CHATEAU COUNTRY part 2

May 26-28, 2005

Helene and Jean-Rene were cordial, accommodating and entertaining hosts.  As we sat in the gardens enjoying a welcoming beverage we decided to stay over another day and made arrangements with our hosts.

For dinner we strolled a few kilometers to the recommended restaurant, Les Closeaux, where we had a wonderful meal al fresco.  When we mentioned that our hosts had recommended them, the hostess immediately brought us a complementary glass of wine and some snacks for an aperitif.  We had ordered a bottle of wine, and that came shortly too.  Our appetizer arrived; thin layers of filo dough coated with goat cheese, tomatoes and sardines, then broiled.  Next our salmon entrees came, followed by cheese and dessert.  We had delicious French coffee to finish.  By then it was after 10pm and the hostess came to the table and asked if we would like a ride home.  The restaurant owner very graciously drove us home so we didn’t have to walk in the pitch black.

We had a good sleep in our nice big bed and woke to a nice sunny day.  Staying out in the country as we have been doing, we never hear the roar of airplanes, trucks and cars, or factories.  We wake up to birds cheeping, sometimes a donkey braying or a rooster crowing. 

For breakfast Helene served us delicious French toast in her charming day room.  This was accompanied by her homemade jams.  One jam was fig and the other was banana rhubarb.  The banana rhubarb was especially delicious and we ate the whole pot.

The furniture here is really interesting.  There is a wonderful, enormous clock, with a huge brass pendulum, which swings back and forth in an ominous rhythm.  While we were sitting there having breakfast I expected a sonorous BONG! But when the clock did chime it very politely went ‘tink, tink, tink,” 9 times.  This clock is encased in wood and has a rustic floral design painted on it.  We wanted to ask more about its history, but never got a chance.  The barn of this place has huge purple doors and we tried to talk to Helene about the name of her B&B.  La Maladrie refers to a nursing home or a recovery place, because Helene is a nurse.  But, Don and I think, to help customers identify it, the name should be "Les Grandes Portes Violetes". 

After breakfast we took off for my favorite chateau, Chenonceaux.  This chateau is the one that Henry gave to Diane de Poitiers, and then Catherine de Medici took away.  Chenonceax stretches across the river and has two gardens and is really lovely.  We took the audio tour and learned all about the chateau through the years.

From Chenoneaux we rode on to Clos du Luce, the final home of Leonardo da Vinci.  There we saw his bedroom, where he could look upon the massive chateau of Amboise, where his sponsor. Francois I stayed.  The home is furnished and the basement has models of many of da Vinci’s creations—ball bearings, the first automobile, etc.  We visited this museum several years ago and found that on this visit, while it is quite interesting, the models had been allowed to deteriorate and the admission price was very expensive--e12.50 each.

Arriving back at La Maladrie, we joined our host and hostess and the other couple who were guests at the chambre d’hote, for drinks and appetizers.  We stumbled through some chit chat and finally we all got up and said goodbye.  I made a big tuna salad for Don and I in the nice kitchen available for guests.  After dinner it was back to the room for a bit of computer planning, reading and off to dreamland.