The Lovely Loire Valley, Take Two! Friday 19th June 2009.

Kate, our darling satellite navigation lady was in a foul mood today and tested us all to the limit. Our aim was to begin our adventures at Saumur, the town we finished in when we visited The Loire Valley with Julie. In the end our early start was eaten up with wrong turns and detours, the only bonus was finding fields of wild poppies, and by the time we got to the first village passed Saumur, Montsoreau, it was time for lunch.

We dined at Restaurant Diane de Meridor, I’ll let the pictures tell the story. At the table behind us, a small dog lay at her owners feet, quiet and content. I love that a dog is allowed in a dining room in France, it seems meant to be.

We visited the exterior of Chateau de la Dame de Montsoreau with a history dating back to 11th century. Some of its architecture took us back to the traboules in Lyon.

We had a quick snoop around the village, all was quiet until a bikie gang rolled through town. They rode pillion and otherwise atop 100+ gleaming machines whose bass like rumbles arrived long before them and left way after.

Along the Loire a little further was Candes-St-Martin, a small village decorated with roses in full bloom, they made the village look so pretty. The Eglise Collegiale dominated the small square and the cobbled streets made their way uphill behind it, to the panorama view of the confluence of La Loire and La Vienne Rivers. The surprise of the day was the discovery of Brocant Gourmande with its little courtyard dining room with mismatched chairs, tables and china. The inside diningroom was filled with walls of old books and memorablilia, the resident cat curled up on an empty chair beside a contented customer.

On our way back to the car we found a wild cherry tree laden with fruit, and also the open gates to Chateau Vieux which is closed to the public. The owner of the Chateaux was driving out of the high gates on his way back to Paris, he only spends weekends at his Chateaux. We got chatting and he invited us inside the gates for a quick look around ...I love France!


In the next village of Chinon, the streets were full of festivities and celebrations. Our first encounter was with a guy dressed as a cow, his mates had thrown him into the river and his hide was soaked! It was all in good fun, he was to be married in August and this was part of the celebrations. In the back streets, a wedding party ambled, followed by beaming guests, ‘bon chance’ we called to them. We pulled over in a nearby park for a throw of the ball by the river, a fisherman reeled in a small fish while others sat idle, their hooks dangling untouched a little further upstream.

The last town on the itinerary today was Rigny-Usse and the beautiful Chateau D’Usse. It was so beautiful on the outside with its peaked turrets reaching high up into the sky, but lacked the warmth of Chateaux de Brissac we had fallen in love with on our visit last week. This Chateaux was only for show, each of its rooms roped off with mannequins dressed as the people would have been in years gone by. Chateaux D’Usse certainly didn’t have the same warm and fuzzy feel as Chateaux de Brissac, it was not nearly as special.



We got lost on the way home too, in one town we passed the same red tractor four times as we were taken on a loop through the narrow streets, we laughed so much and John just kept shaking his head in silence.

Castles in the Air. Monday 15th June 2009.

If I had of known what today would hold, I don’t think I would have been able to sleep last night I would have been so full of excitement and anticipation.

We crossed the vast Loire River at Ingrandes sur Loire, much of the river bed was exposed but the river was still wide and from one bank to the next was a long, long way. The day had begun slowly and it had been hard to plot our course to visit the Loire Valley. We wanted to show Julie the France we love, the tiny villages every few miles or so, to get off the freeway and discover the out of the way charms we knew she would love.

By the time we reached the village of Mont Jean, I knew we were on the right road. We swung into the car park belonging to Eglise Saint-Symphorien, high on the hill overlooking the village with views of the villagers backyards filled with market gardens planted in neat little rows. Alex babbled a hilarious commentary about JR, Julie and I being competitive Olympic photographers, he was so funny. The church was built here on the sight of an old castle in 1860.

By lunch time we had reached Chalonnes sur Loire. We dropped into the tourist office and met two charming and helpful ladies. Unfortunately the restaurant they recommended was closed as is often the case on Mondays. Our only hope was Calo Delices right on the square opposite the Hotel de Ville. The four of us enjoyed the most simple, tasty and well cooked lunch, nothing fancy, just good, plain, flavoursome cooking. We ordered the entree du jour of fresh rockmelon and salami, followed by the plat du jour of baked chicken with frittes and vegetables. No tricks and turns, it was what it was, and it was great. Service was spot on too, our waitress did well to decipher our sometimes ordinary French as she spoke no English at all. An American soap opera (either Days of our Lives or Young and Restless) was on a TV mounted on the wall, we all laughed that every country seems afflicted with this terrible form of entertainment. How funny.

We travelled through Ardenay and Denee before literally stumbling upon Brissac-Quince which is home to the majestic Chateau de Brissac. We excitedly piled out of the car and stood awestruck by the sight before us. The owner agreed to have one of his staff host us on a private guided tour which concluded with a wine tasting of the wines made from the Brissac family vineyards.


We began in The Grand Salon, elegant and lovely, adorned with gold and rich tapestries. The room had a warm and welcoming feel helped along by framed family photos sitting on top of the piano.


The next room was my favourite, The Dining Room. The table was laid with Hungarian china, the Brissac family china decorated with small, red-brested birds. Overlooking the large, oval dining table is a purpose built orchestra balcony, with a sweeping staircase leading up to it. Every wall is hung with antlers, trophies of the 2000 deer a descendant of the family had hunted in days gone by. The Brissac family use this room today for celebrations like Christmas.



The Reception Hall was next, its floor undulated gently under foot, worn away over the years by footsteps of visitors past. The individual shutters on every window that catch the afternoon sun are particular to this castle.

Just off the Reception Hall is the chamber of Louis XIII. Red velvet and dark wood give the room a regal, plush feel. It is filled with unique pieces of furniture like the chair made to sit backwards on with a padded back rest to lean your arms while playing chess; just the thing for hours of long contemplation. Under the top of the padded back rest are small compartments to store chess pieces in. Lift the seat and you have a porcelain potty so you never have to excuse yourself from your game. The blue hues of the tapestry in the chamber are well preserved as it is protected from light most of the time, it depicts Alexander The Great’s entry through the gates of Babylon. The heavy red drapes add a certain luxury and opulence and match perfectly the bed linen.


We are shown the guest room which can be rented out at €380 a night, breakfast and a tour of the castle included. Inside the room are ornaments of 16th century weaponry. Alex got to hold a mace which was great fun for him.

The Portrait Gallery is an elegant room with walls hung with portrait upon portrait; the most famous is of Madame Cliquot from the famed champagne house.

It is unusual to find a private theatre in any castle but Brissac has one of these too and it is decked out just like an old fashioned theatre should be, with layers and layers of red velvet curtains used to close every act. It appears as if straight from a movie with the walls and curtains emblazoned with intertwining C’s, the Brissac family moniker.

We descend into the coolness of the wine cellar for a wine tasting, we enjoy a rose, and two dashing reds, we buy one to enjoy in our castle back home.

What a surprise to have spent this time in such a historic place, I feel very honoured and how lovely for us four to all share in this special experience together.

Our final destination today is the town of Saumur on the banks of the Loire, which is home to the beautiful Chateau de Saumur, beautiful, but not nearly as beautiful as our Chateau de Brissac that will forever hold a special place in all of our hearts.

We fly home on the freeway and pay horrendous tolls for the privilege, €13 euro in total ($26 AUD!). Julie has to pack tonight ready for her 6am train departing from Nantes SNCF station. We will leave home around 5 in the morning to get the tram into the station. My heart feels as though it is breaking at just the thought of Julie leaving. We have forged such special memories together in France, all of us have.