Tag Archives: Loire Valley

Moving is No Fun, Not to Mention Exhausting!

November 3, 2014 Rosemary Kneipp 17 Comments

It’s 8 am on Tuesday and the removalists are already here (4 Russians, an Algerian and a Tunisian). They start with the apartment down the road from us where Jean Michel’s sons have been living for the last 9 years, just giving me time to pack up the last cartons (our bedding, bedroom curtains, toiletries, etc.)

Cartons stacked the night before the removalists arrived

The Algerian is assigned to the kitchen and the first thing he does is ask me to make him coffee! I’ve already cleaned the espresso machine but I make the coffee anyway …

One of the Russians is assigned to packing up all the crockery, glasses and other breakables, while the others start taking all the cartons down. When the bookcase cupboards are empty, they start wrapping them up in thick blankets.

My entire office is dismantled before my eyes probably the most time-consuming part of the move. Gradually everything disappears and by 3 pm, the apartment is completely empty and most of the dust and dirt vacuumed up. My trusty cleaner is coming next day to finish off. She calls by to say goodbye and we’re both in tears!

I take one last photo of my view of the Palais Royal Gardens.

Last photo of the Palais Royal gardens from our balcony

We finally arrive in Blois around 7 pm and unpack the car. I reheat the dinner I’ve prepared in advance and we celebrate with a glass of vouvray, the local natural sparkling wine. We sink thankfully into bed.

Having got up at 5 am to drive from their depot in the Paris suburbs, the removalists arrive bright and early at 8 am. This time there are three of them, all Russian. They just manage to get the truck into the front yard and we show them round the house including the two large pieces of furniture (a cupboard and a dresser) that we want them to switch around. Groans all round.

All the cartons we packed are labelled but not the ones they looked after or the furniture so we have to be constantly ready to direct them. A lot of the stuff is going into the little house as well to await the future gite that Jean Michel is going to renovate in one of the other buildings.

It’s fairly chaotic particularly as one of the men speaks very little French. At 10.30 I suggest coffee, tea and biscuits in the garden. They welcome the break and we learn a little more about their lives. One of them started out on the streets of Paris but as he explained there was no work in Russia and a man has to provide for his family.

All the furniture is remounted and I unpack the glasses from a special high carton called a tonneau or barrel with dividers inside. I also remove the clothes on hangers from the cardboard wardrobes so they can take them back.

By 2.30 pm everything has been unloaded and reinstalled and we are eating lunch in the sun in the garden.

Lunch in the garden with the remaining rubbish behind me

Inside it looks like a disaster area except for our bedroom and the downstairs living room which I have purposely keep carton-free. We have a welcome siesta and start on the most urgent unpacking.

Fortunately our friends and neighbours Françoise and Paul have invited us for choucroûte with morteau sausage. Never has a meal tasted better!

Five days later the house is starting to look normal. Jean Michel has done a lot of drilling and only the office is still full of cartons. None of our pictures are up on the wall except for those that were already there before the move. I’ve finally found the carton of dirty sheets and towels but the notebook in which I so carefully noted the contents of all the boxes has still not turned up.

The upstairs living room free of cartons

Nothing is broken but we are very sad to discover that a 6-bottle box of wine is missing including a bottle of 1999 corton charlemagne and a ladoix from the same year. I wonder at what point they disappeared. I just can’t believe the Russians took them.

Loire Valley, Loire Valley châteaux

Outside My Front Door

May 9, 2014 Rosemary Kneipp 5 Comments

Paula McInerney from Contented Traveller, whom I’ve already featured in my weekly blogger round-up, is publishing a series of posts entitled “Outside my front door”. I was delighted when she asked me to contribute and I’ve been enjoying hearing from other bloggers as well.

Outside My Front Door

Outside my front door is a large expanse of trees and grass and on the other side is the Loire River, flanked by two levees, first mentioned in 1584, which is the exact same year in which my Renaissance house was built.

If I go left five kilometers along the river, I will come to the city of Blois, with its royal castle, built on a promontory overlooking the Loire, and former home of Louis XII, François I, the star of the French Renaissance, and his son Henri II. Read more

Closerie Falaiseau, Flowers & gardens

Photos of the Week – Wisteria & Lilies of the Valley

April 13, 2014 Rosemary Kneipp

We have been enjoying spring so much in Blois that we are sad to go back to Paris even though it will be a break from our travaux! We can’t get enough of our wisteria at Closerie Falaiseau. We also love the wisteria at the entrance to the house in our original John Modesitt oil painting. I’ve posted a photo of the house on Blois Daily Photo.

Our wisteria taken from the side, Jean Michel's favourite view — Our wisteria taken from the side, Jean Michel’s favourite view

Not wisteria this time, but early lilies of the valley nexxt to equally early tulips!

Closerie Falaiseau, France, French customs, French language, Loire Valley

A Neighbourhood Party – New French Words – Holidaying in the Loire Valley

June 4, 2013 Rosemary Kneipp 1 Comment

For this Wednesday’s Bloggers Round-up, I’ve chosen a description of France’s neighbours’ day by Phoebe from Lou Messugo, the latest French words to be included in the Larousse and Robert dictionaries by Stéphanie from Blog in France and, to finish up, a guest post I wrote on visiting the Loire Valley for Carolyn from Holidays to Europe. Enoy!

A Neighbourhood Party

by Phoebe from Lou Messugo, a traveller, francophile, expat, mum and foodie now living in Roquefort les Pins where she runs a gîte after many years of travelling and living in Asia, Eastern Europe and Australia

It was around 9 o’clock on a lovely sunny evening at the end of May when four young Singaporeans appeared at the end of the lane, dragging heavy suitcases and dodging the potholes in the gravel. It was an unusual sight as 40 or so of us were enjoying an outdoor aperitif. Our lane is not made for suitcase dragging – it’s barely made for 4 wheel-drive cars – and nobody ever attempts to navigate it on foot with large luggage. That was from our point of view. As from these strangers’ point of view, I imagine they didn’t expect quite such a public arrival at Lou Messugo nor so much going on in a quiet village street. Yes, these were the latest guests turning up several hours late and without their car right in the middle of the annual neighbourhood street party! Read more

New French words

by Stephanie, the Llamalady, from Blog in France, an Irish llama and alpaca breeder living in the centre of France, who also runs a carp fishery and a holiday gite

The 2014 editions of Le Petit Larousse and Le Petit Robert will be coming out in early June and here are a few of the new words you’ll find in them.

chelou: this is the verlan (French slang that reverses the two halves of a word) for louche = shifty, seedy, weird

choupinet = cute, sweet

flash-mob = well, flash-mob ie a group of people who organise via the internet or mobile phone some sort of display in a public place

Googliser = to use Google to find information

nomophobe: great word this! It describes someone who is addicted to their mobile and can’t cope with being without it.

textoter = to communicate by text

by Rosemary Kneipp guest posting for Holidays to Europe, an Australian based business passionate about sharing their European travel expertise and helping travellers to experience the holiday in Europe they have always dreamed of

Chenonceau, Chambord, Chaumont, Cheverny. Do these names mean anything to you? They are just four of the many pleasure castles or châteaux in the rich undulating landscape of the Loire Valley, just 200 kilometres south of Paris, many of them overlooking France’s longest river, which runs from Ardèche in the Massif Central to Saint Nazaire on the Atlantic seaboard.

The Loire, with its many sandbanks, is no longer navigable and much is untamed. Because it easily overflows its banks, a long dyke runs along each side, with very few constructions. Charming villages dot the countryside in between larger towns such as Amboise and Blois each of which has its own château. Read more

Closerie Falaiseau, Loire Valley, Renovation

First Fire in the Fireplace

February 28, 2013 Rosemary Kneipp 15 Comments

We’re at Closerie Falaiseau. We’ve had dinner and are sitting on the sofa in front of the non-operational fireplace downstairs . Why, you may ask, are we not upstairs, drinking champagne and eating foie gras in front of our beautifully renovated Renaissance fireplace. Well, the answer is simple. We’ve lit the first fire and discovered it smokes.

Mr and Mrs Previous Owner came over this afternoon after lunch so that Mr PO could help Jean Michel take the 150 kg fireback upstairs. It was an amazing operation and I have finally understood how a chain hoist works.

The manual chain hoist at the top of the landing

First, Jean Michel attached the chain hoist horizontally to the railing at the top of the steps (chain hoists are usually used vertically). Then he put a plank under the chain. After that, he put two thin planks on the steps.

Mr PO and JM then lifted the fireback onto the first planks. JM put a super strong strap around it and attached it to the hook on the end of one of the two chain loops.

The fireback is now attached to the chain hoist

Mr PO, on the landing, started pulling one side of the other chain loop. This turns a pulley mechanism inside the chain hoist housing. When the pulley turns, it lifts up the end of the other chain loop with the hook on the end. Pulling on one chain enables the hoist to increase the mechanical work that is being done. Now isn’t that clever?

It was amazing to see Mr PO pulling on the chain loop while the 150 kg fireback slid effortlessly upwards. He did tell me not to stand at the bottom of the steps though, just in case the whole load crashed back downwards and crippled me forever.

Mr Previous Owner effortlessly pulling up the 150 kg fireback

The planks weren’t quite long enough, so a little adjustment was needed halfway up and again when the fireback reached the top of the stairs.

JM and Mr PO then had to lift it onto the landing. Using another set of planks they lifted and slid it upright into the room. I could see by this time that Mr PO needed a break so I forced JM to go downstairs and get the trolley so they wouldn’t have to lift it all the way across the living room to the fire.

Just then, one of our neighbours went past on his bike so we called him up to help. That way, there were three men to carry the fireback across to the fireplace. Once it was in place, JM drilled a hole in the wall and screwed in the bracket he had made previously to stop the fireback falling forwards.

He then brought up some firewood from our little wood, which incidentally is now full of snow drops and budding daffodils, laid the fire and lit the first match.

Our wood with crocuses and daffodils — Our wood with snow drops and daffodils

It was a very moving moment and we were about to cheer when we realised that the room had started to fill with smoke. We opened the door to let it out, hoping it would soon go up the chimney. But it didn’t.

Jean Michel had suspected this might happen but thought we would just have to have a smaller fire, not no fire at all. You may remember the story of the delinquent owner who removed the crest stone when he had to sell the house. Well, the exact same person bricked up the top of the chimney, reducing it by one-third (we don’t know why), thus preventing the smoke from going up the chimney properly.

The next step in the operation is to have the chimney opened up again. Tomorrow, we’re phoning the roofer so he can come and give us a quote. But I think the champagne and foie gras in front of the fire might have to wait until next winter! Sigh.

Architecture, Loire Valley, Travel photos

Monday’s Travel Photos – the Roof Tops of Chambord

December 16, 2012 Rosemary Kneipp 9 Comments

Fellow Australian Susan from Days in the Claise, who also lives in the Loire Valley, but in the southern part of Touraine, has done a series of posts on Chambord Castle recently. We cycled there several times this summer, you may remember, but didn’t visit the inside. I didn’t think there was much beside the famous double revolution staircase. Intrigued by Susan’s posts, however, I decided to visit as soon as possible. A visit from Australian friend Kathy Standford from Femmes Francophiles and her husband yesterday was the perfect excuse.

Château de Chambord after a summer downpour

All the photos below are all taken from the rooftops, which must be one of the most stunning examples of architecture I’ve ever seen. François I was only 25 when he commissioned the château in 1519. Unfortunately, despite the 2000 workmen, it wasn’t completed in his lifetime and he only stayed there for 72 days out of his 32 years on the throne! He used it as a hunting lodge of course and it was not furnished – he used to travel around with everything he could possible need – including the kitchen sink. But his son, Henri II, and Louis XIV, who also loved hunting, turned it into the château we know today.

Renaissance staircase seen from the rooftops

Middle tower over the famous double Revolution staircase

The downpipe is nearly identical to the ones in the Tuileries Gardens!

The different roofs all fit together in the most intricate way

Flowers & gardens, Loire Valley

The Wonderful Gardens of Château de Chaumont

August 15, 2012 Rosemary Kneipp 9 Comments

Every time we go from Blois to Amboise, we pass Château de Chaumont, which stands majestically above the Loire River, with a quaint little row of houses below.

I visited it some years ago and was not very impressed with the inside which is rather delapidated. It must have been in the winter too because I don’t remember the gardens at all and I found the view of the river quite austere. Quite by accident today, we decided to visit the gardens where the 20th edition of the International Garden Festival is being held.

Chaumont_from_garden — Château de Chaumont seen from the historical garden

What a wonderful discovery! The gardens, with the château as a backdrop, are absolutely delightful. I just love the colours and the wonderful, sweeping view of the Loire which in summer is far more attractive than in winter, I can assure you!

Loire River from Château de Chaumont

The festival entries are a little uneven in quality – some are lovely while others seem somewhat naive. But all thirty gardens are interesting.

We then visited the vegetable garden and the historical garden with its sweeping cedars.

Despite the price (11 euro per person), I’m definitely coming back again next year!

International Garden Festival of Chaumont

Château de Chamont

Loire Valley between Blois and Amboise

April to October every year

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/

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.

France, Loire Valley, Uncategorized, Wine

Wine Tasting in the Loire Valley Part 2

June 20, 2012 Rosemary Kneipp 4 Comments

I just sat down to write up my impressions of our recent wine tasting with Femme Francophile at Vinomania in Blois but, surprise, surprise, I’ve left my notepad at Closerie Falaiseau, and I don’t know how much I can rely on my memory to relate the details of a 3-hour session! But I’ll try anyway and then write another post when I get my notepad back.

Virginie, the sommelier, has various wine tasting themes to offer, but I chose one that links the history of the Loire Valley with the local wine production. Now, wine from the Loire Valley is not held in much esteem in France. Most people favour bordeaux and burgundies for red and Alsatian wines (particularly rieslings) and chardonnay for white, although sancerre does have a small following. There is actually an historical reason for this, but that’s one of the things I can’t remember!

The Loire vineyard is 1013 kilometres long and covers 70,000 hectares. That’s about 170,000 acres. And they produce every type of wine: white (52%), red (25%), rosé (16%) and natural sparkling (6%). The grape varieties (or cépages as they’re called in French) are numerous but the names are often different from those used in other parts of France.

Melon de Bourgogne (brought over from Burgundy by monks in the 17th century), chenin (also called pineau de la Loire), sauvignon (which sancerre is made of), chardonnay (also called auvergnat), pinot gris (alias malvaise), chasselas and romorantin are the main whites – already quite a large collection. The reds are cabernet franc (known as bréton because it originally came from Nantes), gamay, pinot noir, cabernet sauvignon, grolleau (sometimes grollot), pinot d’aunis and cot (alias malbec). You may recognise cabernet franc and cabernet sauvignon from Bordeaux among those (the other variety down that way is merlot) and pinot noir and chardonnay from Burgundy. But that’s where any ressemblance stops.

The main production areas are Nantes, Anjou-Saumur, Touraine and the Centre. The most well-known appellations (that’s how they categorise wine in France) are probably chinon, bourgueil, saint nicolas de bourgueil, saumur and saumur-champigny for reds, sancerre, as I mentioned, for whites, and vouvray, which is a sparkling wine. If you don’t live in France, you’ve probably never heard of most of them. So with all those different grapes (which can be blended of course!), how do you find your way around?

Each grape variety has a range of “noses” to choose from. For whites (and these are probably the easiest to detect), the main ones are “white blossoms” such as hawthorn and apple blossoms, briar roses and roses, citrus fruits, grilled almonds and hazelnuts, pears, pineapple, lychees, apricots, toast, honey and butter. Sounds like breakfast, doesn’t it? But fresh butter is the very distinctive smell of a French chardonnay from Burgundy. The list isn’t really that long and with a bit of training, you can learn to detect most of those, particularly if you practise with those little phials I told you about in a previous post. Our perception of smell is very personal so, as Virginie insisted, there’s no “right” or “wrong”.

The reds offer a lot more variety as far as “noses” go, but on the whole, you can look for berries such as red and black currants, blackberries and raspberries and dark stone fruit such as prunes and cherries. Some of the stronger reds might conjure up mushrooms, cedar, pepper, leather and musk. A smell of vanilla is a typical sign of oak. In the Loire in particular, green capsicum (bell pepper) is a sure indication of cabernet franc or cabernet sauvignon, particularly when they’re young.

So knowing what to expect can be very helpful when you first begin wine tasting. Next time, we’ll get down to the nitty gritty!

Aussie in France

Tag Archives: Loire Valley

Moving is No Fun, Not to Mention Exhausting!

Outside My Front Door

Outside My Front Door

Photos of the Week – Wisteria & Lilies of the Valley

A Neighbourhood Party – New French Words – Holidaying in the Loire Valley

A Neighbourhood Party

by Phoebe from Lou Messugo, a traveller, francophile, expat, mum and foodie now living in Roquefort les Pins where she runs a gîte after many years of travelling and living in Asia, Eastern Europe and Australia

New French words

by Stephanie, the Llamalady, from Blog in France, an Irish llama and alpaca breeder living in the centre of France, who also runs a carp fishery and a holiday gite

Holidaying in the Loire Valley

by Rosemary Kneipp guest posting for Holidays to Europe, an Australian based business passionate about sharing their European travel expertise and helping travellers to experience the holiday in Europe they have always dreamed of

First Fire in the Fireplace

Monday’s Travel Photos – the Roof Tops of Chambord

The Wonderful Gardens of Château de Chaumont

A Painter Comes to Stay

Meeting the Neighbours in Blois Part 2

Wine Tasting in the Loire Valley Part 2

from the Tropics to the City of Light