Yesterday, I explained how I became a wine lover. Before describing my best wine tasting yet at Vinomania, in the company of Kathy Standford from Femmes Francophiles, I thought you might like to read her post first, seen from the viewpoint of a newcomer to wine tasting. And don’t you just love the photo!
Fraussie, with whom I have been staying in Blois at Closerie Falaiseau, suggested that we do a wine dégustation at Vinomania in Blois. Knowing that my wine knowledge was very poor, I was only too happy to agree. Friday evening whilst the locals were making their way to bars to watch the latest football match we headed to the wine bar come restaurant. Virginie, our effervescent, knowledgeable sommelier, tailored a three hour comprehensive session for us in English that covered information about the various production areas in the Loire Valley, history of the winemaking in the area and the methodology of wine tasting. Read more
We really have had a beautiful week in the Loire. Everyone in France this year, particularly in Paris, has been complaining about the awful spring weather and it was no better in Blois. But when we came back last week, the potatoes we’d planted in the rain two weeks before were looking very happy (and so were the surrounding weeds of course!) and the vegetation, especially the roses, was flourishing.
The good weather stayed with us and as a result, we were able to go cycling several times. Our last excursion was to the nearest village, Chouzy sur Cisse, about 5 kilometers away, in the opposite direction from the centre of Blois. Being on our bikes, we were able to take a dirt road running parallel to the main highway along the Loire, thus avoiding the 70 kph road I’m not so keen on.
The entrance to the village is not particularly attractive, but in the centre there’s a butcher (very handy for barbecues), a baker, a little supermarket and a hairdresser. I had seen a sign saying “plan d’eau” which generally means a small lake so we kept going and, to our surprise, came across a lovely little stretch of water next to the Cisse. The river itself is very picturesque with yellow waterlilies and water irises.
We followed the path along the edge and found ourselves cycling along the river past lots of small market gardens. One even had a whole row of lilies-of-the-valley. Relationnel consulted the map and said we could take Rue Beaumont. I groaned inwardly because the name means “beautiful rise” which obviously means cycling uphill. We were rewarded though because it took us onto a flat though bumpy road through the forest.
Suddenly Relationnel stopped and said, “Not sure what it is but maybe … “. I continued cycling but soon realised he wasn’t following. I looked back to see him waving frantically. “You should get out the camera”, he said as I got closer. What a find! Several large fresh summer cep mushrooms. Now one of the reasons we chose Blois for our retirement is its proximity to a state forest so we can pick mushrooms in the autumn, so finding such wonderful specimens in summer is extremely promising! We cooked them in the frypan and ate them with our côte de boeuf!
Yesterday, we went to visit Mr and Mrs Previous Owner in their new modern home about 20 minutes from Closerie Falaiseau and I learnt that the climbing roses on our original Renaissance railing are called Pierre Ronsard after one of France’s most famous poets who was born in 1524 and died in 1585 in the Loire Valley, the year after our house was built. One of his best known odes begins “Mignonne, allons voir si la rose …”
The yellow rose in yesterday’s post is called Madame Antoine Meilland developed by a French rose cultivator, Francis Meilland, in the late 1930s and named after his mother. It’s better known as “Peace” in English and is an interesting story. To quote Wikipedia:
In early 1945 Meilland wrote to Field Marshal Alan Brooke (later Viscount Alanbrooke), the principal author of the master strategy that won the Second World War, to thank him for his key part in the liberation of France and to ask if Brooke would give his name to the rose. Brooke declined saying that, though he was honored to be asked, his name would soon be forgotten and a much better and more enduring name would be “Peace”.
The adoption of the trade name “Peace” was publicly announced in the United States on 29 April 1945 by the introducers, Messrs Conard Pyle Co.. This was the very day that Berlin fell, officially considered the end of the Second World War in Europe. Later that year Peace roses were given to each of the delegations at the inaugural meeting of the United Nations in San Francisco, each with a note which read:
“We hope the ‘Peace’ rose will influence men’s thoughts for everlasting world peace.”
Yesterday, after I don’t know how long, the sun suddenly decided to come out, so we hit the garden. The trouble about grass is that it grows and if you don’t cut it often enough, it gets too long for the mower. It’s been so long since we’ve had a garden that we’d forgotten that little detail of course. The catcher was filling up so quickly that Relationnel eventually took it off altogether.
My job was therefore to rake up the piles of moist cut grass and put them into large rubbish bags as well as trim the edges of the garden beds. The ivy is doing its best to take over as many beds as it can as well as any spare walls (and we have a few of those!) so we had to attack that as well as I’d like to plant something more interesting, particularly in front of the house. Also, you can’t let the ivy get onto the roof tiles as it stops the rain from running into the gutters properly.
We now have a a garden bed ready for planting. I’d bought some gladioli bulbs one day at the supermarket but they all looked pretty mouldy yesterday so I don’t know how many will actually produce anything. When I first told Relationnel about them, he wasn’t very encouraging, telling me that people usually plant gladiolis next to corn stalks! I don’t have any corn stalks … We have a lot of hollyhocks though and they don’t seem to need corn stalks to keep them up, despite their height.
We did find a beautiful flower up on the sloping wood behind the house though. It’s an orchid it seems. Mr Previous Owner had told us about them, but this was the first one we’d seen. Unfortunately, my photo is a little blurry and when I went back this morning to take another one, it was already beginning to fade.
We’ve also moved the bird bath so that it’s near the tree with all the feeders in it. We have this incredibly cheeky little mésange (tit or chickadee) that taps insistently on the window with its beak if the feeder is empty or doesn’t contain its favourite bread crumbs (those from my home-made bread of course). You can hear lots of cuckoos in the grounds of our local Vicomté castle across the road as well.
This morning, I am sad to say, I can feel every muscle in my arms and legs. Falling UP the stairs in my haste to put my gardening clothes on didn’t help either. I can see I’ll have to garden more regularly!
To celebrate this truly momentous day in the life of our couple – the purchase of Closerie Falaiseau, our beautiful Renaissance home in the Loire Valley built in 1584 – we chose L’Embarcadère in Blois , with its lovely view of the Loire. It was a perfect spring day, with bright sun and blue sky.
View from L'Embarcadère
Embarcadère means landing stage, from the word “barque” or boat used to ferry people across the river. L’Embarcadère thus has a nautical theme. We’ve known it for many years and return each time we’re in the area. It will definitely be one of our regular haunts. Good view, good food, good service, good value for money. What more could your ask?
We started with champagne, of course, and some delicious nibbles – salmon rillettes, tomato tartare, little grey shrimp and prawns. Relationnel then had fillet of cod while I had salmon tartare. We both had a glass of white cheverny and finished off with a café gourmand on a green theme.
We’re looking forward to returning in two weeks’ time to collect the keys and spend our first night in our new home – we’ve already bought the bed!
Blois is in the heart of the Loire Valley and built on the Loire River. These photos are all of Gabriel Bridge, except the last, which is a gabarre, a traditional sailing boat for transporting goods.
Chenonceau castle is one of the 3 Big C’s in the Loire Valley – Chenonceau, Chambord and Cheverny – and it’s definitely my favourite. A ladies’ castle, built in 1513 by Katherine Briçonnet, decorated by Diane de Poitiers, extended by Catherine de Médicis, and saved by Louise Dupin during the French Revolution!
We have discovered a wonderful cycle path that runs behind the castle and definitely gives you the best view. On leaving the castle, take the main road in the direction of Montrichard, take the first turn on your right and just over the bridge, you’ll see a path on your right that runs along the south bank of the Cher river. You may have to get off once or twice, but you’ll be able to get through and continue over to the other side of the château. These photos were taken in May, a perfect time to visit.
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These are the first snowdrops in the private woods behind the house we are buying in Blois, La Closerie Falaiseau. The photo was sent to us by the current owners. That, of course, is our big adventure for 2012. On 17th March, the house will be ours. We’re planning to spend Easter there with the family.
As we watched the Eiffel Tower shimmer and shake from our window in Paris at midnight and drank our champagne, we imagined ourselves at the same time the next year in the Closerie next to a roaring fire, snug inside our four-hundred-year-old walls!
The incredible Plitvice Falls
This has been an eventful year: a week in Seville in February and a week in Orthez in the Pyrenees in April, taking up again with my very first friend in France, Elizabeth. Relationnel went surf fishing for 10 days in May in Normandy, where I joined him both weekends to cycle. We then spent five days cycling in the Loire Valley in June. In the summer, we took four weeks off and drove to Eastern Europe, visiting (and cycling) in no less than nine countries (France, Italy, Croatia, Bosnia Herzogovina, Slovenia, Austria, Liechtenstein, Germany and Switzerland), speaking four languages (French, Italian, Croatian and German), dealing in three currencies (euros, Liechtenstein marks and Swiss marks) and clocking up more than 5,000 kilometers. Highlights included the incredible Plitvice lakes and falls.
Relationnel then spent a week trekking in the Alps in September before we both went to eastern Champagne to cycle around the largest man-made lake in Europe and visit the eleven half-timbered churches in the region. In October, Relationnel turned sixty and Leonardo decided to pull up his roots and go to Australia to live and work, helping me to set up the blog before he left.
Relationnel and I then went went to the Loire Valley for a few days to start looking for a place to live when Relationnel retires in June 2014. We fell hopelessly in love with the very first house we visited, built in 1584. Who could resist? Since then, we seem to be caught up in a whirlwind.
Today, as we ate our oysters on Sunday, we talked about everything we need to do. It’s a little overwhelming to say the least. We want to divide La Closerie in two and rent out (or exchange) the ground floor. Once he retires, Relationnel is going to completely renovate the “Little House” next door which is part of the sale so that we can use it as a short-term holiday rental and invite friends to visit. This means furnishing La Closerie (dépôt-vente, here I come!), setting up a website and organising rental.
This year, we’ll also be going to Australia in September/October where I’ll be organising a big family reunion on my father’s side in Armidale (there are 39 cousins in my generation and 54 in the next generation!), the first in 50 years, and spending two weeks in Tasmania (on a home exchange!) plus a couple of weekends in Sydney and Brisbane. We hope to organise other home exchanges in Europe during the year.
I’m also giving up my university teaching in June after 16 years. I’ve loved teaching and gained many friends among my graduates over the years, but I feel it’s time to move on to other things.
And, of course, I’ll be continuing my blog. Thank you to all my faithful readers for your encouragement. Bonne lecture, as they say in French, for the year to come!
