Great food, great chateaux, great fun ... playwright Roger
Hall cycles through the Loire Valley.
It's hard not to love France.
It has the same population as England, but is twice the size,
so there is a great deal of countryside.
The French not only love their own country (which is why so
few leave it to travel abroad), in particular they love the
rural part of it and the way of life there.
It's easy to understand why.
The scenery is magic: wheat fields sprinkled with poppies, no
ugly wire fences, huge areas of quiet and cool forests,
swathes of lavender, vineyards winding over hillsides,
unspoiled villages and small towns that delight the eye.
Over the years, my wife and I have been lucky enough to visit
France several times and while we, along with the rest of the
world, love Paris, the best holidays have been cycling in
such areas as Provence, Dordogne, Alsace and Burgundy. They
are the best holidays anywhere.
As with previous trips, we went with Cycling for Softies, who
tailor each tour to the time you have available (anything
from three to 14 days) and with the level of difficulty you
can cope with. We're in our 70s now (active rather than
especially fit) and can manage the terrain with little
trouble (admittedly, we usually push our bikes up hills).
Softies book your hotels, provide you with bikes and maps and
leave you to it.
But what they are famous for is the restaurants they choose
for you each night and it's a great comfort to know that at
the end of each day there will be a superb meal as a reward.
For our latest trip, we chose the Loire, an area famous not
only for its rivers and scenery but mostly for its chateaux.
Our base hotel (where we picked up our bikes) was Chinon,
which of course has a chateau, mostly in disrepair but worth
visiting because of the displays within the remaining rooms,
and because of the views from its strategic position
overlooking the river.
It was a favourite of the French Court who visited regularly,
and Chinon retains a medieval feel to it, with many old
buildings and narrow streets, though slightly bizarrely, it
has installed a free lift for visitors to avoid the steep,
narrow climb to get to the castle.
From Chinon to Montsoreau, and we reached our charming hotel
overlooking the river by noon. We bought quiche and rolls and
ate them by the river and then spent the afternoon at one of
the highlights of the trip, the 12th-century abbey at
Fontevraud. A Unesco World Heritage site, the abbey is both
beautiful and steeped in history.
Eleanor of Aquitaine is buried there with her husband, Henry
II, and their beautiful tomb effigies lie side by side within
the abbey walls.
The next day we biked through woods, much of the time
alongside the river, to Languis.
The hotel was just a bit ramshackle and lacking some
essential facilities.
"Have you Why-fie?" I asked. There was a pause before they
knew what I was asking for.
"Ah! Wee-fee?"
"Yes."
"Non."
No matter. There was, of course, a chateau nearby to explore.
There always was, so many in fact, that some discretion is
needed. Thanks to the French Revolution anything of worth or
merit inside these aristocratic buildings was plundered, so
now the interiors are, "at best", refurnished "in the style
of" (say) the 15th century.
It's the exteriors that are enchanting. Chenonceau, built
over a river, is the most picturesque of them all (though
some would vote for Chateau d'Ussee, the so-called Sleeping
Beauty castle, which we saw but did not go inside).
Exteriors are so important that at Chenonceau, where one of
the towers was being repaired, the construction work was
covered by netting upon which was painted a likeness of the
tower it was hiding. So skilfully was it done, that quite
possibly many of the visitors might not have noticed repairs
were taking place.
At Villandry we'd been advised to skip the chateau itself and
stick to the gardens, some of the greatest one is ever likely
to see (assuming you like formal Renaissance ones compared to
the English landscape ones).
It's a kitchen garden to end all kitchen gardens, but much
more: numerous parterres bordered by low, clipped box hedges;
gazebos, fountains, herbs , mazes, topiary and terraces.
But, of course, there were places to visit other than
chateaux. At Amboise, a splendid riverside town where we
stayed two nights in a sumptuous hotel with large bedrooms,
and a terrace for drinks under the hot sun, there was Clos
Luce. This was the manor where Leonardo da Vinci spent his
final years at the invitation of one of his fans, King Louis
XII, who gave him not only the manor but his friendship as
well. Inside the manor is a collection of models of
Leonardo's varied and astonishing inventions.
Seven kilometres from Azay Le Rideau (another stopover) is a
Balzac museum containing, as you would expect, many copies of
his books, but also the splendid original drawings from one
of his novels recently published as a graphic book.
France knows how to look after cyclists. Cars slow down and
give you a wide berth, and there are many Velo paths, which
steer one away from almost all traffic and take you along
quiet routes. During the weekend, these cycle paths are used
by groups of cyclists of all ages, always calling out a
cheery "bonjour" as you pass. (And don't ever let anyone tell
you the French are unfriendly. Three times when we were lost,
French people went out of their way to help.)
A cliche, I know, but the French really do know how dine.
During our 12-night stay, only about two meals lasted less
than two and a-half hours.
First there was the amuse-bouche, that exquisite little
introduction to the meal - a miniature pot of langoustine,
for example, or snails in garlic.
Then the entree: oysters perhaps, terrine, slices of
aubergines interleaved with goat's cheese or, often, smoked
salmon with white asparagus.
Mains: fillet of cod steamed in a bag with vegetables and
mango; sole exquisitely cooked; veal; pork fillets.
Then the sound that always delights my ears, the rattle of
the approaching cheese trolley: a selection of at least a
dozen varieties from which one can choose three or four
pieces.
The desserts, visual symphonies: coulis, creme brulee,
sauteed strawberries and one double-layered triumph
(blackberry, strawberries, raspberries nestled in meringues
on two platforms of crust-thin pastry).
And the best thing of all: despite all the courses we ate
each night, thanks to the cycling, at the end of the holiday
neither of us had put on weight.
It's enough to make you start planning all over again.
If you go
Cycling for Softies does packages in the Loire from three
nights to 14 nights. Three nights staying at the Chinon costs
$1141. Five nights Chinon and Azay le Rideau (or Montsoreau),
$1902. Seven nights Chinon, Montsoreau, Azay le Rideau, or
Chinon, Azay le Rideau, Noyant de Touraine chateau, $2664.
Prices include a double or twin room each night, a reserved
table in a first-class restaurant each evening, breakfast,
bicycle hire (including panniers with room for a bottle of wine
and a baguette). For more information see
www.cycling-for-softies.co.uk.
• Roger Hall's new play A Short Cut to
Happiness opens at The Fortune Theatre on November
19.
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