Born where the broad, majestic Missouri flows into the even mightier Mississippi, flat stretches of agricultural floodplain bordered by forested limestone bluffs are in my blood. It might not be my favourite landscape (I'll always vote for a powdery beach leading to a coral reef), but it's the one that's inscribed on my DNA.
Perhaps that's why ... despite the foreign language, food and history ... I feel so comfortable in the Loire Valley. There are places along the Loire levee where you could easily be in the Chesterfield bottomlands, minutes from my childhood home. The grassy earth embankment falls down to a wide, meandering river with wooded banks and the occasional island. On the other side, fields of new-sewn wheat and corn stretch to little towns huddled against the bluffs. The trick of getting anywhere here is knowing where the bridges are, and some are as nail-bitingly narrow and rusty as my home state's worst. Even the grape vines are familiar, though the the result of a few centuries' more experience tends to be a more respected end product. And, just like my home, this is the nexus of many rivers. The Illinois, the Meremec and numerous other tributaries join the Missouri and Mississippi. Here, the Indre, Cher and Vienne complement the Loire, forming a rich ecosystem.
Of course, comparisons only go so far. This has been a much-desired crossroads of Europe for thousands of years, making it almost as lush in history and architecture as it is in agricultural produce. It is also perhaps the ideal compromise location for Mr. and Mrs. Bencard. I get one of the densest conglomerations of noteworthy stately homes anywhere in the world. It's hard to drive more than five miles here without some spectacular chateau's tower's rearing onto the horizon, and many are stuffed with gorgeous art and furniture. The bigger ones have spectacular gardens, but a casual drive is enough to delight a horticulturalist's eye ... especially at this time of year, when lilacs, wisteria, flowering fruit trees and iris are all blooming in profusion. The husband gets lots of history, much of it military. It's hard to believe it from today's placid, affluent landscape, but this whole area was a nasty front line in World War II. The Hundred Years war and the revolution left significant scars. You'll even find one of the world's most comprehensive tank museum's here.
If we get sick of each other's sightseeing preferences, it's a simple place to navigate on one's own. (The French kept that Roman fondness for straight roads that the Brits so quickly abandoned.) This is a place to feed our mutual passion for food and wine. The latter, in fact, is one of the main reasons we're here. The husband (aka chief sommelier) is on the hunt for great light reds. They're produced here in Bourgueil, Chinon and Saumur, but rarely turn up in the UK. There's an equal profusion of quality whites, and even some surprises like sparkling red, all either impossible to get in the UK or far cheaper.
We're staying at a rental property (known as a gite in France) in Fondettes, on the outskirts of Tours. With Orleans, this is one of the two bustling urban centres of the Loire region, but by far the better choice when it comes to the sheer abundance of chateaux and wine regions. We can, if we wish, fill all 16 of our days with sightseeing without ever driving more than an hour; though some days will be spent simply, in the quiet repose offered by our holiday home.
Our holiday home is one of a trio of buildings sitting on a terrace cut into the ridge on the northern bluffs of the Loire. We can just glimpse the occasional glimmer of sunshine on the water, about half a mile away, behind trees, farm fields and the property's own sloping gardens ... now laden with lilac and fruit trees in heavy bloom. Our landlady, the gracious and genial Marie-Claude, lives in the middle; this is one of the outbuildings on either side of her home. I'd guess it was once a barn or garage.
Now it's been converted into a cosy space, with a sitting/dining area, kitchenette and bathroom downstairs, and a comfortable bedroom beneath timbered eves above. (A word of warning: the two are linked by a compact spiral staircase that's a hassle if you need to use the bathroom in the middle of the night; this is not a property for the less-agile.) The decor is bright and festive. Upstairs, you feel as if you've been wrapped in a Provencal tablecloth; downstairs, the high-ceilinged space is given warmth by wallpaper of butterflies supping at poppies and daisies, balanced by contrasting walls of elegant stripes. It's all very French. We have a choice of tables and lounge areas in the garden outside our door, and though Marie-Claude is just a stone's-throw away it's been very private because her primary entry and exit are beyond our view. We only see her when she drops by to make sure everything is going well.
There's WiFi, though not enough to support the Apple TV device we brought along. Thus our evening entertainment is videos run off our laptops. Attempting to understand French TV is probably more mental strain that we want on holiday.
Cooking is always a bit of a challenge in holiday homes. Though we have all the basics here ... two hobs, a microwave that doubles as an oven, essential cookware ... our ambitions have already overstretched our capabilities. Grocery stores here are filled with beguiling ingredients, and the temptation can be to create some magnificent stuff. After calcifying a once-magnificent duck breast and failing to thicken a red wine sauce properly without a bit of flour, we've cut back on our culinary aspirations. We did, however, remember to bring our own knives and a small box of our own herbs and spices; holiday rental essentials for the serious cook.
And cooking here is a must, because Fondettes is an oddly isolated place. While there is a village centre with a few shops and snack bars, it seems to basically be a sleepy commuter suburb of Tours. More historic properties are outnumbered by modern housing estates, big schools and an enormous, modern grocery store. You're more likely to find doctors' offices and hair-dressers than tourist shops and, sadly, there's neither bistro nor the classic bakery to pick up your daily bread within walking distance. On the positive side, it's incredibly quiet and the nearest village with tourist charm, Luynes, is less than two miles up the road. (Photo above, on the left.)If you're thinking about renting a gite in France, it's worth remembering that most expect you to bring your own towels and sheets, plus basics like toilet paper, laundry detergent, washing up liquid, etc. It's therefore a much better option for those who can drive here; taking up packing sp
ace with all that stuff would be a hassle if you were flying. (Though you can arrange to hire sheets and towels from Marie-Claude.) If you're staying in one place for a week or more, however, this is fabulous value for money, at less than £60 a night for the two of us.
This is our third successful rental through HomeAway.com (known as VRBO in the States), making it my go-to resource for holiday homes. To check out and rent Marie Claude's gite for yourself, visit this page.
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