C’est vrai (it’s true), but more of that later….

The trip from Honfleur (Normandy) to Amboise (Loire Valley) took about 4 hours, however, with beautiful Normandy countryside all the way, it was no hardship at all! It’s easy to see why fantastic cheeses, camembert in particular, are what Normandy is renowned for, since the cows surely cannot be anything but contented! Normandy also has a reputation for having a lot of rain, but while we did have some from time to time, for the main part the weather was great for the week we were there – sun shining, birds singing, blue skies etc. I’m sounding a bit ‘Sound of Music’ here (wrong country, I know, but you get the drift…). Honestly it was gorgeous, there is no other way to describe it.

We stopped at a town called ‘Fresnay sur Sarthe’ along the way, for a coffee break. Fresnay was a random selection from the map, but it was clearly  meant to be. It was there that I found it, the perfect house to buy and renovate! The realities of such a thing are not something I bother myself with, that’s Jeff’s department. I’m the one with the dream and I run with it.

In the centre of a medieval town (tick), on a quiet rue (tick), perhaps requiring some renovation (maybe a slight understatement there?), a 1 minute walk to the boulangerie, a 2 minute walk to the supermarché, la banque, la poste (tick, tick,tick) AND with a walled garden (I’ve always wanted a walled garden.. BIG TICK!!!). It was just perfect as far as I was concerned.

 

 

After our coffee, we walked around to check out the town (after all, might we be living there one day??) and it was lovely, with a river running through it (la Sarthe), a chateau and an ancient abbey (bien sûr!). There was also a lovely garden on the remparts, with a view over the river valley which, apart from two gardeners planting flowers in the garden beds, was deserted. After taking a look around, when we were walking out of the garden area, out of no-where , a quarter of a baguette, rock hard, fell out of thin air, missing my head my millimetres. Sacré bleu!! We laughed so hard we were crying. Who would believe it ? Even the gardeners looked astonished. Maybe a bird dropped it? Or maybe it was a message from above? Jeff suggested that perhaps it was a  message from above NOT to buy a house in Fresnay….(grr)

After my close call with a severe concussion at best and not wanting to tempt fate any longer, we continued onto Amboise. We arrived at 5pm and met Carolyn and Tim, the owners of our B&B accommodation for the next 2 nights, Les Fleurons. They are an English couple who have lived in France for 25 years now, having moved across from the UK when their children were quite small. Over the years they told us they have renovated a number of properties in France.

Their current home is just beautiful, a manor house, with the stunning Loire River on one side and the Chateau d’Amboise on the other.

 

 

We don’t often stay at B&B’s, preferring to do our own thing usually, but when we do, it’s always interesting to meet others on holiday and compare notes. During our two days in Amboise, at breakfast,  we met a Canadian couple, visiting France for the first time, a French couple, who were having a two day break from Paris, an Australian couple in France celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary and a retired American couple from California.

All were very friendly and email addresses and travel tips were exchanged. Jeff and I visited Château Villandry and also the Château d’Amboise and both were well worth seeing.

The grandeur and opulence are staggering, just unbelievable really.

A coffee break always figures prominently in our day and Amboise was no different. Between château visits, we stopped in a pretty little town, Ardenne sur Inde. We’ve found the Tabac’s to be great, generally speaking, for a reasonable coffee and also often the only places open between 12 and 2pm.  We don’t worry about having lunch, but a coffee stop is non negotiable. In Ardenne though, the Tabac was closed and the only thing open was the bar at the hotel. Pas de problème, we knew that they serve coffee as well as alcohol, so in we went.  A big sign on the door confirmed ‘ne pas fumer, s’il vous plaît’ (no smoking, please). Apparently not everyone had read that sign however, since we were immediately enveloped in a cloud of smoke from the three men sitting inside, all puffing madly away, including the barman! Should we stay or not? However, caffeine was definitely required, so we thought we’d tough it out, gulp our coffee down quickly and be on our way.  No gulping on my part though, I can safely say it was literally the worst coffee I’ve had. I took two tiny sips and left the rest for Jeff, since he has a cast iron stomach!  I think we were there for a total of 10 minutes. So, it was 10 points for Ardenne, nil for the  barman’s barista skills and we spent the rest of the day hoping we could get rid of the smell of Gauloise smoke from our clothes…

Onto our next town tomorrow, in Brittany. Another B&B, as we are only staying 2 nights again. We’re looking forward to it, as we’ve never been to Brittany before. Apart from everything else the area has to offer, a galette is also on my agenda. It’s a type of crepe, made with buckwheat flour, often with a savoury filling and is very specific to the Breton region.  I’m not normally motivated by food, but it sounds delicious, so I intend to try at least one!