It was hard to leave our hotel in Amboise, Le Clos d’Amboise, because the room was so comfortable and spacious, and the dining room staff and chef were so excellent. However, we have to push on to Chartres, and Blois was our next and final Loire Valley city. Our ride was an easy, flat, wind-at-our back (luxury!) ride, mostly on small country roads that followed the Loire River east and north.
Observation: we’re at the point in the trip where, rather than stopping at a LIDL or E. Leclair or small epicerie to pick up a block of cheese and a bottle of wine and a bottle of Coke, we’re full-on ice-in-a-bucket room service, and I’m okay with that. The wine is colder… and it IS awfully good Loire Valley wine. Don’t judge: these old bones are getting tired.
Today’s ride was 43 kilometres through huge farmers’ fields of dead and beheaded sunflowers. Sometimes the sun came out. It didn’t rain. We weren’t cold. It was really, really nice. We were able to ride without mittens!
I sprinkled the last of my mum’s ashes in a really nice park honouring the winemakers of the Touraine Mesland. “Mother Liked Her White Wine”, to quote the lyrics of a London Wainwright III song that Susan Henley introduced me to, so I carefully made my way into the garden and sprinkled Mum’s ashes on the base of some Sauvé Blanc and Chinon vines there in the sunshine of November, her birth month. Hopefully she won’t play havoc on the terroire.
We had to abort part of the route that RideWithGPS suggested at “La Terrasse de la Loire”. It was a rocky and very muddy path that bordered the river and according to the map would have gone on for miles. John rode ahead, did reconnaissance and returned with mud flying off of his wheels! Instead, we rode on, on country roads that sported signs warning us of wild boars, and “chasses en course” (hunts in progress). Indeed, we passed by a forest where hunters in protective orange gear stood in their green blinds, guns cocked, hounds baying in the woods. We were silent as we rolled past, not wanting to scupper their chances of success. Note to self: I AM interested in learning more about that hunt. How and when do they use the horns? Why don’t they use walkie-talkies? Why does no one get killed? How do you get your prey out of the woods? Who butchers the boar? And whatnot.
As we rolled into Blois we noticed its cathedral high on a hill to our left. Like, really, really high. High enough that we knew we wouldn’t be making a return trip to check it out so we put the bikes into turbo mode and made our way up a narrow path to Cathedral Saint-Louis Blois. I watched the bikes while John checked out the cathedral. They were tuning the organ! After five weeks of no church music, we were elated to settle for that. We listened for five minutes then wended our way back down that path, across the very busy Pont Jacques-Gabriel to the expansive courtyard in front of Chef Christophe Hay’s Hotel Fleur de Loire. We stowed the bikes in the garage, checked in and later enjoyed a spectacular dinner in the #2 restaurant in the hotel, Amour Blanc. Lots of Amuses Bouches. John enjoyed his Loire Catfish. Google it. (There’s a photo of a fisherman with one, below. Ugh. That’s a hard stop NO for me. Those things are horrifying.)
Tuesday morning we chose to ignore the horrible forecast of wind and rain and cycled 40 km and back as planned to see Chateau Chambord. We thought Chenonceau was the the pinnacle. Mais non, mes amis. Chambord is the mothership of chateaus. They are preparing for Christmas now and the installation of multiple, identically-sized-and-shaped Christmas trees inside and out was next level. Chambord: lots of antlers, lots of Louis Quatorze, lots of brass cannons, lots of EVERYTHING. It’s gorgeous now, I can only imagine how splendid its gardens would be in the Spring Summer. (The up side is, of course, there were absolutely no crowds for our rainy, mid November visit.)
Our ride back into Blois was into a brutal headwind and we dealt with the forecast rain for only the last ten minutes. Back at the hotel we warmed up with a visit to the dry sauna and jacuzzi and hammam, and followed that up with Coke and white wine and ice in the room. Mum would have insisted.
We had a 7:15 reservation for the two-Michelin-starred restaurant, Christophe Hay, and we didn’t get out of the restaurant until 11:30. Multiple courses, interspersed with various Amuses Bouches, each course explained in regard to food source, technique, and presented on exquisite and very interesting china and potteries. The level of professionalism and pride and passion in what they do was apparent in every person we interacted with over the course of the evening. Christophe Hay himself takes your order, and can be seen working shoulder to shoulder with his chefs and sou chefs. I tried unsuccessfully not to fan girl when he visited our table. The whole evening was extraordinary and absolutely unforgettable. (Also, tres tres cher. ‘Nuff said.)
Our impressions of these past two days are of excellence, dedication, attention to every detail, mixed with the genuine friendliness and curiosity of the staff. “Charlie”, who took the photos of John and me on the morning we left, below, spoke glowingly of how he loves to watch the team of chefs work in unison, no words even spoken. It was something to behold and we were privileged to observe it.
Wednesday we rode 60 easy km to the “Brit Hotel Chateaudun”, stocked up on wine, cheese, baguette and microwaveable entrees at the InterMarche because the hotel, although a serviceable one (something like a French Days’ Inn), is in the outskirts of town and there’s no walkable restaurant. Having said that, check out the selection of foods you can purchase (and nuke in the microwave) in the lobby: Artisanal and all local. Gotta love the French; you wouldn’t find that in the lobby of a Days’ Inn in Barrie… also, check out the prepared foods available at the InterMarche. A whole aisle of saucissons….
The weather forecast for tomorrow, our final ride of this trip, is alarming. (See screenshot of the forecast.) The French government is sending out official warnings to stay off the roads, extreme snow hail ice and wind warning. We hope for the best and prepare for the worst. It’s only 40 km to the bike storage facility and we have all day to get there. (Makes mental note to check forecast for Montpellier where we would have been if….)
ADDENDUM: Little did we know. But we made it. The weather in Montpellier, meanwhile, was 8 degrees Celsius but extremely windy. It all worked out.
We’re organized in regard to what we need to leave with the bikes in storage tomorrow, photo-documenting everything as usual so we can refer to those shots when we’re packing to return in the Spring.
And now, to the lobby to nuke our prepared meals. From the sublime (Michelin resto) to the also-sublime (French supermarket prepared foods).
…mais pas très cher pour ma cherie!!
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