Our second day in Blois we awoke early and ordered a taxi to a car rental agency through the front desk of our hotel. Once while visiting Mexico, my father rented a car and received a manual diesel Renault – a common french car. In rural France I hoped for a small Peugeot or Citroën, preferably of an older vintage in which we would tour the countryside. However after signing the proper documents, the agent brought around and handed over the keys to a 2015 Ford Fiesta. I was surprised and slightly disappointed, though given our dining experience the previous evening I probably should not have been.
On our way out of town we stopped at a market and a boulangerie to purchase some bread, cheese - an outstanding local Chabichou du Poutou, as well as a fine Brie - and saucisson. Saucisson is a french cured sausage that is now a consistent staple in my day-to-day cuisine. Having acquired our snacks for the day we began our drive towards Amboise.
Amboise is another city in the Loire Valley, larger and more touristically popular than Blois due to its proximity to the favored and prominent chateaux.
A main thoroughfare runs directly to Amboise and though the speed limit was a meager 80kph and the majority of the vehicles were traveling considerably faster, given my proclivity for racking-up speeding tickets I was making the trip with quite a bit more caution.
Arriving in Amboise en route to the chateau of Chenonceau, we chose to make a small detour through the city in order to get a sense of the layout. The city itself is much larger than Blois, though in reality much less attractive. Thus following our brief sojourn we were glad of our decision to stay in Blois.
After Versailles, Chenonceau is the second most visited chateau in France. The grounds and gardens are massive - though not in the realm of Versailles.
Chenonceau has a rich and interesting history. Initially constructed on the bank of the river, through time it was expanded to form a sort of bridge-like structure spanning the river itself. Further inhabitants of the chateau, mostly widowed queens - or in one entertaining episode the preferred mistress of the King (upon his death she was rapidly evicted on the Queen’s orders and placed in a lesser and more suitable location) - added further levels to the chateau, creating a truly spectacular structure.
One brief and interesting anecdote involves the second world war. During the war the river served as a line of demarcation. Through the small door on the far side, the owner of the chateau was able to smuggle refugees through the building, across the river to freedom.
After touring the chateau we walked the gardens and the grounds. They have a wine cave - in French the word cave means basement or cellar and refers to both a place to store wine as well as a place that sells the product.
Following our visit, we returned to our car and began our trip through the countryside towards Chambord. As mentioned in the previous post, much of the surrounding area closes for the afternoon following an early lunch. Our time at Chenonceau kept us beyond the lunch hour and while driving I found myself in dire need of true sustenance. Given the situation, this proved to be most difficult.
We stopped in several villages along the way in pursuit of a good meal but found no available option. We continued on until I saw a random sign beside the road stating a hotel/restaurant was at the following turn. I sped down the long side road until we arrived at a quaint resort.
Upon entering the resort we realized rather quickly that it was a golf retreat. Not to be put off, we stormed into the club house and took a nice side table and were offered menus. We felt a bit out of place amongst a variety of people clearly dining during their games between the 9th and 10th holes.
The server was friendly and seemed to appreciate our situation, so he took our order quickly and left us to stare at the putting green until the food arrived. The sausage was massive, though I do have to say it was perhaps the best of its kind I have ever had. The mustard sauce was terrific and the fries were perfectly crispy and all of the awkwardness I felt at being the lone non-golfers at what was clearly a golf retreat quickly dissipated and I thoroughly enjoyed my lunch.
Andouillette in Country Mustard Sauce
After lunch we continued along in our small Fiesta towards the Chateau de Chambord. It was truly a pleasure, after living in Paris, to drive through the French countryside amongst the agricultural societies similar, though obviously different, to those I'd grown up around.
The Chateau at Chambord is spectacular. The outward grandiose design of the Chateau is rivaled only by its exquisite interior. One of the primary intrigues of the Chateau of Chambord is the internal double staircase – where two equal staircases climb the center of the building, round about each other so one can witness another person climbing or descending the same direction while never meeting on the same path. This is accomplished by winding an alternative stairway opposite that of the primary so both traverse the castle while winding around each other.
Chambord is an incredible and awe-inspiring chateau. The intricacies of the building are incredible and inspired and I was most impressed by this particular visit. I wondered while visiting, how the King could live so close yet inhabit such a smaller and lesser chateau in Blois and not oust the habitant of Chambord in order to procure a more grandiose palace for himself.
We left Chambord just after sundown and drove the minor distance back to our hotel in Blois. On our way we stopped to purchase more bread and cheese, having grown rather hungry during our visit, in order to hold us off until dinner.
Back at the hotel we found ourselves satiated from our late-afternoon snacks and fell asleep fairly early.
We awoke famished the following morning and returned our car to the rental agency. Afterwards we walked into town to have a coffee and potentially breakfast at a café.
Beginning at a café on the small square by the river we took an espresso. Our train was to depart before noon and we knew it was in our best interest to have a substantial meal prior to boarding the train.
We ordered a second espresso and when the waiter came by I asked about the possibility of having breakfast (or petite déjeuner as it's known in France). The waiter was amicable and smiled before saying that it doesn't exist (n’existe pas) in Blois. He told me that in Blois one goes to a boulangerie, then has a coffee and “voilà petite déjeuner”.
Undeterred we paid our tab and walked until we found a small restaurant that seemed to be opening. Inside I spoke with the owner and though they weren't open yet, convinced him to have two croque monsieurs (a traditional french version of a ham and cheese sandwich smothered in cheese) prepared for us, one without ham (sans jambon) for the vegetarian.
After a short time the waiter brought us our plates and asked in French (all conversations in Blois take place in French) if we are British. Evidently the only visitors to Blois with the audacity to demand actual food before noon are English tourists.
The croque monsieurs were outstanding and came with a side salad with a terrific vinaigrette, though the cheese-loaded sandwiches were rather heavy for 10:30 in the morning.
After eating we paid our bill and walked to the station to catch our return train to Paris.