Amboise

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SOOOOOO.... I drove a Renault Clio on the french road system by myself, no well actually Miranda was there to be my fearless navigtor. The clio is a very cute little hatchback; ours is a goldish color. All the controls for radio and heat are in picto-grams; of course the spedometer is in kilometers. It feels very weird to go even 70 kmph through a small village. But I remembered my standard shifting just fine, once you learn I guess it really is in there forever. It brought back memories of driving Juup, the little red Geo Metro. The back roads in Fr are actually really fun to drive, once you get the hang of it, especially in madamoiselle clio, that is until you come across a big truck and a biker at the same time and there is nowhere to go, because the roads have no shoulder. Ah well, the view was breathtaking, we drove right along the the Rive Loire on the left and the little villages on the right and ended up in Amboise, a small summer tourist town with little windy streets of shops and cafes and lots of annoying Americans and British (and yes, you are expected to drive down a one lane street only a hairswidth wider than your vehicle with tables and chairs and cafegoers right up to the boundary of the street, sometimes a foot in the road, going 50 kmph, halting to a stop every time a tourist, looking up at the buildings, wanders blindly into the road.)

We discovered a period re-enactment of the court of François I at the chateau, so we decided to stay until it started at dark. The townspeople were all abuzz about this, it aparently is a very big deal in the ville of Amboise. We overheard several conversations about the spectac' which features nearly everyone in the town almost 200 people. It really was a real life "Waiting for Guffman" (if you know that movie), a local production, started by a girl in town, with an entirely volunteer cast and crew. We had some time on our hands so we went wandering down the lovely streets past the tourists and along the river, stopping to have a picnic of salami, a cumin flavored gouda cheese, baguette, and carrots along the river bank. Then we wandered back into town and sat out in the Place and had a lovely glass of wine, a Gamay Red, which was light and spicy. Once in the stadtium seats set up along the stone entry wall, there was an exctitment in the air; everyone in town not in the spectac' was there to see their mother or son or neighbors. The show was very well done for being an amateur production. They had some large ensemble dance numbers, excellent costumes, stage lighting and even pyro-technics (which backfired slightly during the pig-roasting scene when they couldn't get the pit fire to extinguish for some time) Ah well, it benefitted from having the sympathy of the audience to carry it through almost two and half hours. Had it been a professional production it would have been not worth the price of 5 eu, but knowing that all those townspeople were pouring their heart into the show to prove their pride and love for Amboise, made it all worthwhile.

Allison

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Photos

Madamoiselle Clio
what a great little car

Driving in France
Look at me, Driving in France

Bridge to Amboise
Over the Loire

Comments

[Lo Lo Mo]

Oui, donc que je sui tres jelouse!
Wow, Amboise sounds beautiful! So cool about the car. It really makes a difference being able to drive because you can get to the out of the way places that you might not be able to relying only on public transportation and private transportation... i.e. your feet, hehe. Your trip sounds so fantastic! Are we going to lose you two the La France and La Bonne Vie?? I hope not! And stop making me soooo hungry! geeeeze, hehe. Love ya, have a blast Anxiously awaiting the next riveting installment of my summer reading, Lo