France trip to the Loire
Nov 21st, 2004, 10:53 AM
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France trip to the Loire
We recently spent two weeks in France. Eight days in the Loire and 5 days in Paris. We arrived at CDG and took the train to Tours and then rented a car and drove over to Chinon where we
had rented a Bed and Breakfast (http://www.chinon.com/vignoble/domai...our/usgite.htm) (http://www.domainedebeausejour.com/en/frch.html). We always use the internet to book our
hotels, here is a sample for anyone interested.
Bonjour:
We were hoping you have a room available in
September starting Sept 15th thru the 21st, (7 nights).
66.00 ? Tourelle Basse
Merci
Au revoir
Hello,
I have a room for the night of 15 thru the 21 st September for two
peoples.
The price is 66 Euros per night, breakfast inclued.
If you OK, can you tell me your credit card number or send me a
deposit.
Your sincerely.
PO MC Chauveau
We booked our tickets through 1800 fly Europe, Total Amount for our two roundtrip tickets were: $1,052.38
We departed from O'hare Int Airport at 6:20 pm and arrived at CDG the next morning at 9:35 am. Our trip actually started in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Our train didn't leave for Tours until around 1:30 in the afternoon. We went to a café in the airport and drank coffee for about a hour, we always do this to wake up and then walked over to the train station and sat there for the
next three hours taking turns sleeping on a bench.
The train ride was around two hours, maybe a little longer, over to Tours Where we picked up our rental car. It was around 4:00 pm in the afternoon before we finally got our car and started the drive over to Chinon.
We finally found our home for the next eight days around 5:30 in the afternoon. We drove up the long road to the house and found some people sitting outside who directed us back down the hill
to the office for the vineyard where a gentleman who we found out later was the owner directed us back up the hill to our room. He gave us the key and turned around and left. It was getting late
and we were starving, tired and had no idea where to go eat. We climbed very slowly back into the car and drove into Chinon to find something to eat. We parked the car along the river and walked into
town, stumbled into the first restaruant we saw and ordered some food, I ordered a steak and she ordered a pasta plate. Around 10:00 pm we arrived back at our room and fell into bed and didn't wake up
until the next morning around 9:00 am. Hell of a first day.
The lady of the house, winery, vineyard and everything else that happened came down and introduced herself to us and explained that she was gone when we arrived and that her husband was
the person that escorted up to our room the day before. She gave us a tour of the property and invited us up to the "big house" for breakfast. We had coffee, bread, fruit and yogart. We also
met a British couple that was staying there. They were the nicest people and we enjoyed eating breakfast with them every morning, we had some very interesting conversations over the next few days.
Over the next week we visited:
Chinon
The Castle overlooking Chinon
Usse'
Villandry
Chateau d'Azay-le-Riduau
Fontevraud Abbaye
Chenonceau
I could go on and on about our trip and if anyone is interested I will write more. How I hate trafic circles, going through villages with one lane roads, watching the opening of hunting season with guns going off and horns blaring, taking walks in the early morning through the fields while my better half was getting ready. Going into Chinon and buying food and wine and then going back to our "home" and eating outside our room watching the sun go down. How it was so quite I almost went crazy the first few days.
had rented a Bed and Breakfast (http://www.chinon.com/vignoble/domai...our/usgite.htm) (http://www.domainedebeausejour.com/en/frch.html). We always use the internet to book our
hotels, here is a sample for anyone interested.
Bonjour:
We were hoping you have a room available in
September starting Sept 15th thru the 21st, (7 nights).
66.00 ? Tourelle Basse
Merci
Au revoir
Hello,
I have a room for the night of 15 thru the 21 st September for two
peoples.
The price is 66 Euros per night, breakfast inclued.
If you OK, can you tell me your credit card number or send me a
deposit.
Your sincerely.
PO MC Chauveau
We booked our tickets through 1800 fly Europe, Total Amount for our two roundtrip tickets were: $1,052.38
We departed from O'hare Int Airport at 6:20 pm and arrived at CDG the next morning at 9:35 am. Our trip actually started in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Our train didn't leave for Tours until around 1:30 in the afternoon. We went to a café in the airport and drank coffee for about a hour, we always do this to wake up and then walked over to the train station and sat there for the
next three hours taking turns sleeping on a bench.
The train ride was around two hours, maybe a little longer, over to Tours Where we picked up our rental car. It was around 4:00 pm in the afternoon before we finally got our car and started the drive over to Chinon.
We finally found our home for the next eight days around 5:30 in the afternoon. We drove up the long road to the house and found some people sitting outside who directed us back down the hill
to the office for the vineyard where a gentleman who we found out later was the owner directed us back up the hill to our room. He gave us the key and turned around and left. It was getting late
and we were starving, tired and had no idea where to go eat. We climbed very slowly back into the car and drove into Chinon to find something to eat. We parked the car along the river and walked into
town, stumbled into the first restaruant we saw and ordered some food, I ordered a steak and she ordered a pasta plate. Around 10:00 pm we arrived back at our room and fell into bed and didn't wake up
until the next morning around 9:00 am. Hell of a first day.
The lady of the house, winery, vineyard and everything else that happened came down and introduced herself to us and explained that she was gone when we arrived and that her husband was
the person that escorted up to our room the day before. She gave us a tour of the property and invited us up to the "big house" for breakfast. We had coffee, bread, fruit and yogart. We also
met a British couple that was staying there. They were the nicest people and we enjoyed eating breakfast with them every morning, we had some very interesting conversations over the next few days.
Over the next week we visited:
Chinon
The Castle overlooking Chinon
Usse'
Villandry
Chateau d'Azay-le-Riduau
Fontevraud Abbaye
Chenonceau
I could go on and on about our trip and if anyone is interested I will write more. How I hate trafic circles, going through villages with one lane roads, watching the opening of hunting season with guns going off and horns blaring, taking walks in the early morning through the fields while my better half was getting ready. Going into Chinon and buying food and wine and then going back to our "home" and eating outside our room watching the sun go down. How it was so quite I almost went crazy the first few days.
Feb 4th, 2005, 09:32 AM
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To eric502: how did you enjoy your stay at this place. I'm looking for something for my family, and their rate of 110 euros for a two-room suite for 4, with Breakfast, sounds pretty reasonable. How are the rooms, and how was breakfast? How far did it take you to go to Chenonceau, which is the farthest out east I would go to visit.
Feb 4th, 2005, 12:40 PM
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Hey eric,
Please do continue.
I particularly liked:
>We went to a café in the airport and drank coffee for about a hour, we always do this to wake up and then ...sat there for the
next three hours taking turns sleeping on a bench.<
Please do continue.
I particularly liked:
>We went to a café in the airport and drank coffee for about a hour, we always do this to wake up and then ...sat there for the
next three hours taking turns sleeping on a bench.<
Feb 4th, 2005, 12:58 PM
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Monique
We stayed at the Manoir de la Giraudiere, just outside of Chinon, a few years ago. Look them up. It wasn't fancy, but very serviceable and the price was reasonable. I think they may have rooms suitable for a family of 4. Nice restaurant, too. However, it's out in the country...nice and quiet at night, but you have to drive into town to do anything.
We stayed at the Manoir de la Giraudiere, just outside of Chinon, a few years ago. Look them up. It wasn't fancy, but very serviceable and the price was reasonable. I think they may have rooms suitable for a family of 4. Nice restaurant, too. However, it's out in the country...nice and quiet at night, but you have to drive into town to do anything.
Feb 6th, 2005, 10:40 AM
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Yes, I would love to hear lots more. For instance, if you were limited to 4 or 5 chateaus to see, what ones would you not miss. How were distances and driving times? Would 3 chateau per day be too ambitious?
Feb 7th, 2005, 07:55 AM
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My top 5 chateaux to visit in the Loire Valley:
1. Chenonceau
2. Chambord
3. Azay-le-Rideau
4. Villandry (for the gardens)
5. Angers (for the Apocalypse Tapestry)
Honorable mentions to Saumur, Amboise and Blois.
Here's a link to some pictures. Copy & paste into your browser address line:
http://community.webshots.com/album/168476772BITAMn
1. Chenonceau
2. Chambord
3. Azay-le-Rideau
4. Villandry (for the gardens)
5. Angers (for the Apocalypse Tapestry)
Honorable mentions to Saumur, Amboise and Blois.
Here's a link to some pictures. Copy & paste into your browser address line:
http://community.webshots.com/album/168476772BITAMn
