Montsoreau and Chateau de la Barre

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Thursday 13/09/12 Angers-Montsoreau

K & O are coming back today and we are to meet them in Montsoreau but not until about eleven o’clock tonight so we had plenty of time and Angers was such a great city so we just put all our luggage in the car in the hotel garage and hit the town again.

On the way in to town yesterday Lyn had spotted a beautician where you could get a leg waxing without reservation so of course that was the priority this morning. Not only had she spotted the beautician, but she knew exactly where it was too.

On the way there we found a great little deli that had lots of pates, rillettes, chutneys etc and as we were planning a cold supper late at night when K & O arrives we went in to have a look. Turns out they have exactly the brand of duck rillette we had with our first picnic in Paris. Not only do they sell it, they are actually the producer! We stocked up with lots of goodies and as they also sold white wine chilled we left everything – incl some wine to be picked up later when we were ready to leave.

When the waxing was done we started looking for lunch and we found a Tapas bar that looked nice with an al fresco area in the middle of the town. The food was unbelievably good and very cheap! I had six different Tapas for 11 euros! We drank a local rose with that and to top it off Lynette spotted three hair dressers within 100 m and one of them could take her on straight away.

It was hard to leave Angers as it is one of the best cities I have ever seen. It just gives you a feeling of wellbeing and happiness. It is not a huge city but big enough to have everything you could possibly need and maybe it was all the students with all their initiation ceremonies that gave it a really positive ambience but I would recommend anybody to spend some time there. It’s great!!!

In less than an hour on the motorway we were back in Montsoreau where we checked in at La Marine and lugged all our luggage up the stairs to the suite we are charing with our friends. Then it was back to Saumur where we found a cheese shop we had seen before. We left 5 cheeses later and bought some more salami too. (We only have 2 before)

Back at the hotel we emptied out the mini bar and stuffed all our food in there and as it was still several hours before K & O were due we walked up to a restaurant overlooking the river and the castle in Montsoreau. By now we were quite hungry and text messages from our friends indicated that they were running late because it had taken them an hour to find their rental car at Orly. We still settled for some beers and then we went back to the hotel and started putting the supper together. K & O finally arrived about 11.30 and they too were starving, so in spite of the huge amount of food we cleaned up almost completely and emptied three bottles of wine in the process.



Friday 14/09/12 Montsoreau

After breakfast we were kindly informed that eating and drinking food and wine not purchased at the hotel was against the rules. I kind of knew that but had chosen not to bring it up yesterday but it was not a serious offence so in the end everyone was happy.

We started the day by going straight to Chateau Parnay, just to show K & O the interesting vineyard with “feet in the shade and belly in the sun” and to revisit Thomas at the cellar door. He let us try several of their wines again and was just as nice and pleasant as last time we saw him.

We then crossed the river and headed for an area mentioned in Oysteins book. In St Nicholas de Bourgeuil we tried some wines in a small family winery but the wines were not sensational and as always it felt as if were intruding on the privacy so we didn’t stay long and only bought one or two bottles.

By now we realised that it was time to think about lunch, we were not hungry but in France you have lunch before 1.30 or you miss out. From a car park I called Auberge l’Ile, one of the restaurants Lyn and I had visited before, and we could have a table if we got there before 1.30. OK, it was now 1.00 and the GPS told us that we had a 39 minutes drive to get there. I made it in 36!

One of the main reasons to go back to this restaurant was to taste their “hamburger” made of pigs trotters and foie gras and we were not disappointed. They were just as nice as I remembered them from last time. It is just the most amazing combination but quite sublime!

After lunch we drove to Panzoult to revisit the “Vintners Cave” which was another place where you could try several wines at a “cellar door” kind of set up. We were served by the same guy as last time and as he also was very knowledgeable and nice with a good English we spent quite some time there and, of course, bought some more of the Chinon wines.

On the way back we stopped in at Chinon for a little walk up to the castle and through the streets of the old city. Some of the old buildings in this town are totally amazing! We also introduced K & O to our old friend Rabelais and his famous quote: “I have nothing, I owe a great deal and the rest I will give to the poor”.

We then went back to Montsoreau and dinner was taken at a local restaurant 300 m from our hotel. It was called Diane de Meridor and had several awards but as I am writing this 11 days later I don’t remember the menu but it was really good and we were quite happy with our first day as tourist guides.



Saturday 15/09/12 Montsoreau

Saturday is market day in Saumur and although we hadn’t got a great feel for Saumur last time we were there we decided to give it another chance. Now, that turned out to be a good decision! The market was huge! Street up and street down full of stuff. First we only saw the normal cheap clothing and Oystein and I started to consider leaving though Karin and Lyn as always had a ball but as we turned a corner we saw stand after stand with all kinds of food.

There was absolutely everything from live poultry to vegetables, from fresh fish to the prettiest charcuterie and everything in between. I just didn’t want to leave. I bought some mirabelles and Oystein got some raspberries and when we finally decided that it was getting close to lunch time we stopped and bought some tea towels with motives from all the different wine districts. It turned out that the owner of that shop was a wine merchant who was selling French wine in Denmark and also imported wine from other countries. We exchanged addresses and promised to keep contact. As a matter of fact he has already sent me an e-mail.

Now lunch was a matter of urgency. As we know about the 1.30 rule we had to find something close and Oystein and Lyn found some sort of castle 15 minutes away in their archives. When we got there it looked fantastic. It was set high up on the hill overlooking the Loire from a great terrace and the menu looked really interesting. One problem only; they were fully booked.

The very helpful Maitre D’ helped us by booking a table at a nearby restaurant called La Terrace (or Le Terrace) and that was maybe not so elegant but still a very nice spot with a great view all the way to the nuclear plant…

The meal was good but for the first time ever we got a bottle of corked sparkling wine. The head waiter was very understanding and replaced it without hesitation. When it was time to pay he made a big show of charging our credit card. He used the card machine as a phone and pretended he was talking to someone in Australia. His English was poor but he was hilarious!

On the way back towards Saumur we stopped in a town called Saint Hilaire-Saint Florent, as the main street was lined by Champagne houses. Well, not champagne of course but the local sparkling wine. In one of them, Bouvet-Ladubay, the sales lady referred to it as Bubble Street. In spite of my decision not to buy more wine I walked out of that town with several bottles, among others a sparkling rose “made” by Gerard Depardieu.

Heading back towards Montsoreau we did a bit of a detour in the country, eventually ending up in Fontevraud-l’Abbaye, another town featured in our never ending supply of restaurant guides. Restaurant La Licorne was closed but would be open for dinner later. As the phone number was in the guide we called while we were standing outside and made a reservation for 8.30.

The town itself is very pretty, just like you would imagine a small French village with a small square surrounded by a few restaurants and shops. If we had more time it could be a nice place to go to if you wanted total relaxation and good food.

We only had time to go back to our hotel (4,5 km away), have a small nap and get changed before we drove back to La Licorne. It was a fantastic old style restaurant with an interesting menu and a huge wine list and it could have been an outstanding experience if it wasn’t for the head waiter who was not at his best, to put it kindly. He was unhelpful and seemed stressed although the restaurant was not even half full. We tolerantly decided that he was unhappy because his girlfriend had just broken up.



Sunday 16/09/12 Montsoreau – Vouvray – Chateau de la Barre

Time to pack up and leave La Marine. Today was going to be a big one so we headed straight to Vovray as that was one of the places K&O really wanted to see. Well, Lyn and I was a bit hesitant as Vouvray had been a totally dead town when we were there two weeks ago but we were still going as we planned to do a tour at Marc Bredif.

Once again we were in for a surprise; there was a huge flea market in Vouvray and there was total chaos. As we were in two cars we very soon lost each other and suddenly Lynette jumped out of our car to get some bread from a bakery and said “I’ll see you at the car park”. I was in the middle of heavy traffic in a one way street surrounded by streets blocked off for the market. To this day I have no idea which car park she talked about and I was just taken by the flow to a big supermarket a few blocks away where I found a place to park. Then the phone rings and Lyn asks “where are you?”

Eventually we all found each other and after half an hour amongst all kind of junk we got in to K&O’s car and got out of town to Marc Bredif. Luck was on our side and a tour was just about to start, with only one French couple so Marc, our guide, (not related) had an easy job and he spoke good English too.

After a 20 min tour of the cellars it was time for tasting and now I decided that it was enough for me. I like their wines but we have such a lot in our car so we just have to stop buying more. Oystein spent a fair amount on some old vintages and some sweet ones too, but I, reluctantly had to pull myself out of there empty handed.

As we had a night and dinner booked at a castle for the coming night we had decided to go easy on lunch today. We had some leftovers from the first nights food feast and with the fresh bread and some wine we found a spot on the river bank and set up a gourmet picnic. There were salamis and cheeses and some rilette plus some fruit so all in all it was an awesome experience. Not just the food but the total setting on the banks of the Loire made it a moment to remember.

Next stop, Chateau de la Barre! It took us just over an hour to drive straight north which was planned as K&O are flying out from Paris tomorrow. On arrival at the chateau we were greeted by Guy, the Marquis, and his Anglo-American wife Marnie. Our rooms were just spectacular. Not in a luxury way but in a castle way, if that makes sense. Our hosts pointed out that this is not a hotel but their home and they had restored rooms as much as possible to their original style. Materials to reupholster furniture and for bed spreads etc they had found in Venice and the pattern and colour of the wall paper was chosen based on the colour of wall paper they found at the bottom when they stripped the old ones.

When Guy discovered that we were interested in wines he took us to his private cellar, which was rather small and quite messy and dirty and he let us choose a wine for our welcome drink. I picked a half bottle of sweet Jura from 2005 as he told me that the 1990 was a bit more expensive. He elegantly avoided telling me how much the 2005 would cost.

Anyway, the Jura was excellent, difficult to describe but a little bit similar to a sweet sherry.

At 7.30 Guy took us for a guided tour of his home and told us of the history and the people who had lived there. He also showed us some of the antique furniture, paintings and other items collected by the family over the centuries. His family has owned and lived in the chateau since the 13^th century!

Dinner was served in the great hall on crockery and cutlery with the family crest and our hosts joined us. Except for them and the four of us there was just one American couple, Alex and Marla.

Entrée was a soufflé made from a local cheese.

Main course was roast veal with a delicious morelle sauce and grilled zucchini - Chateau de Parnay, Clos entre des Murs

Cheese platter

Dessert was Tarte Tatin – Sweet White called Hippocrates, made with spices to preserve, from time before corks. Tasted like mulled wine.

This was another great food experience. Guy and Marnie really made you feel that you were in their home, it never actually felt like being in a hotel. They might be aristocracy (Not Marnie actually, she used to be a model for Vouge when they met) but they were very nice and hospitable.

I would recommend anybody to spend some time in Chateau de la Barre. OK , it’s not cheap,(by the way, the half bottle of Jura ended up on the final account: 120 euro,) but it’s a once in a life time thing.

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