Into the Loire Valley

 

We left Nantes for Tours on Sunday at 11 am. We drove about 1 hour and 45 minutes to the beautiful town of Saumur. On the way, Donal gave a summary of the match and relayed how Johnny Sexton had become the top scorer in Irish rugby history. He then sat out the second half to avoid injury. Donal said the team is returning to the form they need to advance in the tournament. Everyone is looking forward to seeing them play South Africa next weekend. Donal also made one of the “baby men” (named by Mary) do a walk of shame of the entire bus for asking Donal’s wife to launder and iron his T-shirt. Donal said he had thrown men off buses for less. It was very funny. 

We had about an hour in Saumur to explore and eat lunch. We found a beautiful church and saw the castle  but didn’t climb up the many steps to see it from the top. All around were beautiful white limestone buildings, shining in the sun. We window shopped in the picturesque lanes - most stores were closed. We found a place near the River for sandwiches and cokes. 

We got back on the bus and drove to Gratien & Meyer, maker of sparkling wines, for a tour and tasting. The tour guide took us into the caves to show photos and various machinery. The caves were “fresh” which is cold but very humid. It is the perfect temperature for aging sparkling wines. There were 5 kilometers of caves, enough to age 5 million bottles. There were some cool carvings in the caves, including a man with wooden shoes. They use the same method as for making champagne but are not in the champagne region so they are not allowed to call their wines champagne. They do two fermentations, one in steel vats, and one in the bottle. The second one develops the gas bubbles. They put a temporary cap on and rotate the bottles. It used to be done by hand but now it is all mechanized. A worker would turn 50,000 bottles a day. They age for various periods 18 months to two years to develop the gas. Then they tip the bottles, freeze the tops and remove the temporary caps and the sediment. They add the corks and seal it with foil. Unlike still wine, sparkling wine should be drunk right away, not aged further at home. It will actually degrade the wine to keep it too long. We were able to taste 4 of their wines, and we liked two of them so much that Mary bought 2 bottles to share at the hotel. The prices were very reasonable. Sue bought a poster showing their cool setting, up on a hill overlooking the River. At the tasting it was discovered that four couples, including Sue and Nick, were celebrating wedding anniversaries. There were toasts and applause all around.

Back on the bus, we took a scenic drive along the Loire River (the longest river in France) and saw many troglodyte dwellings carved into the cliff sides. Maria pointed out a church with its doors to the River where pilgrims in boats could easily enter. We stopped and got off the bus to look at the Chateau Langeais, a stunning 15th-century fairytale type castle in a small River town. 

It was then a short trip into Tours, to the Oceana Hotel for the next 3 nights. The team also is staying in Tours, so there’s a chance we may see some of them. It started raining as we unpacked the bus. The rooms are large and comfortable. We did not venture out, choosing to stay and watch rugby on tv. We ate a cheese and meat platter and enjoyed the sparkling wine Mary bought. We had an early night in preparation for Amboise tomorrow.