Mon 21st Aug
It was a bit overcast in St Malo this morning but I still ventured out for one last walk. Our drive to the Loire Valley was about 3 hours long but we stopped off along the way at Chateau d’Angers to fill in some time before our 3 pm check in.
Chateau d’Angers was more like a Castle but it was an interesting enough spot to kill a couple of hours. The fortress was set on a rocky promontory overlooking the River Maine and, in the course of its life since the 13th century, had been a fortress, a residence, a military enclosure and a prison. The site is also now home to the impressive Apocalypse Tapestry; a medieval set of tapestries commissioned by Louis I between 1377 and 1382.
It was 1:30 pm by the time we were back on the road for the hour trip to Saumur, in the Loire Valley, where we were staying for the next few nights. Our hotel had a pool which we thought might come in handy given it was a very warm 330 degrees. Our accommodation was at the Hotel Anne D’ Anjou where we were staying for three nights in a Prestige room and this was large, well appointed and very clean. The Hotel was originally built as a private mansion in 1744 and designed by Mr Caileau, who was King Louis XIV’s own architect, and it had stunning views of both the Loire River and Saumur Castle. The mansion had an interesting history and had at one time been requisitioned by the Nazis during WW2. Today, though, it was a small, luxury hotel offering 41 rooms where some of the rooms retained their original decor. Our room faced out over the Loire River and was the only room to have a balcony.
The original plan for the rest of the day had been to spend the afternoon exploring Saumur but the beautiful hot weather resulted in us ditching that idea for an afternoon by the pool. It was so nice to get in the water and the experience of dipping in the hotel plunge pool made me a bit homesick for my own similar pool back home and the associated outdoor family barbecue gatherings.
It was 5.30 pm before we ventured back out of the hotel to find somewhere for dinner and many places were closed on a Monday so it was slim pickings. We settled on Le Piccadilly, which was ok, and then it was back to the cool of the room for an early night. It was still 300 degrees at 7.30 pm!
Tues 22nd Aug
It was a beautiful morning and Mark felt well enough to join me on a walk so apologies in advance for the many scenery photos; the area is very picturesque and a photo seemed to beckon at every turn. Saumur is only relatively small but it packed some mighty grand buildings and structures with the Chateau being one that we will visit later today.
Chateau de Saumur was located right next to our hotel so we didn’t have too far to walk. We arrived for the 10 am opening and spent about an hour exploring the venue. There was no audio guide on offer but we had a leaflet that offered a few details about its history. The Chateau was originally built in the 10th century as a stronghold against attacks from the Normans but was destroyed in 1066 following the Norman Invasion, but, then rebuilt in the 12th century by Henry 2. Louis IX was a resident at one stage and he further fortified the castle. The castle changed owners a number of times and was at one stage an army barracks and then a prison under Napoleon Bonaparte but was acquired by the city of Saumur in the 20th century and had been open to the public since then.
It was only just after 11 am by the time we left the Chateau and we decided we would fit in one more chateau visit for the day. The hotel had put up a list of things to do in the area when there was a heat wave and a visit to Chateau de Breze, just a 17 minute drive away, was one of them so off we went. The entry ticket to this chateau came with an audio guide which was a very useful addition for our visit.
Chateau de Breze remains in private hands and has the claim to fame of having the deepest dry moat in all of Europe. It was another castle that was likely originally built in defense against the Normans and had an extensive underground fortification defense area as well that dated back to 1060. We spent about an hour or so exploring the Chateau and the subterranean fortress and left there by about 1.30 pm.
It was too early to head back to the hotel so, despite the heat, we set out to visit one of the vineyards I had earmarked as part of my earlier research, The Domaine de Rocheville was almost on the way back to our hotel so that’s the one we chose to visit. We were the only visitors at the vineyard for tasting at first but another Australian (Melbourne) couple turned up shortly after. We tried a few whites, and then reds, which were all very pleasant and we left with one white and one red in hand. The vineyard exports to Australia so I have the contact details for the company who manages this process.
It was close to 2pm by this stage and, with the car registering a temperature of 370 degrees, I decided to head for the pool but Mark decided to head out for a bike ride. This extreme heat was meant to last another day and I thank our good fortune, or my planning, that I had chosen a hotel in this region that had a pool! It was a huge bonus! Mark eventually joined me by the pool and we had a lovely afternoon chatting with an English couple, who holiday in this area quite frequently, and they offered us some useful tips.
Our dinner booking at Le Boeuf Noisette for tonight wasn’t until 7.30 pm and so we hung around at the pool until 5.30 pm before heading up to change and get ready for the evening. There is the option of having drinks in the garden area of our hotel and so we thought we would try that for this evening to fill in the time before our dinner booking. We decided to head to our restaurant at 7 pm, a bit earlier than our 7.30 pm booking, and we were glad we did as they managed to fit us in at an indoor table where we could enjoy the cool of the air conditioning; it was still 300 degrees as we walked home near 8.30 pm! It was a set menu situation at the restaurant so Mark chose an entree and main and I chose a main with dessert and we shared. It was a lovely evening and the food was delicious and this capped off a rather full but most enjoyable day. Mark even noted, over dinner, that he had been most pleasantly surprised by the Loire Valley, as well as St Malo, so I took the positives from this statement rather than concern that he had doubted me!
Wed 23rd Aug
It was a still and very sultry morning and it seemed there was quiet anticipation ahead of the hot day that had been forecast. Mark went for a ride and I went for a walk before we set off after breakfast for the 75 minute drive to Chateau de Chenonceau. The English couple we had chatted with yesterday agreed with other suggestions we’d received about the merits of a visit to Chateau de Chenoceau and so we had purchased tickets for an 11:30 am entry today that included an audio guide. Our plan was to visit the Chateau and then head back for some pool time at our hotel.
It was a pretty drive through a landscape dotted with vineyards and fields of corn. There is an unbelievable amount of corn grown in this northern part of France. I had thought it might be for biofuel but was told it was fodder for the cows. We did see a few cows now and then but nowhere the numbers needed to consume this amount of corn! So my query remains as to what all the corn is used for.
Chateau Chenonceau is a 16th century structure, with part of it spanning the River Cher, and it is a mix of Gothic and early Renaissance architecture. The Chateau is surrounded by beautiful, vast and decorative gardens and is one of the most popular Chateaus in the Loire Valley for tourists, and this was evident from the numbers we encountered on our visit. The Chateau had remained in private ownership throughout its life and is still held by the family who purchased it back in 1913. It was used as a field hospital to help during WW1 but Nazi occupation during WW2 resulted in the building being bombed.
We had purchased an audio guide, when we booked our tickets online, and were glad to have done so as we would have simply wandered around aimlessly otherwise. It took about an hour to complete the visit inside the Chateau and it wasn’t the most pleasant experience due to the high temperatures and high volume of people. My brain was struggling to work and, after a month in the UK of trying to sort out the order of all the characters in the English monarchy, I was in real struggle-street trying to keep up with the French; especially considering there was a vast array of legitimate and illegitimate contenders in their monarchy. I felt that my brain was melting, and it was likely so, given the car was reporting a temperature of 40 degrees when we returned at the end of our tour.
It was around 1.30 pm by the time we left the Chateau and we headed home with a stop off at a small village about 15 minutes up the road from our hotel. Mark had spied this place yesterday on his bike ride and thought it would be nice to visit for lunch. There was a small cafe outside the Church of St Martin and we shared a most generous and delicious charcuterie board of meats and cheeses. Our main concern then was wondering how we would front up to our dinner booking at 7 pm after such a lavish spread.
The rest of the afternoon was spent by the pool where we dipped in and out of the water trying to cope with the heat. Tomorrow was also forecast cast to be hot for our day of travel down to Bordeaux but, hopefully, milder weather would return after that. It was around 6 pm before we set out again and we headed to the main square to wait for our 7 pm dinner booking at Bistro De La Place. We were able to sit inside with the a/c so this was a real bonus. It was still 34 degrees as we walked home just after 8 pm.
We had loved our time in the Loire Valley and would highly recommend this as a place to experience as there is quite a bit to see and do with visits to chateaus, quaint villages and vineyards as just some. Our location was on the far left hand side of the Loire Valley and the many of the big-name Chateuas were a bit of a drive away but, in my opinion, you only need to make the effort to visit one of the larger ones to get your fix on sumptuous medieval luxury living. So, whilst Saumur is a bit off to the side of the Loire Valley, I would highly recommend this area and, in particular, our hotel. It was a great base for exploring the LOire Valley and maybe even ask for our room, Room 106, as we had loved it.
