Tours, France

I seem to talk about food a lot in this blog, but food is an important part of what we do. Over the last while I have experienced some hugely gastronomically satisfying wonders. My belly has been treated to honey-coated quail in the restaurant among the trees in Le Pin followed by a wide choice of cheeses and a rich chocolate dessert. In Chaterllerault we dined with Mick and Kate  at  La Gourmandine. We ate a five course meal selected by the chef. This included two extra complimentary courses. We began with a cold melon soup, a fois de gras in a nest of peach, beans and nuts followed by lobster starter, Our main course was a gorgeous tasting piece of steak with potatoes. I‘d been put off steaks in this part of the world in the UK for the corn-fed flavour, but this restored my faith that continental steak could taste good. Our final three courses consisted of a selection of cheeses, a complimentary sorbet in tapioca, and a very rich berry dessert soaked in a sweet champagne sauce.

 

Lunch can be as simple as as un bagetette avec fromage, confiture de framboise ou de tomatoes et un avocet. We did this yesterday, after a drive from Tours to Saumur. We took the advice of a British couple who had chosen to picnic in the carpark next to the Loire. “No, not here,” they said, “there’s a much better spot if you are prepared to walk up the next street and up the steps  to the chateau. There you’ll find grass and plenty of places to admire the views of Saumur.” And they were right. It was a super place to stop and lay out our picnic spoils, relax in the sun and watch the world beneath us.

 

Mary has joined us for this part of our journey. We’re now staying in Tours and had the use of a car for a nerve- wracking two days. Learning to drive on the opposite side of the road, give way to our left, and over take on the left isn’t that easy when you have been driving cars for a very long time.

We drove on to Fontevraud Abbey. A magnificently restored Abbey with a very interesting past. It  was founded in 1100 and became a double monastery , with both monks and nuns on the same site. Robert of Arbrissel declared that the leader of the order should always be a woman and appointed Petronille de Chemille as the first abbess. She was succeeded by Matilda of Anjou, the aunt of Henry of England. This was the start of a position that attracted many rich and noble abbesses over the years, including members of the French Bourbon royal family. It also became a refuge for battered wives and even prostitutes.

Henry II's widow Eleanor of Aquitaine became a nun there. Hers and Henry’s tombs are still there and on display. Louise de Bourbon left her crest on many of the alterations she made during her term of office.

During the French Revolution, the order was dissolved. The abbey later became a prison from 1804 to 1963. Political prisoners experienced the harshest conditions: some French Resistance prisoners were shot.  Buildings were made public in 1985 and there is still evidence of continuing restoration work in the wider grounds.

Our final full day in Tours has been spent mainly wandering around, browsing the shops, taking photographs and yes, the inevitable stops for food and wine. The temperature is more changeable with a cooler wind blowing this morning, and we were soon back in our rooms putting on warmer clothes

TOURS CATHEDRALE (as seen from our hotel window)

 We're at Abbey l'Fontevraud  

Chateau de la Motte

We’ve spent the last couple of days in a chateau near Chatellerault. Chateau de la Motte was built in the early 12^th century, Prior to this, it was believed there was a wooden fort on this site.  A lot of the stone used to build today’s structure was gathered from a nearby quarry. These stones tell stories through their shape and scratched surfaces. During the Reformation and there is evidence of holes in the castle walls where muskets were fired. Unfortunately the interior was seriously damaged in a kitchen fire but in the early 18^th Century a massive rebuild took place. The original walls remain however the structure was converted from a flat roofed building to the pointed roof building of today. It became then a chateau, rather than a castle.

Sometime in 2002, a local farmer’s tractor some hundred meters away, slid partly into a hole. On further investigation, a series of rooms were found underground, dating back to Roman times. It’s highly probable that during the reformation these caves were used as a hiding place as there’s evidence of this. Once higher authorities found that people had discovered the caves and were excavating them, a ban was put in place. There is a law in France that anyone found excavating ruins without official permission, will be sent to prison. There isn’t enough money to employ the thousands of archaeologists needed to excavate the many ruins around France, so this site was closed up in 2005 and filled in.   The castle does hold some interesting artefacts, however, including jewellery, coins, animal skeletons from feasts, and many pieces from broken pottery all meticulously labelled.

After a breakfast at the banquet table with all the other guests, our host took us for an extensive tour of the chateau and regaled us with these stories and more. We all climbed the tower and took in the view and I was reminded of the many paintings and photographs I have seen of this area. One of the children was allowed to help raise the handmade flag which can be seen very clearly when you look back at the castle.

We had heard that the small nearby town of Vaux de Vienne was holding a medieval festival this weekend. From the castle, our host pointed out the direction we needed to travel to get to see it. It wasn’t far, and the picturesque windy road and colourful fields were great to drive through. Again, we sat in the back seat with the roof down and the wind doing its best to try and blow our hats off. We soon came to Vaux to Ville and were struck by how quiet it was. Our first view was the abandoned Abbey and it seemed perhaps we had the wrong day, but as we rounded a corner there, at the top of a hill in front of us, we saw people gathered in costume. We parked the car and walked up to join them. A man was playing a tradition set of medieval bagpipes and woman was striking a Lyre. A group all in costume were dancing around them all holding hands and swinging their legs slowly from side to side. Later the music became more lively and they split into pairs. we wandered down the hill and through the almost deserted streets looking at the stalls. Not many had customers so we stopped and tasted the breads, admired the tapestries, and watched a man blow glass. Later on, the townfolk descended in our direction and town to a marquee set up for a full lunch. We didn’t join them but opted for freshly baked pita bread (a portable pizza oven was used) stuffed with goats cheese (for Kate and me) and pork (for S and Mick). I’d bought a punnet of organic cherry tomatoes  for a euro which accompanied this very nicely.

The afternoon was spent back at the chateau where we dipped ourselves in and out of the pool and baked our skins in the sun. 

Chantome

As mentioned in the last blog, we have been whipped away it seems into mid-France...and we don't mind a bit. The weather is gloriously hot, and we've managed two river swims since we arrived. I've decided that today's blog, will start with the photos, and we'll take it from there. Above is us swimming in the River Crueze on Day 2. It's a really pretty spot, as you can see from the photo.

We loved the countryside in the UK and we now also love what France has to offer. It is a lot drier here so when we see a rain cloud we like  grab a quick pic. We passed a field of sunflowers so I did the same for those as well.

Agenton-sur-Crueze is the nearest larger town. We walked to the top yesterday beside 12th century church with a golden Madonna on top. The view across the town says it all.

I can quite understand why Kate and Mick have fallen in love with this area. There's so much to see (if you want) and also there's plenty here to enjoy as well.

The house (pictured right) is hugely improved since they first bought it and Mick's workshop (attached on the left hand side of the house) is impressive. He's been working on a project all week.

Yesterday evening we visited the town of Gargilesse-Dampiere described as "one of the most beautiful towns in France." My photos don't do it justice as the light was really high contrast...but google it if you are interested. There's a harp festival going on all month, and we were rated to one in the local church. It was a splendid way to spend a summer evening.

Today we visited the ruins of Crozant situated high above the meeting of the Sédelle and Crueze rivers it was a fortress since Roman times but became more a castle from the 11th century on.

Our final stop was Lake Eguzon, very close Chantombe where we are staying.

A few days in London

Our final driving experience in the UK was thankfully uneventful. It was such a big change experiencing the British countryside from the M4  rather than hedgerow after hedgerow. We decided to drop the car at Heathrow and take the tube into London. Sophie suggested she meet us at Hammersmith and point us in the direction of our planned accommodation for the next few days. She actually works above the station so it was no trouble…and it was great to see her smiling face.

After we had offloaded our gear and cleaned up a bit, we wandered down to The Swan, a pub on Hammersmith corner, where Sophie and ex- Drama Adviser friend Sarah Marino met us for dinner. We had a lovely meal and we were able to catch up on our travelling news

The next morning S and I caught the train to Leicester Square and we managed to acquire some reasonably priced tickets to Warhorse. I’d arranged we’d meet another ex-colleague, Siobhan. She was looking very rested having travelled for a good proportion of the year and has found a job in outer London, starting in September. After starting with a real flat white, we all headed for Southbank and the Tate Modern. We opted for looking through the basement exhibitions. They included Susan Lacey’s: The Crystal Quilt, which was a fascinating look at stories from women over 60 and Lis Rhode’s cross-arts exhibition of film, poetry and music.  S and Siobhan got fascinated with the building & began talking about the architecture. It is a fantastic space. We continued along the Thames and find a place to eat. There’s plenty to choose from of course, and we picked one which would give us a view of the river and some sun if we wished. Then we headed back over the Jubilee walk bridge and said our farewells. We needed to head back to the hotel, freshen up a bit before making our way back into the city to see War Horse. If you know nothing about this great show and horse puppets click this link.

On Saturday morning we found the local Laundromat across the road. I now had a place to recommend to Sophie. All our washing was done in about an hour and we found a different hotel to enjoy a fresh fruit breakfast while it washed and spun.

Sophie called to say we could go to The Walkabout (her local) for an All Black vs Australia experience. After a quick tour of her abode (above a bottle store), a hair trim, quick makeover, and meeting some of her flatmates we were down at “the Walkie” among many Aussies and a number of Kiwis watching the game. It was packed, and S (who had walked ahead of us) had already found a drinking buddy from Te Awamutu to enjoy the game with. There was barely room to move.

Sophie and I had organised some time together in the massive Hammersmith mall. I managed to find a few tops and we had a lovely Greek lunch together. I was pleasantly surprised by the space, with its undulating roofline and unusual shop exteriors so thought I’d bring S back later for a meal.

Sunday we needed to pack out of the hotel, store our luggage and meet Elise by 10. She was staying very close to us which made our rendezvous easy. She’s been over from New Zealand helping her mother make souvenirs for tourists and Olympic equestrian supporters in Greenwich. What an effort! Sophie arrived on time at 11 and we needed to say quick farewells before heading to Hyde Park to meet a very old friend Tessa and her family. Tessa had last seen Sophie when she was two and a half, and now has six year old twins of her own. We arranged to meet by the Serpentine opposite where the Olympic Triathlon took place. It’s still all there waiting for the Paralympics. It was really hot (well over 30) and humid. After a brief lunch and thunderstorm, which dealt briefly with the precipitation, we took a walk over to the Diana Memorial Fountain which was the perfect place for the twins to cool off.  Sophie rested, and Selwyn, Tessa and I took wander over towards Kensington palace.

Once we were back we all grabbed a very expensive ice cream, wandered and talked some more and generally caught up on the last 24 years. It was lovely to see Tessa again and we hope we can meet much sooner next time.

After saying our farewells we continued our walk through Hyde Park in the opposite direction towards Oxford Circus. It was still really hot and muggy so we left S in a pub to cool off while Sophie searched for a top in Top Shop. They were easily found, and soon we were heading back to Hammersmith to collect our luggage, give  a big hug and say farewell to Sophie, and jump on train and a bus out to Stansted for the night. It was actually our fifth anniversary so a way of ensuring that we celebrated in some way we decided to pop down to the local supermarket for a bottle of wine. Much to our surprise, we were asked to show our ID. The very straight faced checkout operator wasn’t going to give an inch. The ONLY way to buy our wine, was to leave the premises and send a very kind 32 year old next to us (who had ID) back into the store to buy it for us. I think by this time we were in stitches with the absurdity of it all; however, even in the dark as we walked back to the guesthouse, I did notice S was grinning from ear to ear perhaps feeling maybe he might actually look a bit younger than he thought.

I’d recommend a stay at Stansted Lodge if anyone was looking for a very reasonably priced place to stay and good service as far as transfers go. Our ride was back early in the morning and we reached Stansted Airport in good time…thank goodness as the dramas which followed with Ryanair left us little to smile about. First, after queuing in the wrong queue for half an hour, we were directed over to the right queue. Twenty minutes later, the woman behind the counter could find no evidence hat we had paid for our luggage. Apparently it is something you do within 15 days of flying and something I had neglected. Damn.  £210 later…we were finally winging it to Limoges. We were greeted by a smiling Kate and Mick, and whipped away in their Mercedes Coup to the River Creuse for a swim and picnic. So grateful to be able to relax and cool off after our Ryanair experience. So glad to be seeing a bit of K & M’s piece of France. Lovely.

Ferryside-Part Two

 

I can’t believe the last few days have flown by so quickly. We had an interesting drive down from Abertstwythn to Ferryside taking many side roads so that we might sample some of coastal Wales we had heard so much about. Our first stop was the town of Newport; mainly because it has, among other things, a well-marked tourist information office. The woman working there was very helpful in providing a map with viewpoints around the coast clearly marked out, her own recommendations and also a clear warning about places to avoid. She was also quick to point out some of the must-sees in her own town, and so we walked down to the estuary, along the path and back to our car. It was probably not the best of scenery in the world but it did give us a chance to stretch our legs before continuing our journey.

We picked Cardigan Bay and St David’s as the must-dos…and they were not disappointing. The small town of St David’s sells the best ice-cream, but we could have given the drive to Whitesands a miss. By this time S (as the driver) had seen enough of narrow roads and hedgerows that offered very little in the way of a view. We were very taken, after a reasonable walk from a carpark, with the cliffs at Dale. I think the walk between Dale and Martin’s Head would be a fantastic one for anyone with the time.

After a little confusion about where exactly in Ferryside Margot lived, we finally spotted her waving a silver fern flag. She directed us to her carpark, and by the time we walked back, she was talking to another kiwi in a car towing a caravan. She invited him back for a drink later on once he had settled. He arrived an hour or so later smothered in aftershave and he regaled us with chapters in his life including his broken marriages, deaths of family members including a son who sits on his shoulder wherever he goes, how he came to having bolts through his chest (he got S to feel them), his assets in Thailand , how he rescued an Irishman and was now travelling nowhere in particular around the UK. “You can buy a nursing home here for a song and clear at least eight hundred thousand pound a year,” he told us. And then he was gone heading for a jazz band somewhere in town. This was this start of our time with Margot.

The following morning we allowed ourselves some time to recover, and around 11, with Margot in the front seat, she directed us the small town of Laugharne where Dylan Thomas wrote Under Milkwood.  We spent some time there, visiting his grave in the churchyard and walking along beside the estuary to and from his home and boatshed where he did a lot of his writing. We also explored the town  itself and had a coffee in the pub where he used to drink.

We then drove to the town opposite Margot’s  called Llansteffan. our objective was to explore he ruins of Llansteffan Castle.

 This impressive ruin originated in the early 12th century, built by the Norman conquerors. We all loved climbing the last remaining stone staircase to take in better views of Ferryside. This castle would have been huge in its day.
We decided as a way of thanking Margot for her hospitality we would take her out for dinner. We had a lovely final evening together. In the morning we left early as we knew we had another big driving day to London.

Abertstwythn- Part One

The last 4 days we have not been able to access internet for very long so here goes... (in two Parts)

We drove from The Lake District yesterday choosing to take the M6 to the M56. I’m not sure where we crossed the English- Welsh border but things changed. The roads started to narrow, it began to rain and the houses changed their exteriors once again. as we headed alongside the northern coast we spotted the magnificent Conway Castle. We decided to keep driving as we were promised that Caernafon Castle would be more interesting to walk around.

 Caernafon town is a great wee town to walk around although a Sunday is a quiet day and there’s not a lot of business going on. The pubs all around town were advertising Sunday Roast. Sunday Roast is a big deal here, so we thought we’d better try one. The pub we chose had two restaurants which sounds big, but it wasn’t. The first restaurant was for people who wanted to eat from the daily menu; the restaurant we were led to was out the back in a room about the size of a classroom with a small bar and steaming pots of roast vegetables, stuffing, and sauces. This was the Carvery especially opened on Sundays, and at one end a man sharpened his carving knife and asked each person in line whether they preferred pork, beef, lamb, turkey or chicken. Quite a choice.

If you are not used to it, it might be surprising to find also that many people here converse in Welsh. Not English. All around town we witnessed teenagers, parents and their children, young couples and people at the bar using Welsh as their chosen tongue. Wales is bilingual and truly bicultural.

After lunch, our chosen route was the 4085 into Snowdonia. We had heard that the mountainous regions of Wales were beautiful but were were not prepared for the stunning scenery we saw. We were so mesmerised by everything- the lakes, the mountains, the valleys, the light, the trees, and even the roads themselves, that we must have missed a turnoff and ended  heading north again up the A78 and on to the A5. It was actually ok. We climbed a very high mountain and took some postcard pictures across Llyn Trawsfynydd and Llyn Celyn.

We reconnected with the A470 and left it again heading through Machynlieth, tuning off on the A4159 then right back on to the A44, before finally finding our residence on the outskirts of Abertstwythn for the next two nights. It had been a long day in the car and we were happy enough to just settle in front of the TV and watch the closing Olympic ceremony. The only trouble was, we couldn’t get the TV to work. Pat who minds the place was really not in any state to fix things. besides not feeling particularly well, she can’t move very fast and she is technologically challenged. On her suggestion, S went to see how the  television connections worked in a different room. They worked fine but not only that, the room had an ensuite. Pat was happy to move us and so were we.

After studying the tourist brochures, we decided that a drive to The Devil’s Bridge and having a few bush walks would be a really good idea. The Devil’s Bridge is actually three bridges stacked over one another; the first serving as a passage for monks who travelled in the middle ages. When horse drawn carriages were used, a second wider bridge was constructed about 1708. The third bridge was built at the start of the 20^th century and strengthened in the mid-70s. The river Mynach runs under this and has carved a deep gully creating an impressive waterfall which can be seen from a range of viewpoints. There are two walks on either side of the bridge. After negotiating a tollgate (with help from the woman who operated the pay booth across the road) we  scooted around the first walk stopping to hear the legend of the Devil and the old woman who tricked him into building the first bridge. This was achieved by a dynamo-controlled speaker which you wound until the story came out. The longer walk was really a set of very steep stairs down one side, and up the other but worthwhile all the same and ended further along the road so we could walk even further down and have a cup of tea. Also we had an opportunity to see the steam train which had arrived some minutes earlier.

We thought our second trip should be to see a medieval house and museum forty miles away. The directions were not that clear and the satnav took us once again down some rather dodgy roads to the middle of nowhere. We did, however, finally come across the small town of Patton, had a wee look around, then decided to head back towards Abertstwythn. On the way we stopped at a large wheel we’d spotted on our way in the day before. This turned out to be a water wheel which had operated during the mining era and worked two enormous bellows to heat the fire that melted the iron ore. Now this place was quiet, and the only noise was the trickling stream.

Abertstwythn turned out to be a surprise. It is another Victorian seaside town with a very wide promenade, an amusement pier, and rotunda. The grand old houses on the shore are one by one being painted in pastels, to perhaps brighten the mood…but there’s a tired feel about the town as well. A lot of shops have packed up business, and the boarded up windows look like they have been like that for some time. There’s an interesting ride up a creaky cable car at one end of the beach which we took. The views, as expected, were well worth the ride and we took numerous photos to prove it.

We’d chosen a small bistro at the end of the main street to have our evening meal and the prices were reasonable. We came back and settled for an early night as the next day we were travelling again.

Cubria: Part Two

Friday 10 August

It’s been another great couple of days exploring Cumbria. Yesterday we took a drive up the western side of Lake Conniston. It’s so pretty exploring the lakeside between the trees. It was also extremely interesting as we held our breath while we negotiated a host more 6’6” wide roads.

 We stopped at a number of places, discovered the joys of parking meters in the middle of nowhere, and hunted our wallets and pockets for the correct change.

Brian and Kirsty advised us to take a walk around Tarn Hows  which we did and really enjoyed. On our walk around we discovered that it wasn’t fungus growing on old stumps, but coins. There’s an odd habit of sticking old coins in dead trees around these parts.

We had lunch at an excellent pub called The Drunken Duck, recommended by Kirsty and Brian as well. The interesting name comes from a story of the original owner one winter’s morning finding two ducks by her doorstep. She plucked them and hung them ready to eat, when she noticed that they were actually still alive. The story goes that after helping themselves to some barrelled beer, they’d fallen asleep and had been temporarily frozen alive. She promptly let them down and knitted them coats so that they would be warm until their feathers grew again.

After a filling pub lunch and a pint of beer each, we accidently drove past Beatrix Potter’s farmhouse and headed down to the car ferry which would take us to Windermere. It’s an easy and very cheap way to get across the lake without needing to drive right around it.  Still disappointed we’d missed Beatrix’s house, we settled for the World of Beatrix Potter Attraction with a nice English cup of tea to follow. We drove beyond Windermere to a park and walked for a bit before heading back to Brian and Kirsty’s for another delicious Brian-cooked dinner.

Saturday 11 August

We decided today that rather than drive too far, we would rely on public transport. What better way to spend a day than riding on a train and having a walk to see an old flour mill and the remains of a Roman bath house. The nearest station to where we are staying in Hallthwaites is Green Road, and it’s incredibly important that when you see a train coming you wave very obviously, indicating that you want to be picked up. We did this, and thankfully the driver was looking and it all unfolded according to plan. We caught the standard wide-gauge train to Ravenglass and then the narrow gauge train to Eskdale.  More about our train trip can be found  here.

From Eskdale we walked a further ¾ of a mile to the town of Boot and met Dave King, the town’s resident miller at the local flour mill. 

We stopped at one of the local pubs for lunch and sat in the garden. We met a couple with a Rottweiler named Pluto who was holidaying with them for the weekend. We have discovered, on our travels around the UK and Europe, that mostly, without question, you can bring your pet dog into a pub, take it for a ride on a bus, and (I discovered today) bring it to sleep with you at whatever hotel you decide to stay in. Dog kennels can’t make very much money over here…

We called into at the Boot gallery, and wandered our way back via the ruins of a 1^st century Roman bath house next to some abandoned paddocks which once  served as a barracks for thousands of Roman soldiers- at least 1900 years ago (difficult to get one’s head around this…)

We hopped on the train back to Green Road and soon after 6 we were back on the road and headed to a lovey county pub which served the most exquisite menu. We rang my father who back in New Zealand is about to celebrate his 85^th birthday. He received from us, a very clear and tuneful harmonised version of the Happy Birthday song.  A lovely way to spend our final evening with our good friends and gracious hosts Brian and Kirsty.