Sunday 4th October.
After an exceedingly comfortable night in a Band B on the very top of the hill in Saumur, we had rather an exhausting breakfast with Monsieur standing in the doorway watching us eat, tut tutting at the amount of butter we put on our croissants and generally saying nothing unless we engaged him in conversation (he did actually very kindly help us get onto the internet and produced copious maps with suggestions of what to go and see so not all bad). We left and split up so Vivi could visit the equitation exhibition in the chateau and I went into town to sort out a picnic lunch. It having started rather overcast and cold, we were in vests and jumpers but we soon had to shed the lot as the sun came out and the temperature rose to 24c. We cycled west along the Loire but in the first instance south into the industrial part of Saumur past the military barracks and then into open countryside. Finally back down to the river which is always a relief as there are no threats of sudden and unexpected hills, the only hazards being stretches of sandy track and cobble stones where cycling shorts and an empty bladder are a must!
Alec and I actually managed 1.5 hours separately! and I had a very happy time at the Chateau of Saumur which was yet another stunning example of 11-16c architecture perched on a cliff above the town. Unfortunately Cardinal Richelieu and others reduced it to a prison status, housing amongst others the Marquis de Sade. It’s more recent claim to fame is that in the past few years a large chunk of a tower fell off onto the town below, resulting in quite a few casualties. There was not a lot to see of the chateau itself as it is still closed for repairs, but it houses the Musee of Equitation which was fascinating. The National Ecole d’Equitation is just down the road which is pretty much like the Spanish Riding School. I learned a lot about tack over the past 500 years and how it was designed to protect both horse and rider. (that may sound boring to some but it really wasn’t!) The horses must have been incredibly strong to carry so much weight .
We had meant to visit the Troglodyte Mushroom museum in the caves at Treves west of Saumur, but the degustation centre was closed which was a blow and so was the museum – not so much of a blow – but we did spend a few minutes in the damp admiring the way of life, before biking on to Treves where the church was empty of pews which gave it an entirely different feel. A great place for a party we decided as it was very light. Then on to Cunault Abbey where we had a picnic. Most of the buildings are made from Tufa stone which is pretty similar to Purbeck stone in colour so gives a lovely warm glow. There were a lot of redstarts climbing up and down the walls which was exciting as we had never seen them before. At St Remy la Varenne we came across an Apple Fair and Brocante. A sort of mix between an English street fair and a car boot sale. There were some fantastic stalls selling many different types of apples, pears and juices and cidars. You could have a happy time grazing your way along the stalls and our favourite apple was a ‘tentation’ we stocked up on sable biscuits too but resisted the temptation to look at any junk. People seem to get into the attics and cellars and unearth everything they could never possibly need again and put in on the stalls for sale. Some wonderful tat. We then crossed to the North of the Loire and stayed in a B and B in St Mathurin s Loire. We then had the very worst meal of our trip so far, undercooked mussels and a filthy pizza, no pichets so a glass of wine and a beer, bad evening!! If you have noticed a bit of a lull in our culinary diaries it is because we can’t afford to eat well on the Loire! The prices have gone up by at least a 3rd since leaving Brittany but we are hopeful they may get better now we are leaving a major tourist area. If only the UK pound could have stayed at 1.30 euros life would be very different!
After an exceedingly comfortable night in a Band B on the very top of the hill in Saumur, we had rather an exhausting breakfast with Monsieur standing in the doorway watching us eat, tut tutting at the amount of butter we put on our croissants and generally saying nothing unless we engaged him in conversation (he did actually very kindly help us get onto the internet and produced copious maps with suggestions of what to go and see so not all bad). We left and split up so Vivi could visit the equitation exhibition in the chateau and I went into town to sort out a picnic lunch. It having started rather overcast and cold, we were in vests and jumpers but we soon had to shed the lot as the sun came out and the temperature rose to 24c. We cycled west along the Loire but in the first instance south into the industrial part of Saumur past the military barracks and then into open countryside. Finally back down to the river which is always a relief as there are no threats of sudden and unexpected hills, the only hazards being stretches of sandy track and cobble stones where cycling shorts and an empty bladder are a must!
Alec and I actually managed 1.5 hours separately! and I had a very happy time at the Chateau of Saumur which was yet another stunning example of 11-16c architecture perched on a cliff above the town. Unfortunately Cardinal Richelieu and others reduced it to a prison status, housing amongst others the Marquis de Sade. It’s more recent claim to fame is that in the past few years a large chunk of a tower fell off onto the town below, resulting in quite a few casualties. There was not a lot to see of the chateau itself as it is still closed for repairs, but it houses the Musee of Equitation which was fascinating. The National Ecole d’Equitation is just down the road which is pretty much like the Spanish Riding School. I learned a lot about tack over the past 500 years and how it was designed to protect both horse and rider. (that may sound boring to some but it really wasn’t!) The horses must have been incredibly strong to carry so much weight .
We had meant to visit the Troglodyte Mushroom museum in the caves at Treves west of Saumur, but the degustation centre was closed which was a blow and so was the museum – not so much of a blow – but we did spend a few minutes in the damp admiring the way of life, before biking on to Treves where the church was empty of pews which gave it an entirely different feel. A great place for a party we decided as it was very light. Then on to Cunault Abbey where we had a picnic. Most of the buildings are made from Tufa stone which is pretty similar to Purbeck stone in colour so gives a lovely warm glow. There were a lot of redstarts climbing up and down the walls which was exciting as we had never seen them before. At St Remy la Varenne we came across an Apple Fair and Brocante. A sort of mix between an English street fair and a car boot sale. There were some fantastic stalls selling many different types of apples, pears and juices and cidars. You could have a happy time grazing your way along the stalls and our favourite apple was a ‘tentation’ we stocked up on sable biscuits too but resisted the temptation to look at any junk. People seem to get into the attics and cellars and unearth everything they could never possibly need again and put in on the stalls for sale. Some wonderful tat. We then crossed to the North of the Loire and stayed in a B and B in St Mathurin s Loire. We then had the very worst meal of our trip so far, undercooked mussels and a filthy pizza, no pichets so a glass of wine and a beer, bad evening!! If you have noticed a bit of a lull in our culinary diaries it is because we can’t afford to eat well on the Loire! The prices have gone up by at least a 3rd since leaving Brittany but we are hopeful they may get better now we are leaving a major tourist area. If only the UK pound could have stayed at 1.30 euros life would be very different!
Hi Vivi and Alec
ReplyDeleteDorset is now awash with much needed rain so we are feeling rather envious of your route south. Much enjoying following you there though. Love and fair winds, Jill and William