Ronsard. I tried to google them, but they don't seem to have a website. The only information I could find is that they are located in the Loir and Cher department and recrute new members in that department, as well as in the Indre et Loire and even as far north as La Sarthe.

The oldest car in the collection was a 1921 Citroën (on the left in the photo above). By the time we were about to leave, most drivers had taken place behind the wheel of their spotless and shiny cars. One by one they were slowing leaving the premises honking their old-fashioned horns.

I know that some of you like vintage cars, so I'm just throwing in one more photo.

On our way back to our modern car, Mats pointed out that last year in July we visited Walmer castle near Deal in the UK. Surprisingly enough the gardens of Valmer and Walmer have a lot in common: a beautiful decorative garden, a well stocked vegetable garden and an empty moat that has been turned into a beautiful garden where exotic species can thrive in the best possible conditions, well protected from the elements. Walmer, although very comfortable inside, is a fortress, designed to dissuade invading armies. Valmer, or what is left of it, is an elegant residence. I'm sure it never had a military mission, despite its moat and guard towers.

At last

Since 2008 I’ve made several attempts to visit the gardens of the Château de Valmer, in the village of Chançay, north of Vouvray. During our first Loire Valley tour in 1999 we had driven up to the castle gate; an old wooden structure that was firmly locked. The ground around the gate was overgrown with weeds and the place looked deserted. We peeked through the holes between the worn wooden boards, but didn’t see much. So we turned the car and set off to our next destination.

In the spring of 2008 I read about the castle grounds being open to the public. There was no castle, though. The owners had decided to tear it down after it had been damaged beyond recovery by a violent fire in 1948. After the fire the family moved into one of the outbuildings, today known as the ‘Petit Valmer’, built in 1647. On the exact spot where the former main castle used to stand, the current owner, Alix de Saint Venant, who is a keen gardener, has recreated the shape of the castle using a series of huge yew bushes. The bushes are carefully trimmed showing the spots where the door and the windows used to be. It looks very elegant, yet a bit spooky. I don’t think I would feel comfortable being around there alone at night.

Le 'Petit Valmer' seen from the vegetable garden.

Moreover, next to the ‘mock’ château you’ll find an even spookier troglodyte chapel that was carved into the white limestone rock in 1542. The ceiling is showing large patches of green moss. Over the entrance stands a small statue of Saint Roch.

On the right you can just make out the stairs leading up to the orginal castle and part of the yew hedge 'symbolising' it.

During this year’s tour I finally managed to visit the Château de Valmer. Three earlier attempts, in 2008, 2009 and 2010 had failed because in spring – May and June – the gardens are only open on Sunday. You have to wait till July or August if you want to discover the grounds during the week. There had always been a good ‘excuse’ not to go there on Sunday, the day of our arrival. But this year I was determined not to miss the opportunity.

Entrance to the troglodyte chapel.

So after our excellent meal at the Lion d’Or we set out for Chançay. However, when we opened the door of the car, my friends suddenly took a sudden step back and exclaimed: “There is a dead goat in the car!” Of course there wasn’t an actual dead animal in the car; it was just the strong smell of the goat’s cheese that we had bought earlier that day at the market. Despite the fact that we had put it in the cool box, the typical smell had invaded the car. We left all four doors open for a while before getting into the car. For the rest of our stay we would always refer to the cheese as ‘the dead goat’: “Is there any dead goat left for tonight?” – “Pass me the dead goat please!” – Can I cut you a piece of dead goat?” And on the morning on which we left: “I suppose we can throw the last bit of the dead goat away.” We all agreed on that last one, because none of us felt like driving 550 km with the pungent smell hanging in the car.

Not a stinky goat, but one of the two lions guarding the entrance to the vegetable gardens. Must be a hell of a job because it looks really bloodthirsty.

Arriving at Valmer we found the castle grounds full with people. That particular weekend was the annual ‘Rendez-vous aux Jardins’ in La Touraine, and the entrance fee was only 7.50 euro instead of the usual 8.50 euro. There would be a guided tour by Alix de Saint Venant at 4 p.m. but we decided against it, wanting to discover the gardens on our own, using the leaflet for reference. These are some of the many photos I shot. I’ll be posting some more tomorrow about another special event at Valmer on that same day.

Lunch at the Lion d'Or in Amboise

This year we had our first lunch on French soil at the Lion d'Or in Amboise. As I mentioned before, I had never felt the urge to eat there in the past because the place looked tired and not very inviting. Since it has changed hands, it's certainly worth a visit. I'm not going to write too much text, but just let the photos speak for themselves. Sorry for the poor quality of some of the photos. They were taken by Mats - with my camera - who's probably not used to the 'cameras for nitwits' having a very sophisticated camera himself - or maybe he was giddy with hunger ... Anyway, they give you a fair idea of the quality of the meal.

The 'traditional' dining room at the Lion d'Or.
We were seated the last table on the right.

An appetizer of spinach mousse and asparagus cream soup.

Foie gras, onion confit and toasted baguette.

Veal onglet and green asparagus.

Tournedos steak and bright green 'fêves des marais'.

A 'café gourmand'. I don't remember what the yellow cream in the middle was,
but on the right there is chocolate crème brûlée.

A trio of sorbets: apple, raspberries and mango.

This was just the first in a line of outstanding lunches and an excellent start of a wonderful and exciting week ...

A concert

I'm just back from my first day at the office after my wonderful trip to France. I usually don't come home this early - it's only lunchtime - but I have a painter in who's putting a new protective coating on the window frames. This operation was scheduled for last March, but most of the time we didn't have three or four consecutive days of dry weather and the job was postponed every week. I don't really need to be here to 'supervise' the work, but I don't want the apartment unoccupied with all the windows wide open. It's not so much burglars that I fear. No, it’s the weather, which is very unstable. A thunder or rainstorm can be lurking just around the corner, and I don’t want to come home to a flooded apartment. Anyway, here I am with ample time to continue my Loire Valley trip report. So back to our first day in Amboise …

Vera and Mats walking up the street leading to Amboise castle.

The reason for the road to Amboise castle being closed became clear as soon as we turned the corner of the street. On the small square a band stand had been set up and a large crowd had gathered around it. Sunday was the last day of the International Brass Band Festival. This event takes place every year. I’ve assisted to this last day performance of the winning band three times. As far as I can remember it was always on the first weekend of June. The competition starts on Friday evening with a concert in the town’s community hall. It continues on Saturday. When all the bands have performed, the evening ends with the proclamation of the winning band. On Sunday morning all bands randomly walk around town, stopping at the local hospital and by side walk terraces where they give a short concert.

The percussion section of the brass band. The rest of the band is sitting to the left on a lower level. The crowd was blocking the view.

The winning band enjoys the privilege of giving a concert at the foot of Amboise castle. By the time we arrived the performance was well on its way and the crowd standing around the band stand was three rows thick in some places. I walked over to our favourite bar: Le Café du Château, but all the seats on the terrace were taken. Then I noticed a new bar two houses up the road. The last time I was in Amboise this place used to be a souvenir shop. Now it was an attractive modern establishment with a very inviting terrace. We found an empty table and ordered beer and coffee.

The sidewalk terraces facing the band stand.

We stayed for well over half an hour, during which the band performed four more numbers, all different in style and rhythm. It was fantastic. They finished with the exhilarating and ever popular ‘French Cancan’. The audience, including us, got really carried away and enthusiastically started clapping hands to the beat of the percussion session. I even saw some people actually jumping up and down to the rhythm of the music. The music stopped with an impressive and breathtaking percussion solo by the two kettle drum players, making the audience burst into a loud applause and calls for an ‘encore’. The musicians, who were clearly having fun, obliged willingly and replayed the last part of the ‘French Cancan’ and the powerful kettle drum solo. The crowd went wild …

I couldn’t have wished for a better welcome to France for my Swedish friends. After the music had died down, we decided it was time to have lunch. I had booked a table at the Lion d’Or for 1 p.m. and it was almost that. It was only a short walk to the restaurant and when we got there, well before the said time, we found the place really full and a sign ‘restaurant complet’ (restaurant full) pinned on the door. The door was open though. On our way in, we crossed a party of five on their way out, looking very disappointed. They hadn’t taken the trouble of booking a table and had just been told by one of the waitresses that they were sorry not to be able to accommodate them. After all, this was mother’s day in France and many families were taking this opportunity to celebrate the occasion with a nice lunch.

I congratulated myself for having the perceptiveness of booking a table from Brussels last week. The young lady at reception showed us into the traditional yet freshly and tastefully decorated dining room. We were given a nice and quiet table in a corner and sat down in anticipation of our first lunch in France.

Tomorrow will be a restaurant post; you'd better prepare yourself to see some mouth watering photos!

Amboise market

Ever since my first visit to the Loire Valley in 1999 our opening activity has been visiting the outdoor market. Amboise has a market on Fridays and Sundays, the Sunday edition being the largest outdoor market of the Indre & Loire department.

The stalls are set up along the banks of the river. They are roughly divided into two sections: the first part which is mainly flowers and plants and food (vegetables, fruit, bread, cheese, meat) the second, and also the largest part, which consists of vendors selling clothes, (hand)bags, mattresses, furniture and hardware. The part that interests us of course is the food. I’ve visited the cloths section only once, in 2010 when I was in Amboise with my friends Béa and Jean-Luc.

My friends were very intrigued by some of the meat in this counter.

This year Vera and Mats were quite happy to limit our visit to the food section to get goodies for our evening picnic at the B and B. We started by buying a selection of olives: garlic flavoured, stuffed with strips of spicy red peppers and small purplish ‘niçoises’. Next we bought a bunch of crunchy grape tomatoes, a baguette, a lump of farm butter, a cavaillon melon from Spain, 10 slices of ham, 100 gr. of pork rillettes and a goat’s cheese. Little did we know then that this cheese would become a recurrent conversation topic for the rest of our trip! 

Mats and Vera really enjoyed the market ambiance. From what they told me, outdoor markets hardly exist in Sweden and if they do, they are not as lively as the ones in France. We therefore wandered around for a while, enjoying the sounds, aromas and colours, until we decided that it was time to walk back to the car and put our loot in the cool box that my friends had brought along.

The red car in the background on the left was the one causing the commotion.

There was some commotion in the car park as a driver had abandoned his car, engine running, in the middle of the exit way, blocking the path. The drivers in the waiting cars were getting nervous and impatient and started honking their horns. While we were putting our groceries in the car the driver of the abandoned car suddenly showed up out of nowhere – it is possible that he had been using the nearby public toilet – and drove off, followed by a long line of cars.

Lately you see more and more of these typical flat bottomed boats moored in the middle of the River. I think they are just there for aesthetic reasons because
I've never seen anyone actually sailing in one of them.

My first idea was to take the car and drive it up to the castle, but Mats and Vera thought is wiser to leave it just where it was, as there was the risk that we wouldn’t find another convenient parking spot. So we strolled down the river bank, shooting photos and chatting about our first experience of the day. When we walked up the road leading to the square Michel Debré at the foot of the castle, leaving the car where it was, turned out to be a wise decision as the road ahead of us was blocked. We would soon learn why  …

A late night and an early morning

It’s always difficult to start writing about a trip as there is so much to tell. I guess the best way to go about it is to start at the beginning and gradually make my way down chronologically in order not to forget anything. It’s also the best way to relive and to ‘re-savour’ the many lovely moments we’ve experienced.  

As you already know, we had a shaky start. Due to some ferry trouble in Denmark, Mats and Vera had to make a three hour detour to go by the bridges. Because of this unforeseen incident their ETA became 10 p.m. instead of the initially planned 7 p.m. Luckily I hadn’t booked a table at the restaurant yet as they decided to grab a bite to eat somewhere on the road, pushing on to get here as soon as possible. We agreed that they would drop in at my apartment to have a drink together before checking in at their nearby hotel. 

They arrived at 10 p.m. on the dot! They brought a nice present of 6 half bottles of German wine; a fine selection of red, white and rosé. Although this was my first meeting with Vera – I’ve known Mats for 39 years – we immediately hit it off! I opened a bottle of Champagne and we each had two glasses. As they were exhausted from their eventful drive south, we parted at 11 p.m. after putting some of my stuff in their car. I never travel to the Loire Valley without a picnic hamper. And there were also the ‘tons’ of chocolates that I had bought as surprise gifts for my blogger friends. 

After adding these items to Mats’ already well packed car, we said goodbye for the night. Although their arrival was much later than initially planned, we decided to stick to the original plan and leave for France between 5 and 5.30 a.m. the next day. Despite all the excitement, I slept surprisingly well until … 4 a.m. when my alarm clock rang. My suitcase was already packed and I was ready to go by quarter to 5. My friends arrived at the agreed time and we were on the road before 5.30 a.m.

Breakfast south of Paris.

I had bought some croissants and we had those at the French border while filling up the car and having a coffee. Mats drove the first part of the trip and Vera took a short nap. We got to Paris before half past 8, which was fine, traffic-wise. There was a short traffic jam at the entrance of the Périphérique Ouest, because of a car accident, but after that it was ‘fluid’ all the way to the Porte d’Orléans and the exit towards Bordeaux. 

We stopped at the first fuel station on the A10 motorway, where we had a proper breakfast. Mats and I both had a ‘jambon beurre’ (baguette with butter and ham). Vera had a ‘pain aux olives’ (a small olive baguette). There was coffee and orange juice too.
  

Vera took over the wheel, while Mats napped after driving the first 370 km or so. Although my eyelids were very heavy I decided to stay awake because I didn’t want to miss a second of this trip. As usual we drove through ‘La Beauce’ also known as ‘windmill country’ and one of France's most productive agricultural areas.

Wind turbines in La Beauce.
Notice the menancing skies!

The ride was smooth and we made very good progress, arriving in Amboise shortly before 11 o’clock. We had quite a bit of rain on the way and the skies remained menacingly dark most of the time. However, when we reached Amboise the sun was shining and the weekly market was in full swing. The town was full of people, because of this and the yearly Brass Band Festival that attracts crowds from all parts of France. Parking spots were rare, but Vera agilely manoeuvred the big car into a spot close to the market. Being an awkward driver myself I really admired her and Mats’ driving and parking skills all through our trip.

This time last week …

On Sunday, May 27th, I started a blog post by saying ‘This time next week…’ At the time I still had a few days of work ahead of me, but there was also the promise of a week in the Loire Valley to look forward to. And now it’s all over. All that remains are 539 photos, several bottles of wine, a beautiful present that Mats and Vera bought me in Turquant (more about that later) and the memories. And these memories are all happy ones.

June 3rd, 2012: Vera at the wheel of the car crossing the bridge in Amboise.
Mats drove the first lap; Vera took over south of Paris.

I had a super time! There are not enough words to describe how good it was. And it wasn’t thanks to the weather, because the legendary Loire’s micro climate didn’t really live up to its reputation. No, the success of this trip is almost entirely due to all the lovely people I met last week. First of all there are of course Mats and Vera, without whom this trip wouldn’t have been possible. Not only were they loyal and cheery travel companions, they also really took to all my blog friends whom I met over the week. 

It started on Monday, when we had lunch in Loches with Jean and Nick. We had a fantastic meal together and then Jean and Nick took the extra trouble of driving me up and down to show me their holiday cottage and their cute dog Lulu. More about that later. 

On Wednesday we went to Susan and Simon’s BBQ party, where I met more blog friends living in the area. Most of them have already blogged about this exceptional event, but I’ll get back to it in due course. In the meantime I really would like to thank everybody for being there and for deploying your cooking talents to create all the delicious food we had. A special word of thank you to Susan and Simon who are fantastic hosts! I’m sorry we couldn’t stay to help with the dishes (well, no – not really, but it’s the thought that counts, isn’t it). The day ended unexpectedly in La Roche Posay and I want to send a big thank you Caroline and Alexandre for their hospitality. More to come, of course. 

On Friday we had another excellent lunch In Saint Aignan with my French friends Brigitte and Jean-François, who live in Francueil, Ken and Walt and Charles-Henry. A good time was had by all. After the meal we went up to Ken & Walt’s house to meet Callie and Bertie. The latter made only a short appearance but I did get a chance to admire his intriguing green eyes and to touch his shiny black fur. Callie was as playful as ever, and made us feel very welcome. Thank you Ken and Walt for inviting me into your home on such short notice. 

We ended our week with an exquisite and cheery lunch in Paris on Saturday in the company of Charles-Henry, who had returned to the French capital in the morning after spending a week in La Touraine. 

You’ll find a full report and photos of all meetings, events, visits and adventures in the weeks to come. Right now I’m savouring a glass of Saumur Champigny from a bottle that I bought in Turquant. I said goodbye to Mats and Vera last night after a light supper at my mother’s. They wanted to visit the Grand’ Place in Brussels this morning, before setting out again on their long journey home. They’ll be spending the night in Munster (Germany) and should be back in Stockholm on Tuesday.  

I suppose they are also thinking about ‘This time last week …’ – We had arrived in Amboise and were sitting at the foot of the castle, sipping a cool beer and listening to the life music of an excellent brass band. Wishing I were in France, right now!

Back home!

Sorry to have left you in suspense, but Junior, my netbook, didn't like the new feeding bottle (wifi) at the B&B in Vouvray. When I managed to get a connection it broke down after 30 seconds.

We came home around 7 p.m. tonight after a lovely lunch with Chm in Paris. We are quite exhausted and Mats and Vera are travelling to Germany tomorrow, before heading home on Monday. We all had a lovely time and would like to thank all our blog friends in the Touraine for their warm and exceptional hospitality. I'll be back tomorrow with the first post on this wonderful vacation. See you then ... Night-night - Don't let the bed bugs bite!

Shaky start

Just a quick post before I start packing my suitcase!

At 11.44 a.m. I received an email from Vera, Mats’ wife, with the ominous title: ‘Delayed’. Not a good start of our trip. Vera’s message read that there was some ferry trouble in Denmark – she didn’t specify whether it was a strike or a technical problem. Anyway, it means that they will have to use the bridges that connect Sweden and Denmark, adding a couple of hours to their journey. Moreover, Mats’ contacts in his mobile phone have been partly erased, so impossible to call me! Vera asked me to send a text message with my phone number, so that they can give me a ring when they reach the Belgian border. 

Their delay will probably mean that we won’t have drinks at my mother’s, because it will be too late. I’m not even sure that we can make it to the restaurant for dinner, because we all want to make it an early night in order to be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed when we set off tomorrow morning at five.

Finally, the weather forecast for next week couldn’t be any worse. Cold, cloudy and 40% possibility of rain, especially on Wednesday, the day of Susan and Simon’s BBQ. I so hope the weather people are wrong. I really want Mats and Vera to see the Loire Valley at its best: blue skies, picnics alfresco and jolly people in colourful summer clothes, not rain jackets and umbrellas. But then again, as blog friend Gaynor from La PetitePresse wrote in yesterday’s email: “… the scenery and the ambiance will still be fantastic”.