France 78 - Saumur - reaching journeys end, another castle and a good deal of memories

---

Suzy the motorhome was parked for the night on the Flower Camping Ille de Offard in the middle of La Loire. Why are we on an partial island in the middle of the river? To see Saumur of course.

Winding our way home we needed to find somewhere to stop off at. And Saumur hit the mark. My first visit to the Loire was in 2002 when I got my first sight of chateaux along this popular part of France. We got chateauxed out by the time we had visited five on the trot and Saumur was one left for another trip. It has taken the best part of 12 years to get round to seeing it and that of Angers where we plan to stop off tomorrow.

Our journey over the last few days has been both quiet and eventful. We circumnavigated Perigeux a city we have some lasting memories both the good kind and the not so good. As we journeyed through memories flooded back about greasy french mechanics with no English just sign language - a cut throat gesture that the car wouldnt start. Of the BMW garage whose service left a lot to be desired . If you want the full story it is there in a blog if you search back. We skirted Angouleme and found ourselves getting ever closer to home. The weather is distinctly English too. Gone is the bright sunlight which plays on the stonework of the houses and it is now flinty and thin. The temperature is around 23 in the day and drops at night dramatically. The nights are getting longer too with more hours of daylight. The mornings break earlier.

And so we passed hedgerows full of white elder flowers and mauve lupins. The stone has turned to whiter colour. I could describe the stone of the south as mellow but here we have given it the title of lavatorial. It is more clinical , nearer to white than yellow and perhaps should be described as almond white. It has lost its warmth. The chateau of Saumur is like that built completely with that tufa stone.

As we drove in the resemblance to Amboise was clear to see. The bridge over the Loire the same. The long boulevard stretching out from the bridge identical . The campsite was reached via the same type of road branching off onto the island. Both islands had views of the towns and of the chateau however here trees obscured much of the view of both.

Our campsite was rambling. A rabbit warren with motorhome and caravan spaces some at a premium price as they were next to the view of the river. Well it was a view if you peered through the thick shrubbery. Luxury chalets, slightly less luxurious ones, glamping tents and wooden tents on stilts . We paid 15 euros 10 for our nights camping . ACSI rate plus tourist tax which we were now paying all the time. It was a noisy site with swimming pool opened from dawn to dusk, a bar and restaurant, BBQ areas and small reception. We have learned over the last two years that it is not wise to pay for two nights until you have sampled the wares. We have found outselves shelling out for two nights only to hate the campsite and have to lose the money for the second night. We thought here we might stay two nights but would pay only for one and wait and see what the night brought. Probably a good decision.

The campsite is a 15 minute pleasant walk from Saumur along the river. All the way views of the chateau and church are there so it is not a boring walk. Once over the bridge we met with the usual market. Bustling with people buying from it . There were stalls selling everything from clothes to shoes, from nougat to watch straps.

After wandering through we headed up to the chateau. As it was late in the afternoon we figured it would be quiet and as we walked more people were walking down than going up. We paid our 8 euros each and hoped that there would be something worth seeing inside. The chateau opened into a courtyard with battlements which gave a commanding view over the river. The towers and rooms were empty and quite soulless. It had been built by Theobold I Count of Blois and fell into the hands of the Counts of Anjou. It was another castle built by Henry II of England. A disappointing building inside and I preferred the exterior to the interior. The chateau had been used in 1621 as an army barracks and 200 years later a state prison.

We decided then that it was reward time - coffee. We stopped at a little coffee shop just outside the gate to the chateau and checked the menu. We couldnt find anything worth eating so just picked coffees. As I only had a 50 euro note and a handful of change I checked first if the waitress could change the note. She looked at me as if I had just come out of the Royal Mint at Llantrisant having printed the note myself. This forced a hasty retreat as I didnt fancy spending an hour in the kitchen washing pots to pay for the coffees.

We walked down the hill in the late afternoon sun and found another nicer cafe in the square. The usual hub of activity the square contained small shops and this quaint cafe. Some of the houses are constructed in half timber but here the building was half terracotta pottery. We ordered coffee and two crepes avec citron. Another of the delights of France. Sitting in the sun eating crepes . How much nicer can it get? And a chance to sit and people watch.

Our evening was an odd one . Across from us were a four french families who had put together their awnings and motorhomes. They spent the next four hours until 10.00 noisily playing petanque in the roadway whilst their children rode their bikes. As dusk started to fall they put away their petanque balls and set up their windbreaks. The BBQ fired up and they continued talking and cooking until well after midnight. We must be getting old - we just wanted them to shut up and let us get some sleep. Perhaps almost four weeks on the road was now catching us up.

---