Les Flâneurs

[5 April]

After breakfast we left the apartment and walked down to the TI office to meet Richard and Pauline at our usual time of 10:00 am. After a brief discussion of what today would bring we opted to shift away from châteaux visiting and focus on local wines. There are of course plenty of options for exploring the wines of the Loire Valley but after we settled on those of Chinon, off we went.

Located along the banks of the Vienne River which eventually empties into the Loire, Chinon is a lovely village nestled at the base of a cliff which is itself dominated by an ancient fortress.

Richard drove us right into the heart of the village and found a handy parking spot placing us in the center of everything.

There was a very, very small farmer's market underway in the town center as we scouted out a place for a cup of coffee.

coffee outside at the Café des Arts

Once we finished our coffee we walked down the block to the TI office where a lovely young woman was instrumental in directing us to several tasting rooms in the village.

The first tasting was at Clos de Echo located on the cliff next to the fortress, which potentially meant a steep climb up the cliff face. Fortunately, those who manage Chinon saw fit to build a serious elevator to whisk would-be purchasers of wines straight up! We landed near the top and were provided with a lovely view of the village below.

It was a short walk up a bit further to the tasting room of Couly-Dutheil.

wine room next to Clos de Echo vineyard owned by Couly-Dutheil

our sommelière for the morning

We all ended up tasting their two roses, a white and a couple of reds, all quite pleasant. In addition to selling wines by the bottle they also sell bags-in-a-bottle in both 5- and 10-liter sizes. Since we didn't have room in our bags for 10-liter box of wine, Susan and I bought a bottle of their 2018 red Les Chanteaux while Richard and Pauline purchased a bottle of each of their rosés plus a red.

From the tasting room we made it back to the lift and down to the center of town where we started our quest for a luncheon venue. We settled on the Café de la Paix located right across from the river and facing a wonderful statue of hometown boy François Rabelais.

We ordered salads all round: Susan, Pauline and I opted for the chèvre chaud and Richard went for the Cesar which came with pieces of fried chicken. We all agreed they were quite good and the chèvre carried just the right amount of warmth.

looking up into the center of town

Rabelais keeping an eye on the town

The four of us then strolled along the river in search of M. Plouzeau our next tasting room.

looking downstream

and upstream

We soon found the entrance to the Plouzeau cave and which is indeed in a cave! The interior wended its way for some short distance before we reached the tasting area proper. Less of a tasting room than a place for folks to enjoy appetizers with their wine and stand around and chit-chat, we stayed just long enough to taste one of their reds, which we thought quite good.

A fun time was had by all in lovely Chinon!

It was a short drive to Saumur our second stop for the day. Upon arriving we found this to be a much larger and more lively community than Chinon. We crossed over from the "new part" to the center of town where the action was.

view of the centre ville across the Loire River

Richard found us a place to park overlooking the river and we made our way to the main thoroughfare, rue Franklin Roosevelt, which also happened to be pedestrianized. Along the way we passed the TI office and also the small tourist train that would haul visitors around town for 40 minutes as well as up to the château.

We spent the next half to three-quarters of an hour strolling around the center of town and were treated to an open-air market in the bargain.

Leaving the rue Roosevelt we meandered along one of the small side streets dotted with shops and the occasional eatery, typical of so many towns in France.

place Saint Pierre

and of course Saint Pierre church

Although we had considered walking up to the château we opted to return to the car and drive up -- a smart move indeed. The view of the town and river as well as the surrounding countryside was quite spectacular.

While we didn't go into the château, we strolled the grounds and appreciated several lovely views. We did sit at the one and only cafe nearby but after waiting far too long for service -- we just wanted something to drink and maybe an ice cream -- we got up and left.

looking upstream

Unlike so many historical structures in France, this building survived the revolution and general neglect, possibly because of its fortified defenses which allowed it to serve a number of military as well as administrative purposes (such as a prison).

looking downstream

We were all a bit tired and it was a quiet 40-minute drive back to Tours.

Back in Tours Richard and Pauline dropped us off by the TI office and our street. We planned to meet up for dinner at 8:00 pm in front of the train station.

The first place we tried was an Italian restaurant located near the station but although their website claimed they were open, in fact they were shut up tight. We wandered a bit aimlessly toward the place Hotel de Ville where we came across a dozen or so restaurants most of which looked oddly alike and hosting hundreds of diners. We chose one, the Conti, for no particular reason, and opted to sit inside.

The service was quirky and hit-and-miss. Richard and I each had the lasagne, which I discovered beneath the charred cheese was nothing less than a pile of goo. Pauline had linguine with Salmon which she declared rather good and Susan had beef brochette with potatoes, which she thought so-so; the accompanying Bernaise sauce looked nothing like Bernaise and Susan claimed it had quite an off-putting flavor.