Lovely Days in the Loire..

Today’s guest post is from Miriam at Travelling Starfish.  You can learn more about her at the end of this great post she put together for us.

Casting my mind back a couple of years ago, I was living in Jersey in the Channel Islands (UK).  I spent 4 years in this glorious island that is in the middle of the English Channel between England and France.

During this time, I attempted to see many parts of Europe.  Although not as successful as I would have hoped, as I was working a full-time job and settling into British life, I did get to explore some interesting parts of France.

One of my fondest mini-breaks (as they call them in the UK) was a long weekend away to the Loire Valley in March 2009.  My travelling partner and I took a ferry from Jersey to Saint-Malo, Brittany, where we hired a car and headed towards this well-known wine region.

As a lover of wine, I was instantly excited and intrigued about venturing out to this part of the country.  The Loire Valley is known for its crisp white wines and quaint atmosphere.

B&B’s all the way

To keep in the spirit of the quaint nature of our trip, we decided to book into a bed and breakfast (B&B) in the region.  After doing some research online, I found a great B&B (Le Buisson) on the Loire River in an area called Montlouis sur Loire.  I contacted them straight away and we were ready to go.  Our host, Jean-Pierre Chalons, spoke English so that helped make things a bit easier.

Looking back, I am so pleased about our trip.  The B&B was lovely – with well-kept tennis courts, incredible grounds and beautiful views of the Loire River – and Jean-Pierre and his wife Nicole were very welcoming to us.  It felt like we were actually apart of their family and learned a lot of things about the area that we would have never known otherwise.

View from our B&B -Le Buisson in Montlouis sur Loire

The town of Amboise

On our first full day in the region, Jean-Pierre was insistent that we check out the nearby town of Amboise.  Amboise is 20 kilometres upstream from the city of Tours – where you can actually fly into.

It is a small riverside town with beautiful architecture.  There are markets open on the weekends and we indulged in some wine tasting in the caves in the main castle.  Entry to the tasting was minimal – no more than €5 – and you get to taste wines from local producers that I doubt we would have managed to get anywhere else.  I even bought some local rosé sparkling wine (a poor man’s Champagne…lol) at €7.50 for a full 3 bottles.  It was absolutely delicious and a great deal!

The town of Amboise, France.

Quelle surprise!

One of the highlights of our long weekend away was another site we found out about from our host Jean-Pierre.

Painter, inventor, engineer, scientist, humanist and philosopher Leonardo da Vinci actually spent the last years of his life in Amboise at the Château du Clos Lucé.  Who knew?  We definitely didn’t – as soon as we heard about that, we were off for a visit.

We found out that although Leonardo (yes, I’m on a first name basis with him) spent most of his life in Italy creating various masterpieces for royalty, he resided in the Château from 1515-1519.  When da Vinci arrived at the Château he brought with him his infamous Mona Lisa painting.  In 1519, he died at the Clos Lucé estate at the age of 67.

Gardens at Château du Clos Lucé, Amboise

The grounds here are absolutely beautiful and there is so much history to take in.  I’ve been to Italy and seen many of da Vinci’s creations in various museums around the world but being in this part of France that is relatively quiet and relaxed, was an amazing experience.  It was an element of surprise we both welcomed and adored.

I realized after all of this that the Loire Valley is not just about good food and wine.  It’s a lot more.

This part of France is a place I know I will go back to one day.  The hospitality and the serene beauty really made me fall in love.  For everyone who’s visited France, I’m sure you will agree that it is a special country but Amboise and the Loire Valley are ones that will always hold a place in my heart.

On your next trip to France, try out a B&B and get to know some of the towns you may not have heard so much about in the travel guides.  You never know – you may just stumble upon a special town, site or experience that you’ll never forget – just like we did! Vive la France!

Miriam Berger is the blogger behind Travelling Starfish – a travel blog with an expat edge.  She has been a marketer since 2001, working for some of the largest organizations worldwide and now runs her own marketing consulting business, AppleCrisp Marketing Solutions.  A true expat at heart, Miriam is originally from Toronto, Canada and has worked across North America, the UK and Israel. She has also traveled the world and continues to do this for business and pleasure!

*All Photos in this post provided by Miriam Berger.

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