Chateaus, Le Mans, and Au Revoir France

Our last night with the Classic Travelling group at a beautiful Chateau in the Loire Valley

After a long drive through the Loire Valley from the Dordogne, we arrived at Chateau Beauvois. The drive was through beautiful towns, and on a Sunday when we would have expected the locals to be out and about, we found villages empty and no one around. 

Finally got the top down

A few classics

Entry hall at the Chateau

After the long drive, we relaxed a bit with the group in the beautiful garden courtyard and then headed to our last dinner, which was bittersweet, since we had so enjoyed all of our driving buddies.  

Starter: pressed fresh vegetables in aspic with a carrot sorbet

Sea bream with truffle, asparagus, and red pepper coulis

Farewell Chateau Beauvois

The next morning we were up bright and early. Our route was going to take us to Le Mans, and our plan was to stop at the museum , spend an hour or two, and then head to Paris on the motorway.  When you approach Le Mans, you are actually driving on part of the 24 hour race circuit, so I ticked that off the bucket list.  Unfortunately, or fortunately, I was behind some very slow trucks.  The museum is well worth a visit with some amazing classic cars, and great videos about the race. 

Notice the leather straps holding the hood down

I have been enamored with these cars forever; they are so ugly they are cute

A Woody!

After another 2 hour drive, we arrived at Charles DeGaulle airport to spend the night.  We said au revoir to France, and the next day we were sitting at Enoteca Properzio enjoying our first (of many) glasses of wine.  France, you were grand, but there is no place like home.  Ciao for now.  

Rosso di Montefalco

Water, Water Everywhere

After Lascaux, we drove to Le Moulin du Roc, our hotel for the next two nights.  This hotel was my favorite, it is an old mill, surrounded by water, and the sound of the water wheel and the rushing river all contributed to making it a delightful stay.  The video was taken from our room, with this lovely view. 

water wheel

The hotel features a lot of interesting rooms, with period pieces, and an excellent dining room. 

Hobbit house

After spending the night, we were off to Brantome, where legend has it Charlemagne built an Abbey.  Brantome is also surrounded by water, and it's a lovely town, with shops and restaurants.  Since we began this trip, it has been raining and cold almost every day, I've been wearing the same sweater and raincoat since I arrived in Europe on April 2nd, and plan to burn them when I get home---right now I still need them to stay warm and dry!  We have had the top down twice on the Mercedes, and that has been a disappointment, but these beautiful roads and the towns we have stopped at have more than made up for the less than stellar weather. 

Dr. C. trying to stay warm

After a lovely lunch by the river, we headed back to the hotel and dodged the rain while taking another walkabout on the beautiful grounds of the mill.  Tomorrow we head to the Loire Valley for our last night together.  The group will head back to Britain on the ferry, and we will head to Paris, and a flight back to Italy on Tuesday morning.  Ciao for now.

A Little Pre-History and a Bit of Charlemagne

The Lascaux II caves are an amazing representation of the original

After leaving the Sarlat area, we headed to Montignac, and the caves at Lascaux.  Although we'd been there twice, 8 to 10 years ago, this tour was so much better, with a guide who loved what he did, rather than a herd through to get to the end.  The reason was that they have built a new visitors center, which also has representations of the original caves, as well as a pre-history laboratory and movies to show how the caves were discovered.  The last time I was there the Lascaux caves tour was 15 minutes, and no photos were allowed.  This time, as you can see, I was allowed to take photos and videos and the tour was much more satisfying.  If you go, only do Lascaux II, Lascaux IV is a beautiful museum, but a repeat of the Lascaux II caves.  

The drawings in the original caves are over 2000 years old.  This is astounding given that we were walking where these artists walked and spent their lives.  

Abbey of Brantome

Charlemagne was here

After checking out of our hotel, we headed to Brantome, where tradition has it that Charlemagne founded the Abbey di Brantome.  Brantome is one of those lovely villages that you want to revisit since it's so picturesque.  The Abbey itself is interesting, and the village is surrounded by water, and thus feels like a tiny island untouched by the outside world.  

Rare to see ducks in the wild since they are usually on your dinner plate

After our visit, we headed off to find our hotel for the next 2 nights, Le Moulin du Roc.  

This was the view from our room.  Since we have been in Europe, the weather has been cold and rainy.  Bits of sunshine have been few and far between and the top down on the convertible has only happened once.  Ciao for now.