Oh, I hope y’all have so much fun!!!!

We were just in the Loire Valley in the fall – Tours is amazing esp the farmers’ market and the old town. We really liked Chinon and stayed there for a few days – it is close to many of other places. There is a great little bar (cafe Francaise). Also make sure you drive down all the bike trails – they are big enough for a car and the scenery is spectacular.

If you’re going anywhere near Saumur, I strongly recommend the restaurant l’Escargot (http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g187199-d2035888-Reviews-L_Escargot-Saumur_Anjou_Loire_Valley_Maine_et_Loire_Pays_de_la_Loire.html). It’s a fantastic little place. Have fun!

You should def stay at Troglododo…some wonderful cave rooms just outside Azay le Rideau (which is a lovely castle too). We stayed there a few years ago and the rooms were utterly magical. I had made my mother cycle 40 miles that day and she said it was all worth it when she saw the rooms. The prices were reasonable, the owners really friendly and the breakfast was my best ever in France!!

http://www.troglododo.fr/Bienvenue_chez_Troglododo/Accueil.html

I’m going to second the visit to Amboise & le Clos Luce and would recommend eating at l’Epicerie which is right on the square across from the Chateau, but our favorite Amboise restaurant is Le Parvis which is on rue Mirabeau, just off the main square.

We go to this restaurant each time we visit the Loire area!
La Chanceliere
1 Rue Bellevue, 41150 Chaumont-sur-Loire, France
0254339171

We really enjoyed Château de Chenonceau with our three-year-old in September, they have a little playground. The potager were beautiful, but there might not be much there now!

The Cave des Producteurs de Vouvray has an interesting tour where you can see how they hand turn the sparkling wine and it is a great place for tasting, with even a teeny coloring station for kids. http://www.cp-vouvray.com/

We stayed at the Domaine des Bidaudieres, Rue du Peu Morier, 37210 Vouvray. http://www.bidaudieres.com
It was a neat old house, just a teensy bit tired, but with gorgeous grounds and grapevines to run through.

Have fun!

As Del did, I advise you to visit Brittany. It is such a beautiful part of France, with a deeply interesting history and a magnificient landscape. Visit Rennes, which is sort of the ‘capital’ of the region, have a walk in the old town and the park and eat at L’Auberge du Pont d’Acigné, a fabulous 1* restaurant nearby. Drive to Saint Malo, have a walk on the old battlements. The View of the sea is beautiful from there. Have ice-cream at Sanchez, they’re widely known in Ille et Vilaine for their delicious scoops! (Amour de glace is a personal favourite). Stop at Le Mont Saint Michel, a must-see. If you’re lucky enough to see it under the snow as I did once, you’ll fall in love. When it’s warm outside, you can walk from the coast to the island through the sifting sands. It’s great fun! I guess at the moment, it would be a little cold.
Way further away, head to the very West. Camaret, first; have a walk on the cliffs and admire the Tas de Pois. Then head to the Pointe du Raz. I believe this is the furthest West France can do.
If you’ve got enough time, doing a road trip along the coast of Brittany, visiting small ports and stopping for local food (the biscuits, galettes and palets, are amazing; they make delicious kouign amann, caramel with salted butter and, of course, crêpes) is the best you could do.
On this road trip, you should also listen to traditional musique bretonne. Try something by the bagad de Lann-Bihoué or Nolwen Leroy’s ‘Bretonne’.

I hope you enjoy the rest of your time in France. Reading your posts and reading about your life amongst us is a pleasure to me!

We stayed in this farmhouse b&b in Montrichard (http://www.maison-carre.com/) and rented bicycles to get to Chenonceau. It was in August when we were there and biking through fields of sunflowers and butterflies was possibly the very best vacation memory I have of all time.

OoOOo I’m so excited for you and your little side trip!!

We loved our travels to the Loire Valley, and Normandy. We loved Chambord, Amboise, Chenonceau and went to a few off the beaten path (forgive my spelling as it was a few years ago…) that went by the names of Villandrie and Chateau du Riveau.

Also, if you have a chance to go to Da Vinci’s home (Close Luce), it’s very interesting and full of stories! And there’s a castle across the street so it’s doubly fun.

Enjoy the weekend!!

Hi
a very good idea ! I live in Tours. My favourite castles are Chambord and Chenonceau. I also love going during the week-ends to visit the garden of Villandry (the castle is not so interesting). If the icecream/crêpes is open at the entrance, try one of their ice cream. The best icecream ever, that comes from le palais des glaces in Tours (Rose/ Verveine menthe is my favourite). Another great place to visit is Fontevreau Royal abbey http://www.abbayedefontevraud.com/v3/se-restaurer-se-reposer/ and I never stay there but I would love to spend one night in the abbey ! The restaurant La Chancelière used to be a great great one (our favourite place), but I do not recommend you this one anymore since the chef changed last september (the same for Chateau d’Artigny). You will find a lot of good restaurants in Tours : http://www.rocheleroy.com/index_gb.html (we love it ! ), Bardet, Les chandelles gourmandes, L’auberge du XII e siècle, http://leslinottesgourmandes.com/ in the center of Tours, http://www.restaurant-ladeuvaliere.com/english/index.html in the center of the city as well. If you want to buy the typical charcuterie from Tours go to the “Bourdeau charcuterie” under the market “Les halles” in the center of Tours.
If you go to Chinon try the pastry : tarte vigneronne (apple pie with Chinon wine) from the pastry La Feuillantine 34 Quai Jeanne d’Arc, 37500 Chinon (you can also try their “éclairs” the best ever on earth). Go in any charcuterie, they are all good. Chinon is a great place to eat and enjoy the wine !
Have a great week end.

Have a lovely weekend!
Please try to stop by Leonardo da Vinci’s home, and King Francis’s Château in Amboise.
Larry and I leave Texas each November, and spend time in our little apartment on rue de Segur. Thank you for your blog, is perfection, helping me when I am quite homesick….
Forgive me, enough rambling…..have a perfect weekend. Looking forward to your entries next week. A bientot. Toujours, Robin

If you take a trip back to the States you’ll have spring! It seems like winter may have left us this year. I hope your trip is lovely! I hope to make it over to Europe sometime soon – maybe France will be on my list!

I definitely agree with everyone on going to Chambord and Chenanceau…! Very photogenic castles!

If you want to discover Toulouse, let me now !!!

As I’m French, here is the list of my favourite French places : the Puy-de-Dôme (it’s a department) to hike among the beautiful green volcanoes of the Chaîne des Puys (great in spring/summer), la Bretagne (Brittany) because there are great beaches (but cold water) and beautiful landscapes (and tasty crêpes). I like the city of Lyon too (i live there : )

I can’t remember if you’ve made it down to the south of France yet — I’d definitely say to try and get there if you can. It’s such a distinct culture unto itself, so different from north and mid-france. Enjoy the loire!

I see someone has already recommended St. Malo. Brittany is indeed lovely. From St. Malo you can take a boat up the river Rance and disembark at Dinan port. You can easily spend days in St. Malo and Dinan. We know Brittany, Paris and the champagne regions well (though not much about the rest of France) and these are our two favorite locations.