Tour returns to Touraine

This year (the 100th) the Tour de France returns to the region with the 218km, Stage 12 on July 11 bringing the riders from Fougères down to Tours. Then they head out of the city on the 12th towards Saint-Amand-Montrond for the 173km 13th stage. As to the finer detail of which towns and villages it will pass through I cannot find anywhere - maybe someone out there will know. Could be there is still some 'bidding' going on!

Map and logo are from the official site

As far as racers, the latest big news is Chris Froome will lead Team Sky, not Bradley Wiggins. Wiggins is apparently set to focus on the Giro d’Italia.

In 2008 they came whizzing by 'Les Balcons' in Le Grand Pressigny where we had a great view of the proceedings and had a great day with friends and neighbours watching the 'caravan' pass by.

Our friend Mike did a good blog post of that day here with some interesting facts and trivia.

Church on Sunday...return to Montrichard

Small can be beautiful...

We return this Sunday to Montrichard, last week we featured the church of Notre-Dame de Nanteuil in the town but there is also L'église Sainte Croix which is built in to the castle fortifications - its here that Jeanne de Valois, who could not have children, married her cousin the Duc d'Orléans, who subsequently became King Louis XII -the marriage was later annulled to allow him to marry Anne of Brittany - ah the French Royals and their politics! Sadly when we have visited we have never found it open. 

Because of this we sought out the other religious buildings in the town ,the aforementioned Notre-Dame de Nanteuil and then the pretty little chapel of the 'Hotel d'Effiat'...

a small building squeezed into Rue Porte au Roi

Inside is surprising....

 for such a small place it had many statues but I have to confess 'pas de Joan'. 

The simplicity of some of the interior detail made it quite charming.

The Feast of St Blaise

Today is the annual Fete de la Saint-Blaise here in Barrou.  A test of endurance, as indicated by the above menu.  The morning starts with a service in the local church. Complete with dignitaries and brass band.  This is followed by a reception in the Salles de Fete, which is attended by the Mayor.  Aperitifs are served.  Everyone, then adjourns to the grand chapiteau, where for the next 4-5 hours we are fed generous helpings of food accompanied by various local wines.  For the more intrepid amongst us the banquet is followed by a ball.

Jim and I enjoy this challenging day out.  We usually go with our neighbour, David, but a couple of years ago we flew solo and had to communicate for ourselves as the only non-French attendees. It is pleasing to see a lot of the villagers en masse.  The atmosphere is convivial and there is usually an open mike.  Jim, never one to shy away from an opportunity to perform,normally gives a turn and has been learning to sing in French this year.  It is always interesting to hear well known classics such as Viva Espagne and the birdie song sung in French.  When trying to decide what to sing this year, it was suggested that Jim should look at translating The Lion Sleeps Tonight.  We then discovered that this has been done and this 'Youtube' recording by Henri Salvador has engendered a great deal of interest.

We will be coming round later with sponsor sheets.  All proceeds to go to the RSPG (Royal Society for the Prevention of Gluttony).

St Valentine's Day 2013

One of the good habits we have acquired since moving to France is to pre plan trips and not waste petrol or time. Very green!  Since there was no way of topping St Valentine's day 2010, when we went for lunch to the village of St Valentin, we decided that we would celebrate a day later for a variety of reasons.

1. I had paid in advance for my keep fit class yesterday.  No sense in wasting money.
2. Friday is shopping day. 
3. We have to go to Descartes to visit the tourist office at some point.

It was, therefore, decided that we would go to Descartes today, February 15th.  Visit the tourist office, have a Valentine's Day lunch and visit the supermarket there instead of our usual one.

Exercising my French

It is Thursday.  Thursdays are when I go to Lesigny with my French neighbour and friend, Caroline. We attend a keepfit/exercise class at the Salle des Fetes, along with another half dozen French ladies and an English lady from the village.  I find this a satisfying experience as I, not only, indulge in some much needed physical exercise, I have to use my French, both with a view to following instructions and also social interaction. It also affords me some degree of independence as working with Jim as well as living with him has resulted in us being joined at the hip.

Having attended exercise classes on a regular basis in Scotland in the 80's and 90's, I am amazed to find young insructresses still using some of the exercises, such as Rover's revenge, taught by Jane Fonda in her heyday.

                       

Countdown to Spring

Today is Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent.  It is 6 weeks to Easter and the return of the Hirondelles is imminent.  Last year they were recorded as having arrived around 31 March and it just so happens that Easter falls on 31 March this year.

It is always good to see them as their antics and chirping cheer us all up after the winter.  It is not just the birds, who brighten up our lives in spring and summer but the 2 legged variety of 'Hirondelles', who spend their summers in their maisons secondaires and return to Britain for winter. We look forward to renewing the acquaintance of all our new friends here in France.

The advent of spring sees the start of the village social calendars, with organised walks, brocantes and music festivals.  There is something to do every weekend within a short drive.

Walking, here in the Touraine, is always a pleasure with a plethora of marked routes, through the countryside at one with nature, take some exercise and generally just feel glad to be alive.

Girls on Tour 2013

Anne, Francoise & Babs in Berlin 2011

It is that time of the year again.  My sister-in-law and her cousin, both French, have a city break each year with me and another Scottish friend.  Over the last 9 years we have visited many destinations and have had many varied experiences, notwithsatanding our permanent loirevalley experience. This year's destination currently under investigation is Krakow.  As lamented in a previous post there seems to be a conspiracy by the cheap flight operators to keep the Scots in Scotland.  Babs lives in Aberdeen, which although still benefiting from North Sea Oil and the incumbent prosperity is still not easily served by low cost airlines. Last year's foray to Granada was very expensive and involved 2 changes for her, not to mention the time taken. This year we are proposing an Autumn break.  Usually we go around April/May but it is difficult to agree dates because of work and family committments then.

Easyjet are offering reasonably priced flights from Paris CDG and factoring in Babs' travel costs and times, Aberdeen compares favourably. Research is showing Krakow to be a very interesting city, with plenty of interesting things to do and see.  A lot of them seem to be free of charge, which for me and my Scottish friend is even better.  Eating out seems to be reasonable with a good many varieties of cuisine available at a reasonable cost.

I have volunteered to check out accommodation this year, usually preferring to leave it up to others. Babs booked our first trip and the apartment in Barcelona was amazing, well located, well appointed and reasonably priced, so the bar was set high.  So far the quality of apartments that I have looked at have been of a high standard and reasonably priced.  It is interesting for me to approach holiday rentals from the other side.  Normally it is I answering the enquiries. 

Some of our more memorable trips were Barcelona, Venice, Rome, Berlin and Granada, although everywhere has had something unique to offer.

One thing that I have learned is that packing a tried and trusted pair of comfortable shoes is top priority.

I look forward to finalising the arrangements and enjoying some well earned R&R at the end of the season.

Seasonal produce

You would think that having lived in France for the best part of five years, I would have got to grips with the concept of seasonal vegetables and would know to plan menus accordingly. You would think?  But no, having recently invited some friends for dinner, I set about planning the menu.  Carrot and orange soup to start.  The supermarket is practically giving away  the seasonal carrots.  Chocolate mousse for dessert.  What to have for a main course?  Boeuf a la mode?  More carrots!  I know, we will have crispy duck stir fry with Mangetouts.  Got the duck. Alas, no mange tout. Oh well, haricots verts will do.  Spring onions?  Mmm these look sort of like them.  They are a bit more bulbous than I would like but they will do.  Chinese water chestnuts? No, there are none in the tinned vegetable section.  None on the foreign food shelf either, oh well I have some bean sprouts to substitute. Nearly left without picking up the cashew nuts.  Jim dashed back to find them. Despite having written a shopping list I got home to find I had forgotten the green pepper.  The local shop had none.  They are not in season, she explained.  Oh well I have plenty carrots I will use some ribbons of carrot. I think my guests enjoyed their crispy duck stir fry with green beans, carrots and bean sprouts minus the all important cashew nuts which were forgotten at the cooking stage.

Roll on tomato time!

Church on Sunday- Notre-Dame de Nanteuil,Montrichard

This Sunday we are in Montrichard in the department of the Loir et Cher to visit the church of Notre-Dame de Nanteuil which can be found to the west of the town centre.

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Hi Ho, Hi Ho,it's off to work we go.

February has arrived and the runaway train is fast approaching the station.  After 3 months of down time we are having to think about the impending season.  It is very hard when it is cold and raining to motivate ourselves to leave the fire.

However, today the sun is shining and we have nearly finished some internal tidying up/work at Le Bourg in preparation for this year's guests. Miki, the owner has invested in a woodburner, for which Jim has had to build a raised plinth in the fireplace.


There is a small list of jobs to be done over at Les Balcons  in Le Grand Pressigny  to look forward to as well.

In addition to paying guests this year we are finding ourselves playing host to some family members and hopefully some of our friends, who despite the travel nightmare, are proposing to come visit us.

The booking calendar is looking fairly healthy so far with some previous guests returning and some new ones from as far afield as Australia and America.  We always enjoy meeting new people and have had many an entertaining evening swapping anecdotes over a meal or a glass or two of wine.

Whatever happened to cheap flights?

When we first started visiting this area of France in 2004, before we re-located, we were able to fly to Tours or Poitiers from Prestwick(10minutes from my mother in Ayr, and ironically £10 in a taxi)  via Stansted courtesy of Ryanair for the  princely sum of £10 per flight. When we moved here in 2008, I was able to make regular visits to Scotland easily and cheaply, unfortunately Ryanair no longer fly from Stansted to Prestwick making air travel for us very difficult.

 I ( Pauline) have had occasion to try to get back to Scotland for a wedding at the end of May.  As it is during the letting season, I cannot afford to stay long. Trying to co-ordinate flights is proving to be a nightmare. I can fly to London Stansted from Tours or Poitiers on certain days of the week and get a flight to Glasgow with Easyjet.  It is then necessary to get 2 buses or a bus and a train to Ayr from Glasgow airport or hire a car. To come back I cannot get to Glasgow airport, unless I hire a car, in time to catch a flight to Stansted.  Academic, as the flight to France leaves before the Scottish flight gets in. Other options include Tours to Dublin, Dublin to Prestwick, but coming back it is again difficult to co-ordinate flights from Prestwick to tie in with the flight to Tours.  Another option is CDG to Glasgow but involves train travel to Paris and buses to and from the airpport.  In short, a £60, straightforward return journey has escalated into a very costly exercise in excess of £200 and involving a great deal of research in order to co-ordinate flights.  I have decided that I have to decline the invitation and pay a flying visit to my Mum at a time when flights are not too expensive and I am not having to be there for a certain event.Maybe I should have learned to ride a Harley like Jean.

On a recent visit to Scotland we met up with some friends, who like us relied on Ryanair to get them to and from London Stansted and Prestwick.  They are finding the same problems, increased costs and inconvenience with travelling times.  We all agreed that while we are aware of the bad press afforded to Ryanair, their prices are value for money and that as long as you do not expect too much from them, you will not be disappointed...if you can find a flight!.

The video below still makes me smile and hanker after those cheap flights.

€ 1.00 coffee in Paris? - yes you can!

When we were out and about recently in Paris with Richard and Francoise they said they would take us to a local cafe where you could get a coffee for € 1.00  - in Paris? - surely not! We went along to 'Caves Populaires' or was that 'Caves du Chalet' - anyway whatever the name, sure enough there it was on offer € 1.00 coffee! As it happens we decided on a glass of wine - I actually had a Touraine blanc to support our local vintners - very nice too We also had cheese and charcuterie for two that fed the four of us - great - and all for € 22.00. The place itself is simply decorated with very pleasant staff - we'll go back.

As it happens in my continuing research for about-paris.com I actually found out that the € 1.00 coffee is not actually so rare - there around 100 establishment offering this -you can check their location here on the Paris.fr website.

Church on Sunday...Saint-Germain l'Auxerrois

Another Paris church this time the former 'Church of Kings',Saint-Germain l'Auxerrois, which sits opposite the Palais du Louvre on Place de Louvre. There has been a place of worship here since the 8th century this was destroyed during the Norman invation at the end of the 9th century.

It took until the 11th centuy before it was rebuilt, it was then modified in the first half of the12th century and then again in 14th and 16th century. The church was badly damaged during the French Revolution and converted into a feed store and then print house before being restored between 1838 and 1855.

It was during the 14th century That the church became the Royal parish during  when the Royals moved to the Louvre.

You enter the church through a porch consisting of five arches front and two side arcades.

..The nave of the church.

Only a two of the original 17th cwntury stained glass windows remain within the apse of the church

There are two impressive, if shallow, side chapels.

  

The organ in the church was originally intended for Sainte Chapelle.

Where's Joan...

The church sits beside the Marie of the 1st arrondissement and with the bell tower separating them gives it a symmetrical look.. Legend has it that the bell of St-Germain l'Auxerrois was used as a signal to begin the St.Bartholomew's day massacre in 1572.

Love locks of Paris...

We love many things about Paris but some of our favourite things are its bridges this is Pomt des Arts near the Louvre with its 'love locks' and as ever there is more to these than meets the eye...check out the story here. 

2013 calendar...February

February

January