Bikes and Barrels
We chose to base ourselves near Chinon for our second visit to the Loire Valley.
La Closerie Saint-Martin
Our home for three nights was ‘La Closerie Saint-Martin’, a B&B run by a lovely Swiss couple, Katharina and Marcel, is situated in the quiet hamlet (hameau) of Les Roches Saint-Paul. Our room, ‘Le Frère Tourier’ was conveniently located on the ground floor in the 14th century part of the house. This gave us direct access to the foyer for our bikes. Take a look at the website for some more photos of this stunning property. I highly recommend this accommodation.
Our room ‘Le Frère Tourier’
Chris preparing to assemble our bikes in the foyer
A closerie is a small, enclosed area. Open the gate and enter a charming secret courtyard and terrace, which is a perfect spot to sip a glass of wine in the afternoon. Our visit was in early summer and the scent of jasmine, roses, lavender and rosemary perfumed the air. We were enthralled watching the hummingbird moths flit from flower to flower.
Open the gate and enter a secret closed garden, La closerie
The terrace was perfect for a glass of wine in the afternoon
Hummingbird moth
Our hosts provided a wonderful breakfast each day and also offered dinner (table d’hôtes) on a few nights of the week. Dinner was a gastronomic feast of four courses that included wine from their own cellar, which you could also visit for an aperitif. We certainly took up this offer. Katharina and Marcel spoke English, German and French and our dinners were lively events where we shared stories with some German and Belgian visitors long into the night.
From this property I had my very first bike ride in France.
About to head off on my very first bike ride in France
The Loire Valley is a haven for bike riders of all levels. There are plenty of places to hire a bike and many routes to explore. Here is an example:
https://www.touraineloirevalley.co.uk/the-green-path-from-richelieu-to-chinon/
You can also find out more on ‘My Favourite French Connections’ page about cycling in France.
https://www.frenchviews.com.au/my-favourite-french-connections
One morning we rode through the countryside past fields of vegetables, wheat and poppies to the village of Richelieu where we enjoyed a hot chocolate in a small bar.
Enjoying a hot chocolate before the return ride
We then raced back, against a strong head wind, to meet up with Alain Caillemer for a private tour of some local wineries. The tour had been organised months beforehand with our hosts. Alain was a local gentleman and he drove us to three wineries. Unfortunately, I have been unable to find current information about his tours but I do suggest a private wine tour as a wonderful activity in this area.
Our first visit was to ‘Clos des Cordeliers’ in Saumur-Champigny where we saw gas heaters used in the vineyard to stop the frost from damaging the vines. There were 1,860 gas heaters that needed to be individually ignited to expel the frost. We enjoyed a tasting and purchased a couple of bottles of wine.
Gas heaters in the vineyard of Clos des Cordeliers
Chris deep in conversation about the wines
‘Château de Targé’ in Saumur-Champigny was a rather grand place, dating back to 1655, and was partially built into the local tufa stone. There were many troglodyte dwellings nearby. We tried a lovely dessert wine and purchased a bottle to enjoy later in our trip.
Château de Targé set into the local tufa stone
Our final stop, ‘Château La Trochoire’ in Couziers, was a completely different experience. At the time of our visit in 2015, the château was in need of some TLC. The rather eccentric owner, Edouard, showed us around his winery and cellars that were steeped in history. He then conducted the wine tasting for us. We added another couple of bottles to our afternoon’s shopping collection.
In the cellars of Château la Trochoire
Edouard, c’est moi and Alain Caillemer enjoying a wine tasting
‘Le Vazereau’ is a goat farm with a shop. We met some of the lovely goats and then purchased two different goat’s cheese and some yogurts.
Friendly goats at Le Vazereau
At the end of our tour, Alain drove us to pick up more food supplies. Back at our B&B, Alain was excited to see his name in my copy of Lonely Planet ‘France Best Trips: 39 Amazing Road Trips’. Later, we enjoyed eating and drinking our purchases on the terrace in the courtyard of La Closerie Saint-Martin.
Fortress Chinon, the town of Chinon and the Vienne River
Chinon lies on the Vienne River, which joins the Loire River further west at Candes-St-Martin. It’s a wonderful town to stroll through and explore with a royal fortress, which dates back to the 10th Century. There are many gorgeous châteaux to visit in the area but that will be another story.
