Category Archives: Loire Valley

Cycling, France, French customs, Lifestyle, Loire Valley

La Promenade – Paris-Mont St.Michel Route Gets New Name: La Veloscenie – Blame France

August 7, 2012 Rosemary Kneipp 4 Comments

Many of the Anglophone bloggers who live in France are off on their summer holidays at the moment, often taking a break from blogging, which has given me the chance to discover some new blogs, in particular that of Gaynor B. from La Petite Presse who spends the summer in the Loire Valley. She takes us to a very enticing restaurant called La Promenade. This time, Experience France by Bike gives an exhaustive explanation of the bike route that connects up Paris and Le Mont Saint Michel – a mere 442 k! Bread is Pain explains how, if you live in France, you can blame everything negative that ever happens to you on that very fact and not take any responsibility for anything you do! Enjoy!

La Promenade

by Gaynor B. from La Petite Presse who divides her time between the UK and the small village of Le Petit-Pressigny in the Touraine Sud area of France

We seem to have a ‘nose’ for picking homes in small villages with excellent places to eat. In Staffordshire it is the Hollybush, and in Le Petit-Pressigny La Promenade and Le Bon Coin. Different in price and ambiance but each offering good quality food. Last week we ate at La Promenade which is a Michelin starred restaurant run by Jacky Dallais. The food was fantastic and the wines of excellent quality and value. We’ve eaten here before and really think that it is an experience to savour and better shared with other people. Our partners in the gourmet experience this time were Maureen, John and their son Daniel (who live near to us in the UK and have a lovely home and gite near Chatillion sur Indre) together with Nick and Janet. Read more.

Paris-Mont St.Michel Route Gets New Name: La Veloscenie

by Experience France by Bike, an American who loves biking anywhere in Europe, but especially France, which has the perfect combination of safe bike routes, great food, great weather and history.

If there are any more long-distance bike routes developed in France, I am definitely going to need to relocate so that I have more time to explore all of them! This summer has already seen the grand opening of La Velodyssee, the Atlantic Coast route which I wrote about for 2 weeks in May. Now, the much talked about Paris-Mont-Saint-Michel route has introduced a new name, a new website, and significant improvements to the route. The new website for La Veloscenie is only in French, good for my French readers, but not for the rest of us. So here are some key details about this itinerary in case you want to consider it for a future trip. Read more

Blame France

by Bread is Pain, a 30-something American living in the Rhone-Alps, and slowly eating and drinking herself through the country

Narrator’s Voice is heard:

“Does this ever happen to you?”

Queue photos of a woman carrying a grocery bag that breaks, a man having a car splash water on him, a couple having the doors to a theater shut in their face.

“Do you ever feel like you just want to throw in the towel, like the world just isn’t on your side?”

Show image of unattractive depressed person looking out a window on a rainy day.

“What if you could change all that? What if I told you that there is a way that you could never have a bad day again and nothing will ever be your fault?”

The word “HOPE” flashes across the screen. Read more.

Art, France, Loire Valley

Profile: John Modesitt, American Impressionist painter in France

July 26, 2012 Rosemary Kneipp 1 Comment

You may remember that I talked about our first guests in Blois – the American Impressionist painter, John Modesitt, and his wife, Toshiko – in a previous post entitled A Painter Comes to Stay. For my monthly guest post on My French Life, I skyped John at his home in San Diego to gain more insight into his love of France and his experience painting in the Loire Valley.

Below is an exerpt from the resulting post published on My French Life, the global community of French and francophiles connecting like-minded people in English & French.

My love of Impressionist painting goes hand in hand with my love for France. So when I discovered that the first guest at my gîte in the Loire Valley was the well-known American Impressionist John Modesitt, I was thrilled.

I was even more delighted when I saw his latest paintings drying on the floor of the kitchen. And I loved and wanted them all! In the end, we chose ‘The Loire at Blois – Noon’ which is now in our living room in Paris. When we retire to Blois in 2014, it will grace the walls of the very house John was staying in when he painted it. Read more.

Flowers & gardens, Loire Valley

I Love My Garden

July 25, 2012 Rosemary Kneipp 8 Comments

Each time we go to Blois, we fall in love with the garden again. In June, we had masses of honeysuckle and roses. Now the outside fence is lined with light and dark pink hollyhocks. The view as you drive down the street towards the house is quite spectacular.

Inside, the prettiest flowers at the moment are the deep pink hydrangeas. These extraordinary flowers range in colour from a bluish mauve to light or dark pink depending on the aluminium content of the soil. They’re extremely popular in Brittany, where they are usually mauve. We have several bushes in the front garden and nearly a whole wall of them at the side of the house near the bread oven.

The other flower just coming into bloom is the Rose of Sharon, which can be white, pink or mauve. We have one of each! The flowers themselves look surprisingly like hibiscus but the leaves are different and they can grow into quite a large tree. The genus is actually hibiscus syriacus. In French, they are known as altheas. Hollyhocks come from the same family. Our grape vine is producing large bunches of black grapes but Mr Previous Owner told us that the ones that manage to escape the birds aren’t very tasty which is a pity. The wisteria is growing like crazy and still flowering.

Our trumpet creeper seems to be a lot later than most people’s and its lovely dark orange flowers are only just coming into bloom. Next time we’re in Blois, I imagine the whole vine will be covered. It looks wonderful on the side of the little half-timbered tower on the far corner of the house which also has a tall hollyhock in front.

The two rose bushes we bought from the Orchaise Priory are coming along well. They lost their roses quite quickly after replanting, but we pruned as instructed and there are lots of new buds. We have a lavendar bush in flower next to one of the them. The roses on the front steps had totally disappeared but are about to flower again as well.

And do you remember those potatoes we planted in the rain in May? Well, we ate the first batch this weekend. Just one plant produced about 10 medium potatoes. We were a bit disappointed though because they’re a little floury. We prefer the sort you bake in the oven. So Jean Michel dug a new patch of ground and we planted some organically-grown ones that we really like and that had sprouted during our two-week absence. They should be ready for picking when we get back from Australia in mid-October.

Flowers & gardens, France, Lifestyle, Loire Valley, Renovation

Our Little House in Blois

July 22, 2012 Rosemary Kneipp 6 Comments

No, I’m not talking about our Renaissance house built in 1584 but about the little house next door which Mr Previous Owner had the foresight to buy while the ageing owner was still living there, thus guaranteeing that there would be no close (and potentially noisy) neighbours. The little house includes a barn and both buildings give directly onto our garden. When we move into the Closerie for good in October 2014 after Relationnel retires, he will completely renovate the little house and turn it into gîte and we will occupy the “big” house completely.

In the meantime, we’ve turned the ground floor of the big house into a gîte and when we come for weekends, we use the upstairs, which has two bedrooms, a bathroom and a beautifully dimensionsed living room, all overlooking the unbuilt (and unbuildable) land opposite. On the other side is the Loire River. Nothing can be built there because it’s floodable. We’re not afraid of flooding because we figure that if our house has been here for 400 years, it’s pretty safe.

Initially, we thought we’d have a makeshift kitchen in the little room next to the living room but after banging my head on the low doorway and learning that anything you do in the living room can be heard in the bedroom of the gîte below, I came up with the brilliant idea of using the little house instead.

It’s somewhat delapidated after years of not being used, but after a good clean and airing, the kitchen, which gives directly onto the garden, is perfectly usable. The sink has cold water so we installed a dishwasher and brought in other bits and pieces of furniture from the other rooms left by Mr Previous Owner. We even have a marble-topped wash stand that makes a perfect sideboard. That way, even if we don’t have anyone staying in the gîte when we come, we don’t have to clean it all again when we leave! Relationnel was a little reticent at first, but the system is working well. We bought a garden table and two chairs so that we can sit outside as well, particularly when we’re having a barbecue. Sometimes, we “picnic” in our real garden!

In the living room of the little house there is an unusual fireplace made of very dark brick. We haven’t decided yet whether to keep it or not when we renovate. It seems a bit massive. It’s actually darker than in the photo, almost black. What do you think we should do with it? Unfortunately all the oak beams will need to be stripped as well.

The garden is overgrown, but we actually like being surrounded by waist-high daisies and it has the tallest hollyhock we’ve ever seen. It must be about 4 metres. There are wild strawberries as well but unfortunately for Relationnel (I don’t like strawberries), something is getting to them before they turn ripe each time. When we eat in the garden, it’s like being on holidays!

Lifestyle, Loire Valley, Restaurants

The Loire ConneXion Strikes Again!

July 9, 2012 Rosemary Kneipp 8 Comments

Once again, we were in the Loire on the first Friday of the month so were able to attend the Loire ConneXion’s monthly get-together organised by Summer Jauneaud. The last two times, it’s been at The Shaker in Amboise with its exceptional view of the Loire and Amboise castle.

This time, it was in Montrichard, an historical town in Sologne just 5 minutes from Chenonceau, built on a hill next to the Cher River, its keep looming majestically above, which so far we’d only seen in the winter when we went to stay at Yvonne David’s wonderful B&B, Le Moulin du Mesnil. Yvonne’s son Jason, who’s a chef, has just opened a restaurant there called “La Plage”, (the beach), which seemed a little strange to me because the sea is a long way away.

But it really does look like a beach and this year, swimming in the river is even allowed. There had been intermittent rain all day but the evening turned out to be fine. We were able to enjoy our tapas and local sparkling wine (crémant) outside on the terrace with our new neighbours Françoise and Paul and about 40 other English speakers and anglophiles, some of whom I’d already met at other events. Unfortunately, I didn’t check first to see if the chairs were dry before sitting down!

We ate our meal inside and then went outsideagain for dessert and coffee so that we could change groups and mingle. It’s very interesting to hear how people end up living in France. There’s a real mixture of people like me who have been here for many years (though I pretty much hold the record with 37 years!) and others who came to France because of their spouses or jobs or decided to retire in the Loire for other reasons. Not all speak fluent French.

Next month, we’ll be meeting on the second Friday of the month at Summer’s to attend a production in English written and performed by some of the members’ offspring. Should be a very interesting evening.

If you’re interested in the Loire ConneXion and you’re on Facebook, become my friend (Fraussie Grouet) and I’ll invite you to join the community. If you’re not an FB user, just send me an email and I’ll put you in contact with Summer.

And in the meantime, drop in to La Plage for lunch when you’re visiting Chenonceau or watch the sun set over the river in the evening. Jason speaks English, of course! And Yvonne might be giving a help hand as well.

La Plage, 2 rue de la Plage, 41400 Faverolles sur Cher. 02 54 32 66 08. Open every day. Café, restaurant, ice-cream vendor.

Cycling, Loire Valley

Cycling to Saint Dye sur Loire

July 9, 2012 Rosemary Kneipp 9 Comments

When we used to live in Fontenay sous Bois, we usually went cycling along the Marne River three or four times a week in the summer. We’d take our bikes to Bry sur Marne on the back of the car then ride down to the old Meunier chocolate factory at Noisiel and back. Most of the way, it’s a bike path with houses on one side and the river on the other and woods at the end. Often we’d take a picnic or stop off for a côte de bœuf at La Pergola. When we moved to Paris, I really missed it.

But we think we’ve found an equivalent near Blois. Today we took our bikes over to the other side of the river about 7 or 8 K from Blois and parked near the bike path which runs along the river banks. The Loire is not like the Marne which is a navigable river and has stabilised banks. The Loire has a lot of sand banks and is mostly untamed. We were surprised to discover that the bike path is tarred and almost like a carpet most of the way!

One of the first places we came to was Menar Castle which were had seen close up from the other side and was not very impressive. But the view from across the river is stunning. Just afterwards was the lovely little village of Cour sur Loire with its castle and church. But Saint Dyé was the highlight of our ride.

It was once a walled city and has an immense church overlooking the Loire. We rode up into the village and through the quaint little streets with their pretty cottages. We saw a little old lady not a day under 80 outside cutting her Virginia creeper. I hesitated to take a photo but she gave me a toothy grin and said “photo?”. So I didn’t hesitate!

We rode back down to the banks of the Loire and along the old tow path until we came in sight of the Saint Laurent des Eaux nuclear power plant and turned back for obvious reasons. We hadn’t aken a picnic because we didn’t know if there were any tables along the way and after cycling for 20 K, a picnic on the grass is not my idea of comfort. I was rather hoping we’d find a restaurant with a river view of river but the only thing we saw was a bar inside a horse riding school. I reckon that would be worse than sitting on the grass.

The views as we rode back were quite beautiful. The sun had come out (it was spitting very lightly when we set out) and made the water sparkle. So we decided to go home and picnic in the garden instead.

Accommodation, Art, Loire Valley

A Painter Comes to Stay

July 4, 2012 Rosemary Kneipp 16 Comments

Closerie Falaiseau was almost ready for rental when I received a phone call from an American and his wife who wanted to stay for nine days, starting just two days later. I was having dinner at L’Embarcadère with Kathy Stanford from Femmes Francophiles. Relationnel had already gone back to Paris to work. I frantically tried to remember what still had to be done to receive our first guests but it seemed “do-able”.

When John Modesitt and his very charming Japanese wife Toshiko arrived on the Sunday, everything was ready. I showed them around and they immediately loved the house. Toshiko seemed intrigued by the Henri II mirror in the living room and she also liked the fact that you could see the kitchen through the original oak beams. John loved all the wood everywhere. He mentioned to Kathy that he “painted” but it was not until a few days later that I discovered that he is a well-known American impressionist artist and the only living impressionist to auction in Christie’s impressionist auction.

Relationnel and I returned to Blois while John and Toshiko were still there and we were delighted to see his recent paintings spread out on the floor of the kitchen to dry. They had two days left before returning to San Diego which is the time needed for an oil painting to be dry enough to roll up. John was out in the countryside finishing off his last painting. Toshiko explained to me that he had spent a lot of time working on the colour green this year. There are many different shades of green in the French landscape that are difficult to render on canvas.

I had already seen some of John’s paintings on his website so I knew that I liked his style. When I saw the actual canvasses, though, I knew I wanted one! There were several I liked but one in particular took my eye. Relationnel preferred another painting but it was of Amboise and I wanted one of Blois! So we went away and thought about it. From time to time while John and Toshiko were out, we’d steal a look through the glass door of the kitchen and finally decided which one we wanted. “The Loire at Blois, Noon”. It depicts a scene that we see each time we take the lovely drive from Closerie Falaiseau into Blois along the Loire River.

John just had the time to stretch the canvas for us before he left. Now all we have to do is frame it. We are extremely happy to have this beautiful work of art for more reasons than one. First, we both love the painting itself and that is surely the best criterion! We love the composition, with its brightly-coloured turn-of-the-century house and tall poplars up on the left , the steel truss bridge spanning the Loire, Relationnel’s favourite river, with its sand banks in the middle and overgrown vegetation. And you can almost see the clouds moving across the top of the canvas.

Second, it was painted by someone we have met and like. Third, the artist told us it is a “special” painting for him. Fourth, it was painted by our very first guest. And last, but not least, it is a symbol of our future life in the Loire Valley where we will be living permanently when Relationnel retires in October 2014.

You might also like to read my interview with John published on My French Life http://www.aussieinfrance.com/2012/07/profile-john-modesitt-american-impressionist-painter-in-france/

John Modesitt http://www.americanimpressionist.net/

French customs, Loire Valley, Paris, Restaurants, Sightseeing

Domaine de Chaumont-sur-Loire’s International Garden Festival – Paris Day Two. Chantilly – The Audacity of Age

July 3, 2012 Rosemary Kneipp 4 Comments

For this Wednesday’s bloggers’ round-up, I’ve chosen Kathy Stanford‘s description of the highly original international garden festival at the château of Chaumont-sur-Loire, Denise from Bolton‘s visit to the Chantilly race course, which definitely seems a worthwhile excursion and Bread is Pain‘s very amusing story of an elderly woman jumping the queue at the Orsay Museum.

Domaine de Chaumont-sur-Loire’s International Garden Festival

by Kathy Stanford from Femmes Franchophiles, who has an ongoing passion for France and the French language

The Domaine de Chaumont-sur-Loire covers an area of approximately 32 hectares and is located between Blois and Tours in the Loire Valley.

The Domaine de Chaumont-sur-Loire is the foremost Centre for Art and Nature entirely devoted to the relationship between nature and culture, artistic creation and the impact of landscape, our heritage and contemporary art.

The Domaine not only includes the Château de Chaumont-sur-Loire (15th to 19th century), its gardens and parks, but also from April to the end of October, the stunning International Garden Festival. In addition, there are many exhibits and installations by contemporary artists. Read more

PARIS DAY TWO – CHANTILLY

by Denise from Bolton, another francophile from the town of Bolton in the UK who spends as much time in the City of Light as she can

Chantilly racecourse is in a lovely setting, with the châteaux on one side, the forest in the distance. Even if you are not into racing it is a pleasant place to have a picnic, and the chateaux is worth a visit too.

20minutes on the train from Gare du Nord, it makes a nice day out. On a previous trip I watched an interesting dressage show in the famous Grades Ecuries, which legend has it, was commisioned to be built like a palaceby Henry, Duc de Bourbon, Prince of Conde, because he thought he would be reincarnated horse.

My husband had “bribed” me to accompany him, with a reservation at the stunning Panoramic restaurant overlooking the course. The set “outsiders” menu was pricey at 42 euro each, but was very good and the entrance fee to the racecourse was only 2 euro,( as opposed to a lot more for British racecourses) so we were not complaining. Read more

The Audacity of Age

by Bread is Pain, a 30-something American living in the Rhone-Alps, and slowly eating and drinking herself through the country.

Standing in line at the Musée D’Orsay with my Mother who is visiting. We are about thirty minutes back from the front of the queue. An old lady has recently shoved past us in line and we are watching in disbelief as she speedily makes her way through the five or six rows of people in front of us.

Mom: This is too good to be true!

Me: No way she is going to pull this off.

Mom: I think she is. Look at her go!

Cycling, France, Loire Valley, Uncategorized

At Your Age and In Love

July 2, 2012 Rosemary Kneipp 12 Comments

It’s an excruciatingly hot day in the Loire Valley and we’ve waited until quite late to go bike riding. After cycling about 15 K from Cour Cheverny, we’ve had our picnic dinner by a little lake in Bracieux and I want to find a place to have coffee. Relationnel doesn’t hold out much hope – it’s Thursday evening and Bracieux is a village with about 1300 inhabitants.

We ride into the centre and immediately come across a bar with a terrace jutting out into the street. We lean our bikes against the railing and Relationnel goes off to order. I think I hear someone say “Oh, they’re so cute!”. I look around but can’t see anyone that could possibly be described as cute. I stand back a bit to take a photo of the café. Relationnel turns at the door to ask me what I want.

Our coffee comes and we drink it. I sneak a look at the other people on the terrace. They all look like regulars with a couple under their belt. A young woman and two men between 30 and 40 at one table and two men in the early thirties at the table closest to us. Relationnel goes off to pay. “Excusez-moi”, says one of the young men, “I just have to tell you how cute you both are.” Relationnel comes back at this point and hears the end of the conversation, “Like that”, continues the young man, “out for an evening ride, at your age, and in love”.

Relationnel (whence his name!) replies, “Yes, the most important part is being in love.” The young man isn’t quite sure what he means. “Finding the right person is the hard bit,” says Relationnel, “Bikes are easy to get.”

We ride off to visit the 17th century market place and as soon as they are out of site, we go into hysterics. “At our age”. Oh dear!

France, Lifestyle, Loire Valley

Meeting the Neighbours in Blois Part 2

June 27, 2012 Rosemary Kneipp 8 Comments

Each time we’ve come down to Blois since we signed the final papers in April, most of our waking hours have been spent getting the gîte ready and planting potatoes in the rain. So this time, we decided we’d have a holiday. Yesterday was our first “work-free” day so after a côte de bœuf cooked on the barbecue in the garden, admiring our reflowering wisteria, we cleared the table and set off for a walk in the twilight. These are the longest days in the year when it doesn’t get completely dark until 11 pm!

As we were walking up our road on the way back from a long ramble at about 10.30, we saw two couples about our age in front of a house whose ivy-covered front façade gives directly onto the road and could hear them laughing and saying, “Shh, not so loud. Don’t be so noisy” – in French of course. So as we got closer, I said, “Who are these people making so much noise in our street?”. Everyone laughed and I introduced us as their new neighbours. Relationnel chipped in, describing the house. “Oh, yes, then you must be the Australian!” came the reply! Once again, my fame had gone before me. Mr Previous Owner had obviously been paving the way for us.

We chatted and joked for a few minutes, then Françoise suggested we all come inside for a digestif, explaining that they had been celebrating her husband’s birthday. We accepted with alacrity. Françoise and Paul arrived in Blois 24 years ago from the Paris area and found intergration into the local community difficult at first. Since Françoise has a degree in English and Paul works for an American company, they have hosted many English speakers over the years, mainly youngsters, but Françoise told us a very funny story about a 74-year old American who came to stay and was surprised at the lack of air-conditioning. She even wanted to change host families but in the end, Françoise was able to get her into the local bridge club and, from then on, things improved considerably.

Their neighbours from just a couple of doors down, Liliane and Alain, are real locals. Well, not quite. Lilian is, as she, her parents and grandparents were born in Les Grouets, which is the name of our neighbourhood. She knows all the local history and was able to fill us in on the area. I had noticed Alain’s accent but didn’t like to ask where he was from. Not that he would have minded. He’s a great wit and obviously the life and soul of any party.

It turns out he’s Solognot from the region called La Sologne, between the Loire and Cher rivers and only a stone’s throw from here. It’s known for its forests and lakes and was a favourite hunting ground of kings and princes. Its most famous châteaux are Chambord and Cheverny. You may remember that we went to a huge brocante at Chambord in May.

We learnt from Paul, who’s in IT, that we’ll be getting a fibre connection in 2014, which is wonderful news. Françoise brought out her iPad (oh, wasn’t I jealous!) and took photos so I told them about the blog and the Loire Connexion community for anglophones masterminded by Summer Jauneaud. Françoise was delighted because she doesn’t have a lot of opportunities these days to speak English.

The time slipped by incredibly quickly, no doubt helped along by some sort of mint on the rocks digestif and we didn’t leave until well after midnight! What a wonderful start to our holiday ! And very encouraging for our future life at Closerie Falaiseau.

Aussie in France