March 25-27 2011
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Weekend in the Loire Valley
Chenonceaux, France
What is nicer than eating a picnic supper in the springtime, sitting on a
bench beside a stream, watching a horse munching on the grass in an
adjacent field? The late afternoon sun was fast disappearing as we ate
our ham sandwiches, washed down with a bottle of local wine. We were
enjoying the last of an eventful day exploring
Château Chenonceaux in the Loire Valley and the village of Chenonceaux.
Ray, I,
Erica and our grandsons, Atticus and Roman, had driven from Paris Friday
evening, leaving Andrew at home recuperating from jetlag and a week of
OECD meetings in Botswana, Africa. The Hôtel La Roseraie had been
recommended by a member of the MOMS
group of English speaking ex-pats in Paris. It suited us very well. We
had a suite with two bedrooms and a living room, perfect for our family
group.
Château Chenonceaux, the ladies château, was first built on
the site of an old mill on the Cher River sometime prior to the 11th C.
The chateau was rebuilt several times and was given by Henry II to his
mistress, Diane de Poitiers. She had an arched bridge constructed,
joining the château to its opposite bank and oversaw the planting of
extensive flower and vegetable gardens along with a variety of fruit
trees. After King Henry II died in 1559, his strong-willed widow and
regent, Catherine de’ Medici, had Diane expelled. Because the estate no
longer belonged to the crown, she could not seize it outright, but
forced Diane to exchange it for the Château Chaumont. Queen Catherine
then made Château Chenonceaux her own favorite residence, adding a new
series of gardens and spending a fortune on enhancements, including a
gallery over Diane’s bridge. The château, seen from the River Cher, is
one of the most beautiful of the Loire châteaux.
We all enjoyed visiting the grounds
and the interior of the chateau. Erica and the boys had audio guides
which helped somewhat. There was so much to see. The Château sits on 70
hectares of farm and formal gardens. All the properties have been
lovingly restored, using historical plans and many of the original
furnishings. The boys tired of the interior before the adults did. Erica
took the boys out to run through the hedge maze before Ray and I
finished up our tour. The boys had a great time chasing each other
around the hedges. On our way back to town we stopped to visit four
donkeys in a field, part of the château farm property.
After a
multi-course lunch in the Hostel du Roy restaurant, across the road from
the hotel, we returned to our rooms in the hotel, intending to get the
boys to take a rest as they were very late going to bed the previous
night. The boys were still full of energy so, leaving Erica behind for a
nap, Ray and I took the boys out for a walk around the town. The boys
were in fine form, exploring everything. Atticus led Roman into
situations that were almost beyond him, jumping across the water in a
lavoir, leaping across a ditch and trying to walk on all the graves in
an old cemetery. Atticus even managed to climb up a metal drain pipe
onto a low roof covered with clay tiles. It made me nervous and I
sounded like a broken record continually telling him not to do what he
was doing. Thank goodness he escaped unscathed. His Dad later said
Atticus was just like him as a child.
Part of the reason for our
walk was to find a playground where the boys could play with a soccer
ball. The only suitable place ended up to be a green space between the
railroad tracks and the car park for the chateau. They had a good time
kicking the ball around. On our way back to the hotel we met Erica, who
had wakened from her nap and had been looking for us in the château
grounds, but we never made it there.
Sunday began with a light
rain, perfect weather for visiting the Cave des Roches in Bourré. The
cave is the only location in the world that cultivates different
mushrooms 50 meters underground. The caves, extending over 120 km of
tunnels on seven different levels, were originally created to extract
white limestone used in the construction of the many chateaux and large
houses in the area.
The regular guide was sick so the
substitute, a woman who works collecting the mushrooms, gave us a
combined tour of both the mushrooms and the promised underground
village. We all, including the boys, found it very interesting, although
Erica had to translate for Ray and I as the guide’s rapid French left me
behind. We saw button mushrooms, Paris browns, oyster and Pied blue
varieties growing. We got to taste some of the Paris brown mushrooms and
they definitely had a distinct nutty flavour. Erica bought a bag of the
Pied Blue, the most expensive, to bring back to Paris.
A large
section of the tunnels illustrates how the workers extracted huge
limestone slabs. They were able to carve just two slabs per 10 hour day.
A few years ago a talented stone carver was invited to use the tunnels
as his canvas. Over three years, the man worked to depict an underground
village in the limestone. The carvings of doors, windows and animals
were very realistic. The carver has been invited back to expand the
village in the near future.
We had just enough time after the cave
visit to drive Mareuil-sur-Cher to La Lionniere. As well as being a
working farm raising goats, La Lionniere is one of a series of ferme
auberges in France that operate a bed and breakfast and a restaurant
where about 50% of the food served must be produced on the farm.
Reservations are required as the set meal is prepared just for the
number expected. When Erica called to reserve the woman didn’t sound
very receptive to two young children attending. However, there were
toys, paper and colours available to keep the boys amused while waiting
for our multi-course meal. The lunch was well attended, including a
large group with four young children celebrating a family event. The
meal, which included several goat cheeses, squab and curried goat, was
served in a glassed conservatory overlooking gardens in full spring
bloom. After dinner the boys went outside to see the farmyard and get
acquainted with the resident lab. Roman, who is very unsure of dogs, was
frightened by the friendly dog and came inside, but Atticus was charmed.
Atticus now wants a dog.
All that was left of the day was the
drive back to Paris. We arrived to find Andrew busy preparing a chicken
dinner for our return. He certainly looked a lot better rested than he
did on Friday.
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