Sun 15 Sept 2024 Sadly today is my last day in France and being Sunday most things are closed. We have a very leisurely start to the day and enjoy croissants and coffee for brunch. In the afternoon we head to the Slate Museum (Musée l‘Ardoise) in the town of Trélazé not far from Angers. Earlier when Dominique had said that was where her mother had worked I had misunderstood - her mother was a nurse and had worked at the slate mine itself. Accidents in slate mines are quite high. Slate … [Read more...]

Sat 14 Sept 2024 Saturday is Market Day - we start to feel like locals as we head to the markets and visit our favourite stalls to pick up local produce for lunch and dinner. After lunch we head south-east again toward the city of Saumur. Dominique finds us another beautiful scenic route to follow, this time along the south bank of the Loire. We stop at the village of Le Thoureil - listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its emblematic Loire Valley Landscape. It also has a Small City of … [Read more...]

Friday 13 Sept 2024 Today we head quite a way south past the town of Cholet to Puy du Fou, a theme park that brings history to life through its amazing reenactments of key periods of history. My first impression when we arrived was how huge and well-organised it was with massive carparks and great signage. Once inside, I was even more impressed. It is set in a beautiful park-like setting with huge trees providing shade, and well tended gardens. The site is separated into areas … [Read more...]

Thurs 12 Sept 2024 Today is a big treat for us - a once in a lifetime experience - particularly for Dominique’s significant birthday earlier in the year. We have a degustation lunch at a Michelin-star star restaurant in Angers: Lait Thym Sel (Milk Thyme Salt). Much more than a name, Lait Thym Sel is an experience summed up in these three words: "LAIT" evokes gluttony, sweetness and comfort, a return to childhood where each flavor was a caress for the soul. "THYM" embodies the fusion of … [Read more...]

Wed 11 Sept 2024 Today our destination is the village of Béhaurd - on an island in the Loire River, to the south of Angers. We also explore a little further south - with several of the best wine growing regions in the world, picturesque villages and lots of history.   As we drive south from Angers Dominique points out that now we are predominantly on the Anjou Noire or black soils. These are the poorer more acidic soils with lots of slate and granite. Instead of the lush … [Read more...]

Tuesday 10 Sept 2024 We had planned to visit the Jardin Camifolia (Garden of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants) in Chemillé today and, when we discovered that they didn’t open until 2.00pm, we decided to go back and see if we could find the sarcophagus-making site from our visit to the troglodyte village in Doué-la-Fontaine a few days ago. We took the motorway so it was quite quick and still enjoyed the lovely rural countryside with huge numbers of vineyards along the way. In France they … [Read more...]

Saturday 7 Sept 2024 Saturday is market day so we set off after breakfast (and after some more rain) with our carry bags to explore the markets. I was very impressed with the vast selection of goods that were for sale: predominantly food stuffs but you could buy clothes or even a bed if you wanted to. Dominique was keen to purchase a range of local delicacies to stock up for the next day or so. Her partner Hamish arrives tomorrow and of course it is Sunday so all the shops will be closed. I … [Read more...]

Friday 6 Sept 2024 We had an earlier than usual start today because we were going further than we had the previous days - beyond Saumur to the Royal Abbey at Fontevraude and hopefully some other sights as well. We do take the more direct tourist route along the top of the dyke alongside the Loire so it is not too long a journey, despite a rather more scenic than expected route at the end (thanks to our unhelpful GPS system). Along the way we saw more little villages, some close to the … [Read more...]

Thurs 5 Sept 2024 Today’s outing took us further south than our drive along the Loire Valley yesterday (to Gennes). We headed towards the town of Doué-la-Fontaine to explore how people have utilised the caves that have been created through quarrying of falun. Falun is a type of sandstone formed 11 million years ago when this part of France was covered by a sea. The falun is what remains of underwater sand dunes, built up in layers by the tides from the bodies of dead sea creatures. … [Read more...]

Wed 4 Sept 2024 After a domestic start to the morning (visiting our favourite Traiteur to get more supplies and getting the washing machine to work) we set out for a drive southeast of Angers. We headed towards my first glimpse of the Loire River at Les Ponts-de-Cé. This historic village in a UNESCO World Heritage Site is really a chain of small islands, carved by the river. Many parts of the Loire Valley are now protected wetland areas. We then went to the village of St Melaine … [Read more...]