Hi,

My friend and I have decided to spend a gastronomic week somewhere in the Loire valley. My friend will be coming from Limoges and I will be coming from London. We're looking for a central base to stay - or two places to stay if we divide the trip - somewhere rustic, nice and clean, and that won't break the bank from where we might be able to do a little but not exhaustive travelling (by car, if necessary). The one drawback to the gastronomic part is that, though my friend will eat nearly everything on a menu, I am a fully-fledged vegetarian (no meat, no fish). Though I would be happy to live on cheese and fruit, will the better-class of French restaurant look at me sniffily and turn me onto the street!! Any suggestions on a postcard please.

Many thanks

Tim

Hi tim,

Not only will you be sniffed atand turned out into the street; you will be tarred and feathered and ridden out of town on a rail.

See http://www.lvo.com/GB/GASTRONOMIE/TERR/PDTS/chevre.html and
http://www.westernfrancetouristboard...oiregastro.htm
for cheeses of the Loire.

You will also be able to order a mixed vegetable plate as well as salads.

Are eggs acceptable?

The only reason any restaurant might look at you "sniffily" would have more to do with how you present yourself than what you might order from the menu...which I advise you to look at before sitting down/going in...and yes, that will fit on a postcard.

Hi Ira and Dukey

Thanks so much for your swift replies and your suggestions. Yes, eggs are absolutely fine. God forbid I take the vegan route! As I mentioned, my friend will be coming from Limoges and I will be coming from London. Suggestions for the following would be a great help: 1/ a central place to meet, 2/ somewhere nice to stay and 3/ what part of the Loire would be ideal for spending a week
in...

Best wishes and thanks again

Tim

If you are very strict about your vegetarianism, you should know that much French cheese is based on an animal product, rennet. What the French call "industrial" cheeses -- major brands sold in supermarkets, for example, are sometimes made with a synthesized rennet that contains no animal products.

I live in the Loire Valley, 25 miles south of Blois. If you are not planning to rent a car, you should consider staying in a larger town or a city. Blois, for example, or Tours. Most of the châteaux and a lot of restaurants are out in the country and require car travel.

I'm not sure France in general (or the Loire Valley in particular) is a capital of vegetarian gastronomy. The specialties here are rillettes (cooked, shredded pork), rillons (braised pork breast), goat cheese (rennet? I don't know), and wine. A typical salade tourangelle served in the restaurants is made with more meat than vegetables...

I forgot to mention the other specialty: river fish. Sandre, brochet, etc.

Hi Ckenb,

Thanks so much for responding and for your useful information. I'm actually not that strict a vegetarian (as long as no one tells me exactly what goes into what). It's just that I won't eat meat or fish. In the past, when I've travelled to France or to other parts of Europe, I'd subsist on vegetables, fruit and great desserts! My friend, who will eat anything, and who writes about food, doesn't think that restaurants will look at me too kindly however.

If we base ourselves in Tours or Blois, as you suggest, would you be able to recommend a nice place (or places) to stay?

Whereabouts in the Loire do you live out of interest?



All best wishes

Tim

ps we aim to be in the Loire from about the 4-10 September

Hi Tim,

I recently returned from a fantastic gastronomic week in the Loire valley with my mother who is vegetarian. We had no problem at all - we were based in Amboise at a fantastic chateau called Le Manoir les Minimes. There is a fabulous restaurant in Amboise that does a 5 course vegetarian tasting menu called Le Pavilon de Lys. Let me know if you would like other suggestions/help.

Cheers,
Aditi

Aditi, Hi

Great!! What a relief. Details please of any suggestions. My friend speaks pretty good French, so hopefully I will be spared the embarrassment of saying 'Je suis un vegetarian' in pigeon French. Where in the Loire were you based, where did you stay and can I assume that you hired a car? Oh, and how did you go about deciding where to eat and go...?

Many thanks

All best wishes

Tim

Aditi, Hi

Whoops. It appears you answered all my questions already. Why Amboise out of interest? Why this Chateau? Was it ridiculously expensive? Did you hire a car? Any other suggestions would be most welcome.

Cheers

Tim

Aditi, Hi

Just wanted to let you know that, on your recommendation, have now booked to stay at Les Minimes from Sep 5-9th. HAve not yet worked out the best way to get there from London, but will look at a good map before. Your restuarant suggestion at Le Pavilon sounds wonderful. If you have any further suggestion for eating places or places to see, that would be most welcome.

Thanks so much

All best

Tim2

I think you'll like Les Minimes as a hotel, and the vegetarian menu at the Pavillon des Lys sounds perfect. I live about 20 miles SE of Amboise and go there often. Hope you have a great stay.

lots of ways to get to Amboise from London -
Flight to Paris, then train to Tours, hire car/meet friend with car.
Ferry to Dieppe, hire car, etc.
Channel Tunnel to Paris, trian to Tours..etc.
The french quite often serve vegetables as starters- two or three would make a good main course, i'd have thought. With a salad appetiser and decent pud, you should be more than ok. your friend's good french should be able to cope with this.
For a "veggie" Villandry is a must see!

Hi again for all your suggestions. No plans to do anything special around the Amboise region, other than eat (more eating suggestions please, as I'd be very happy to live on veggie starters and desserts) and do a little sight-seeing. If anyone has any suggestions for nice places to visit, please let me know. Also, any idea what the weather will be like in early September?

All the best

Tim2

Hi Anne,

Meant to ask where Villandry is? A restaurant or a place?

All best

Tim

oops - sorry Tim. It's a chateaux but the main attraction is a vegetable garden! It is laid out in the most elaborate fashion with the beds surrounded by different fruit trees, as well as the standard box hedges. It's east of Saumur along the Loire valley. There are a couple of restaurants in the village as well as a rather expensive one on site. It occurred to me that as a veggie, you might enjoy it, but it is very attractive, and should provide interest for anyone with an interest in gardens. You can go round the chateau, but it's not a priority.
There is a cave just up the road with stalagtites etc. and loads of caves selling wine.
I seeem to remember a lot of people arriving on bikes [presumably hired] but we were in a car. sorry if teh postcard has proved quite long. WE love the Loire area, and are seriously thinking of moving there once our kids are off our hands.

Thanks for your suggestions about Villandry. A couple of other things I wanted to ask...We've decided to meet in Tours, stay a night and will pick up a car from there - though not sure where in Tours exactly, as it depends on whether I go by train or plane and I don't want to spend a day driving arround Tours looking for my car! If we decide to go to some of the other more upmarket restaurants 1/do you need to book? and 2/do you need to dress up? What's the weather likely to be in early September?

Thanks so much for your help and apologies for all the questions.

Tim

All the best

Tim

Oh, Hi

One more thing. Have decided to stay in Tours for one night to pick up our car and wanted a recommendation for a BB/small hotel. Any suggestions anyone?

All the best

Tim2

Aditi (traveltomorocco), Hi

I didn't get a reply to the last message I sent you in reply to yours, so you've probably been too busy or gone away. Anyway, if you get this before I go in early September, would still love to have any further suggestions about the restaurants you ate at in the Loire and where you went.

Everyone else has been so helpful

All best wishes

Tim2

Tim - looks like there's a dearth of info on Tours out there. perhaps you could search this thread for it? Also, i get the newsletter from a loire tourisme website called www.visaloire.com which might be useful. The via michelin site ought to be able to help you find the car rental offices, and good restaurants.
Good luck!