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Good Karma Trip Report: Loire Valley and Paris

Good Karma Trip Report: Loire Valley and Paris

Old May 21st, 2005, 08:25 AM
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Good Karma Trip Report: Loire Valley and Paris

We figured we must have used up almost a lifetime supply of bad trip karma last March, with our non-trip to London (http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...2&tid=34582645 or http://www.rozault.com/london-not) -- and that must be why our week in France was so perfect.

Here's the first part of my trip report. I'll be posting photos soon.

DATES: May 11 - 18, 2005, a great time to travel. We were lucky in the weather, and were happily surprised at how much daylight we had that time of year. On our last trip, to Rome in November, dark fell around 4:30. In France we didn't lose the last light till almost 10:00.

ITINERARY: 4 nights in the Loire Valley; 3 nights in Paris.

HOTELS:
In Amboise: Le Clos d'Amboise - a beautiful place at very reasonable prices. We had one of the better and larger rooms for 109 € per night. Prices for smaller rooms started at 69€. Perfectly located on a quiet street near the center of town, with a lovely garden, where we enjoyed wine and cheese on the terrace most evenings. We did walk past Le Manoir des Minimes, where I know many Fodorites have stayed, but I can't imagine that (except for the views) it was any nice than the Clos, which was a good bit cheaper.
Hôtel Le Clos d'Amboise
27, rue Rabelais, 37400 Amboise
http://www.leclosamboise.com

In Paris: Hôtel Résidence Monge, a great location in the Latin Quarter, near 3 different Metro lines. Rooms are basic, but comfortable and very clean. Everything I'd read had warned how small the rooms were, but I was pleasantly surprised that I had enough floor space to do my morning yoga exercises -- my criterion for an adequate-sized room. We even found a free wifi network (not from the hotel, but somewhere in the neighborhood) so we could get online from our room.
Hôtel Résidence Monge 55, rue Monge 75005 Paris
http://www.hotelmonge.com
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Old May 21st, 2005, 08:27 AM
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PLACES WE WENT -- LOIRE VALLEY:

I spent a lot of time planning a varied itinerary for the Loire Valley. It seemed like a place where you could easily get "chateaued-out" so we interspersed the chateaux with some different types of places -- a cathedral, a winery, a couple of non-chateau house musuems, and an abbey. We also got really lucky in that there were two amazing markets in Amboise the weekend we were there.

I won't spend a lot of time on the guidebook types of descriptions of these places, just note what especially struck us.

Amboise chateau: The interior of this chateau was not particularly memorable -- in fact, at the moment I can't remember anything about it! But the grounds afforded wonderful views of the Loire and the rooftops of Amboise.

Le Clos de Lucé, where Leonardo da Vinci lived out his last years, having been lured to France by King François, and arriving in Amboise on a mule with the Mona Lisa under his arm. The beautiful garden has some incredible full-size working models of many of his inventions.

Chenonceau: You've got to love a chateau with an audio tour on an iPod -- especially when it's so well done. The menage à trois of Henry II with his mistress Diane and his wife Catherine de Medici made quite a spicy little story. And the chateau has been so fantastically restored. We were especially impressed by the huge, amazing fresh floral arrangements in every room.

Montrichard -- our tour of the Caves Monmousseau winery was a real highlight. We were lucky that we were the only ones on the tour, which meant we got it in English. The guide said if just one French person had been there, she'd have had to give it in French. This was a fascinating place -- 10 miles of caves carved into the cliffs (no, you don't walk the full 10 miles, just a short bit of it) to hold a million bottles of wine. The caves were actually created by quarrying stone for the chateaux. The sparkling Vouvray that we tasted at the end was delicious, but we are mainly red wine lovers, and enjoyed the St. Nicolas de Bourgeuil so much that we returned the following day to buy more bottles.

Montrésor -- The third chateau we visited, very different because the owners still live on the property. Interesting to see a chateau done in Polish Victorian, rather than the standard French Renaissance model. I wonder if that really was a Caravaggio portrait, as the label claimed, on the wall.

Bourges -- An awe-inspiring Gothic cathedral, one of the largest in the world. Higher arches than Chartres, with some of the richest stained glass I've ever seen. Also in Bourges, the home of Jacques Coeur, possibly France's first entrepreneur, was interesting, but the tour was a bit too long for anyone who isn't fluent in French. They don't give it in English, and you weren't allowed to go through on your own.
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Old May 21st, 2005, 08:28 AM
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LOIRE VALLEY, continued:

Chinon -- We had to visit here after watching both versions of "The Lion in Winter" before our trip: the original with Katherine Hepburn and Peter O'Toole, and the remake with Patrick Stewart and Glenn Close. Although neither movie was actually filmed here, the historical events take place in this castle, where England's Henry II is holding court with his queen Eleanor of Aquitaine (not to mention of course his mistress; those kings always had their mistresses in tow. Today's Prince Charles obviously lives in the wrong time; if he'd been the heir to the throne back in those days, he and Camilla would have had no problems carrying on their little tete a tetes. And by the way, those kings also went for older ladies. Both Queen Eleanor and Diane, mistress at Chenonceau, were about 20 years older than their paramours.)

Chinon is also famous for being the place where Joan of Arc convinced King Charles to let her have a go at taking a whack at the Brits.

Fontevraud Abbey -- A good segue to the castle of Chinon, since Henry and Eleanor's tombs are here. We wondered why one part of the kitchen garden seemed to be attracting such a large crowd, and found out that's where the marijuana plants (authentic to the era) were growing!

Amboise markets: It turned out that on the Saturday we were in Amboise, there was a "brocante" -- a second-hand market. The market area must be as big as 3 football fields, and I've never seen such a huge collection of junk, which I suppose would qualify as treasures for some people. It was great fun wandering around there, and my friend Mary, who is an ace bargainer, managed to get a Limoges bowl marked at 30 € for 20 €. The impressive thing is that Mary doesn't speak a word of French -- she just asked me what was the word for "twenty" and kept repeating "vingt" at the non-English-speaking vendor until he finally gave in.

Then on Sunday morning the same space was taken over by the food, flower, and clothing market. The clothes were mostly of the K-mart variety -- these markets seem to serve as discount clothes shopping for the French. But the variety of food and flowers was just incredible. It sure was a comedown this morning to have to go buy my groceries at the local Stop and Shop!

NEXT: On to Paris. Also, I will put at the end a list of all the restaurants where we ate.
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Old May 21st, 2005, 09:06 AM
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Your report brings back great memories of our Loire trip in the late 90s. Looking forward to your Paris portion.
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Old May 21st, 2005, 10:03 AM
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I have always been amused at how French marches seem to offer the best of agricultural products and the worst of manufactured products.
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Old May 22nd, 2005, 05:19 AM
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Glad to hear you finally had the trip you deserve, nonnafelice!

We've stayed at the Hotel Monge and found it much as you described it. We had a room overlooking the Arenes, which greatly enhanced the experience for me.

And we'll be in Amboise next month, albeit at Le Manoir les Minimes. Any restaurant recos near there?

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Old May 22nd, 2005, 05:27 AM
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Thanks for sharing, nonna.

Glad your karma got better.

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Old May 23rd, 2005, 11:11 AM
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Next installment: We got to Paris early Sunday afternoon. The guys (in case I didn't mention it, we were traveling with another couple) dropped Mary and me at the hotel and went off to return the car.

Word of warning: anyone who is returning a car to Gare Lyon, make sure you have explicit directions for finding the drop-off point! It took them 2 hours to get back -- about 90 minutes of which was spent trying to find where Europcar had hidden its return center.

It was a beautiful day, and we spent the afternoon just wandering around the Left Bank, having wine and cheese at the Contrescarpe Cafe, and enjoying people-watching in the Luxembourg Gardens. We were struck with how everyone stays on the paths, and the grass is strictly off-limits. One little boy in a family near us ran up the hill onto the grass, and a policeman approached to warn him off. He was very sweet and gentle about it, but made it very clear that this was not permissible!

After dinner at Brasserie Balzar (I'll write about all the restaurants at the end) we took a wonderful moonlight cruise on the Bateau Mouches. We were on the last boat (11 pm) -- mostly just us and about 200 Japanese tourists with every kind of high-tech photo device you can imagine. There were some fantastic photo-ops with all the monuments lit up. Most of the arches on the bridges were outlined in red / blue / yellow / green lights to promote the Paris 2012 Olympic bid, but of course the Eiffel Tower was the highlight, especially when it started twinkling. I am not a late-night person, so it was quite out of character for us to be catching the next-to-last Metro at 1:00 am, and being the only people left on the train when it got to our stop!

We had been to Paris twice already in the last three years and hit most of the must-dos. So this time we mostly just wanted to walk around and soak up the atmosphere. We did get advance tickets for the Orsay, since our friends hadn't been there, and we thought we'd check out the Neo-Impressionism exhibit. It was pretty disappointing -- mostly just a bunch of not-very -interesting paintings in pointillist technique. I wouldn't really recommend it; it couldn't compare at all with the Origins of Abstraction exhibit that we saw in 2003, which was quite insightful and original in its juxtapositions.

Other than that, we walked around Montmartre, which was absolutely jam-packed. That was the day of the holiday that wasn't -- France tried to get public employees to give up the traditional Pentecost Monday holiday to help finance more services for the elderly, hoping to prevent a repeat of anything like the horrible experiences when so many grandmas and grandpas left home alone died in the August heat waves.

Well, most of the French weren't having any of it, and took the day off anyway. I read that the government actually gave every Metro employee a 100-euro bonus to keep them on the job that day! I wondered if the semi-holiday (most of the stores were still open) was a reason so many people were up at Montmartre, but maybe it's usually like that. We had been there once before at Christmas and it wasn't nearly so crowded.
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Old May 23rd, 2005, 11:23 AM
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We also went over to the Pigalle area, where I was back on the Alcott trail. Since I work at the Louisa May Alcott museum in Concord, MA, I've been interested in trying to track the Alcotts through their various European sojourns. I found Louisa's Rome apartment last fall, and in Paris located the apartment where her sister May (the "Amy" of "Little Women") had lived while studying art in Paris. She was quite a talented artist, by the way, although she died quite young and never really realized her potential. But she did have two works admitted into the Paris Salon in the 1870s.

I had one very moving experience on Tuesday morning, walking back from breakfast at the Cafe Mouffetard. We had actually meant to go to Le Pain Quotidien for some of their yummy breads and spreads, but they didn't open till 8:30. So we enjoyed eating at the Cafe Mouffetard just up the street, where a lot of local workers were having their morning coffee, and a little girl was sitting at a table finishing her homework. As we walked back to the hotel, school was starting, and many parents (mostly fathers) were dropping off their kids. One great Parisian scene was a little girl all in pink, with a stuffed monkey hanging off her backpack, holding her father's hand. Under his other arm were three long baguettes.

Anyway, we had just seen all these cute, happy kids on their way to school, when we passed the entrance of another school, and read this sign (which I've translated below). It made me cry.

To the memory of the children,
students of this school,
deported from 1942 to 1944
because they were born Jewish,
innocent victims of Nazi barbarism
with the active complicity
of the Vichy government.

They were exterminated
in the death camps.

Let us never forget them.

--11 January 2003


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Old May 23rd, 2005, 11:33 AM
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Other, happier stops were at Laduree -- thanks to all the Fodorites who clued me in on those incredible macarons -- and Cacao et Chocolat to indulge my major vice. They have the most amazing boxes of chocolates. Every piece has a different little Aztec-type design painted on it that indicates what's inside. It's fun using the code sheet that they supply to find what flavor you are eating. It's kind of like a treasure hunt, with the reward being absolutely sublime rich dark ganache. I brought home a box so I can keep the flavors of Paris going for a while. They have stores on both the Ile St. Louis and Rue Buci.

All too soon it was time to pack up ..and so hard to say au revoir to Paris.

But today, as proof that our karma really is on a roll, we got the check for the trip insurance from our March debacle -- just in time to pay the credit card bills from France!

I will finish this report with a list of restaurants where we ate.

Meanwhile I have posted photos at:
http://www.rozault.com/France2005
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Old May 23rd, 2005, 11:35 AM
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Oh, nonnafelice, you've made my monitor go all blurry. Was that the school in the Marais? I remember reading such a sign there.

The Alcott angle is a very interesting one! Thanks for filling us in on this.

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Old May 23rd, 2005, 11:47 AM
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Nonnafelice,

So glad you had a lovely trip this time. I totally agree with you on Cacao et Chocolat. We were there in March and I loved everything in the shop. I thought the macaroons they offered were fantastic (I liked them better than Laduree). I still have a small pot of their chocolate fondue for when a Paris craving gets out of hand!

We also liked the Hotel Monge.

Amy
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Old May 23rd, 2005, 12:20 PM
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Thank you for the wonderful report. You deserved this good karma trip.
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Old May 24th, 2005, 07:12 AM
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elle, that school we saw was off the Rue Mouffetard in the Latin Quarter. But I wouldn't be surprised if there were similar signs at other schools, especially in the Marais, which I think was traditionally the Jewish area.

You also asked about Amboise restaurants. I'm just about to post a list of all the places we ate.
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Old May 24th, 2005, 07:15 AM
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RESTAURANTS:
We didn't go in for fancy meals, but mostly ate quite inexpensively, but also very well! Here's a list of the places we ate.

AMBOISE:
J. Morel patisserie -- we had breakfast there every morning. Two of the lightest, flakiest croissants, with fresh OJ and coffee for 5 €. (It would have cost us 9.50 € apiece for breakfast at the hotel, and this was more fun.) Our last morning we met a very interesting Australian couple there, who were passionate cooks. They had talked the patisserie owner into letting them come in at 5 am to watch the day's pastries being made, which they said was quite an impressive procedure.

The store manager was telling them how she had to pay a 500-euro tax every year because she didn't want to hire an apprentice. Apparently the French government imposes this tax to encourage people to hire apprentices, both to help the employment situation, and to pass along the artisanal knowledge. But she said she was getting young people who really weren't interested and couldn't even make change for 5 euro, and it was more than 500 euro worth of trouble to have them around!

Anne de Bretagne -- little creperie / brasserie right at the foot of the hill leading up to the chateau. Nothing fancy, but delicious galettes (the buckwheat crepes) and nice sidewalk atmosphere.

Saint Martin pizzeria, just across the street from our hotel Le Clos d'Amboise, on rue de Rabelais. We took out pizza, lasagna, and salad there one night to eat at "home" with a bottle of wine we'd bought at the winery that day, and pastries we'd picked up at one of the many delectable shops. A fun and inexpensive dinner.

Le Parvis: Down a sort of alleyway off the road leading up to the Amboise chateau. Probably the best meal we had in Amboise. They cook their meats over an open wood fire for some fantastic flavors. I had the most delicious lamb brochettes, followed by a floating island, which was one of the best desserts I've ever eaten. Two-course meals with wine totaled 70 € for 4 people. They also had a very creative bit of decor -- a bunch of "grapes" that were actually wine bottles, hanging from the ceiling. There's a photo at:
http://www.rozault.com/France2005/so...isbottles.html

Le Florentine: An Italian restaurant, also on the main road up to the Amboise chateau. The pizza and pasta were good, but the highlight of the evening was sitting outside while a parade of classic cars went by. Imagine a pink 1961 Cadillac making its way down those streets just about big enough for Smart Cars!

MONTRICHARD
We had lunch at Les Tuffeaux, opposite the Tourist Info center on the main square. Excellent 3-course special menu of the day for only 12.50 € -- pate, roast chicken with frites and salade, and ice cream with strawberry sauce.

BOURGES
Lunch at L'Ecrin du Lion d'Or on Place Gordaine, a cute little sidewalk cafe. I had a spectacular piece of cod with bearnaise sauce and fresh spinach for only 7.50 euro. You can see a photo of it, plus the salad with grilled goat cheese that our friend had at:
http://www.rozault.com/France2005/so...rgeslunch.html

CHINON
Creperie du Grand Carroi. We had a nicely prepared, very inexpensive luncheon of galettes at this place, which is near the spot where Joan of Arc dismounted just before her encounter with Charles VII.
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Old May 24th, 2005, 07:19 AM
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RESTAURANTS, continued ....

PARIS:
Brasserie Balzar, 49, rue des Ecoles (5e). Since we were arriving on a Sunday when many restaurants were closed, we decided to make advance dinner reservations, which I could do online at Balzar. I had read about this brasserie in Adam Gopnik's book "Paris to the Moon" -- it was his favorite neighborhood hangout when he lived in Paris (probably about 8 years ago). He wrote about how the neighbors had meetings, petitions, etc., to try (unsuccessfully) to stop its takeover by the Flo conglomerate. Recently I saw reviews saying it hadn't changed much, despite now being part of a chain, and one person said he actually thought it had improved. So I was interested in checking it out.

I would say that Brasserie Balzar didn't really live up to my expectations. The food was only okay. The guys had pepper steak, which they enjoyed, but my roast chicken was not nearly so good as the one I'd had for lunch a few days earlier in Montrichard for about half the price. I guess the place had that old brasserie atmosphere, but I think there are probably lots of better places to eat in Paris for less. Or maybe I'm just not into that particular cuisine, most of which seems pretty heavy to me.

Mezza Luna -- the Rue Buci pizzeria (6e) we fell in love with in December 2003. We liked it so much we ate there 3 times that week. But we were sorry to find the friendly maitre d', Francesco, had moved on, and had not been successful with the restaurant of his own that he tried to start. The gorgonzola and arugula pizza is still as good as ever though! And Mezza Luna has the distinct advantage of being just up the street from Amarino, where you can find gelato almost as good as what you get in Italy.

A Priori Thé, 35-37 Galerie Vivienne (2e). We had tea there one afternoon. The location in an upscale shopping gallery is very pleasant, and the tea and pastries are scrumptious. If you're a chocolate lover, the "American-style" brownie is recommended (it's actually better than any brownie I can remember having at home!). In the past we liked the Reine de Saba cake, but this time around it seemed drier than I remembered, and they've also stopped serving it with Creme Anglaise, which used to make it really special. They also do nice light lunches.

Brasserie St. Benoit, just off Blvd St. Germain in the 6e. We had lunch there -- it seemed to be very popular with the locals. Three of us each had a huge and delicious Salad Nicoise. But the hit of the day was the plat du jambon with a green salad on the side. I wish I had taken a picture of it -- imagine a huge platter completely covered with curly thin slices of beautiful pink ham, no fat, just fantastic flavor. I have never seen a plate of meat that both looked and tasted so good. Oh, and they also brought us complimentary kirs when we sat down. Definitely recommended.

Restaurant Moissonier, 28, rue des Fossés St. Bernard (5e). Julie at the Hotel Monge suggested this place, and it was definitely a highlight of our trip. A real old family-run place, with superb food. I had, on Julie's recommendation, quenelles de Brochet, which was sort of a fish souffle with a creamy sauce, and it was one of the more delicious things I've ever tasted. Desserts of creme brulee with apples and raisins, and rich chocolate cake with a mocha cream sauce were also fabulous. A photo of this meal is at:
http://www.rozault.com/France2005/so...oissonier.html
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Old May 24th, 2005, 07:28 AM
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Hi Nonna!

Thanks for your trip report. We are having a hard time deciding between the Montrichard winery you mentioned and Chateau Moncontour, which is so pretty and sits on the top of a hill outside of Vouvray.

It's good to know that the Montrichard estate had Bourgeuil reds also -- we prefer reds too but love sparkling Vouvray.

Welcome back! We're leaving for Paris/Loire/Burgundy next week...

--Betty
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Old May 24th, 2005, 08:03 AM
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Nonna-
Great report! I am going next week and I am very excited. I will be staying in an apartment on rue Mouffetard across from Place de la Contrascarpe--you mentioned both of these places in your report. Does this seem like it will be a good place to stay?
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Old May 24th, 2005, 10:05 AM
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I am thrilled when I get to see the pictures of other's trips to France. Thank you for that. Great pictures - funny commentary notes too
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Old May 24th, 2005, 10:58 AM
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Betty,

Have a wonderful trip! I don't see how you can go wrong with those destinations. Be sure to give us a full report when you're back.

Do you know whether the Moncontour winery offers an option for tours in English? As I mentioned, we were lucky to get our tour at Monmousseau in English (and the guide spoke excellent English, having lived in the States for a few years). But she wouldn't have given it in English if there was even one French-speaking person there, and I guess they don't offer a choice.

Also, one thing I should probably add about Monmousseau: Most of the tour was deep underground in chilly, musty caves, and one person with us who has asthma was kind of uncomfortable. So that could be a factor in your decision. I would guess that a winery on top of a mountain wouldn't have that problem, unless they take you down in to the mountain.

But Monmousseau was fascinating. I had been there more years ago than I care to tell, when I was in college, and always remembered it as a place I wanted to go back to.
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