Loire Valley
We spent many October half-terms in gites in the Loire valley when the kids were growing up, and it’s the place I hanker after most when our ability to travel is restricted. Unfortunately, I didn’t keep detailed records of all the places we visited, but a quick tot up says there were at least a dozen, one of which was in the grounds of a small Chateau. I have vivid memories of many fabulous holiday homes with exposed beams, log fires, and semi-wild gardens. I would always find a circuit for a daily jog of at least a couple of miles, and quite often there was a local farm shop where we could buy fresh eggs, milk and cheese to accompany our favourite dish: tarte aux champignons.
We must have visited over a dozen chateaux, including the ones which feature in many of the top lists, i.e. Chenonceau, Chambord, Azay-le-Rideau, Villandry and Ussé. Saumur Gets a special mention, because it’s twinned with Warwick, where I spent a decade in a house whose garden backed on to the castle grounds. One of the most memorable sheets was in a small town called Pallau-sur-indre, and we booked the same place in 2007 and 8. In particular, at the bottom of the garden was a small cave, which linked up with a network of caves which ram underneath the castle. The first time we went we were not really equipped to explore too far, so on the second time we made sure we had powerful torches. Despite the numbers painted on the walls in various different colours, it was extremely Easy to get lost and the girls stayed outside, anxiously waiting for us to return.
The most recent trip was October 2019, staying just outside Angers, where we celebrated my 60th birthday: We visited the Caves Grenelle at Saumur for a wonderful guided tour and wine sampling. The moment we parked the car, the heavens opened with torrential rain oh biblical proportions bouncing off the courtyard so we were soaked by the time we reached the lobby. However by the time we had to go outside, it had stopped. We were so impressed, we bought home two cases of their wines, including several sparkling reds. Now we’re able to travel again this is my first destination to stock up on some more.
Green Venice
Many of the villages we’ve stayed, particularly in France, are situated on a river. Bri’s always had a fascination with boats and has piloted every type you can imagine from pedalos & punts to swanky speed boats. So in 1998, when we stayed near la Rochelle, we had several trips out in boats, as you can see from the pix. The top left shows one of the daily practices which soon became a tradition – a stroll to the boulangerie for the daily baguette.
Oradour-sur-Glane
I have mixed feelings about recommending this place, it’s possibly one of the most harrowing experiences, and the atmosphere hits you as soon as you step out of the car. In a cruel and heartless retribution, four days after D-day, a 200-strong panzer division rounded up all the women and children in this village in the church, and all the men in barns and sheds. The soldiers set fire to every single building in the place, and those attempting to escape were machine-gunned.
The entire village has been preserved as a monument to the 642 people who died – definitely not for the faint hearted. Most moving for me was the lone vehicle believed to be the doctor’s car. He had arrived back in Oradour from visiting a patient whilst the round-up of the villagers was taking place. He parked his car and joined his father, the mayor, in waiting to see what was going to happen. This view is one of the best known of all the images of Oradour, symbolising as it does, a frozen instant of time.
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