Three Months in the Loire

[Schneier]

So, I've been here for almost two weeks now.

I'm writing a daily travelogue, mostly about food, here. (Actually, my wife and I are both posting.)

Enjoy.

Bruce

[bushey]

Sounds absolutely wonderful. Last year I read a book about a group of friends who did the same thing in the Loire valley. It was written by the guy who used to own a restaurant in the Strawberry Banke section of Portsmouth, NH. There are some great recipes. Here it is.

(edited to include link to book info)

Edited July 30, 2004 by bushey (log)

[dlc]

I know that you will have a ball. Five years ago we spent a month about 5-7 km upstream in Savennieres. We loved the area, great produce, Chinon, Bourgeuil, and Savonnieres Clos du Chene Vert wines. Your blog makes us want to return to this perfect little area of France

[menton1]

Thanks for the travelogue, Bruce-- it reads quite nicely. While the Loire Valley is not my top choice of French regions, staying anywhere in France for 3 months has to be heavenly.

P.S. Heard you on Air America this morning-- I guess a security career allows for 3-month vacations!! (Jealous!)

Bon Chance!

[Schneier]

P.S. Heard you on Air America this morning-- I guess a security career allows for 3-month vacations!! (Jealous!)

There's power here. There are phones here. I have wireless Internet in my gite. I am working here just as I work anywhere.

I told the radio I was on vacation, because it's way easier to explain.

(How did the Air America bit sound? To me, it was pretty much devoid of content.)

Bruce

[Carlsbad]

I'm jealous.

[Betts]

Karen -Please keep on posting such great reports. I love the texture and honesty of them.

Beth

[mnfoodie]

Karen -Please keep on posting such great reports. I love the texture and honesty of them.

Why, thank you! :-)

[Schneier]

(I booked this gite through the excellent services of Esilda Buxbaum (wife of our own Bux) of Humbert Travel in New York: 545 Madison Avenue, 212-688-3700 ext 3016. Definitely recommended.)

This is a photo of the front gate of the Lepage's property. In this picture, look at the left pillar. On the side you can see a bell. If the gate is closed, you can ring the bell and hope someone hears it. We have a key.

Here the gate is open. Walking in through the gate, this is what you see. That's the Lepage's house on the right. That's our gite on the left. (You'll see these more clearly in a bit.) And that's our car, closest to the camera. Behind it is the shed that Patrick has been building.

Here is a picture of our gite. We have the left side of this building. To the right of the gite you can see one of the two caves; it's the one that Patrick has his workshop in. Above the cave--which is the back wall of the property--is a field of some kind.

Okay, here is a better picture of the space between the two buildings. Our gite is on the left, and the Lepage's house is on the right. The cave is the opening with the wooden doors; the other opening only goes back a few feet.

The Lepage's house.

This is our building. The window and door on the left are ours. So is that small window in the middle. The sliding door belongs to the gite next door, as does the table and chairs. Our table and chairs are off to the left, and you can see them better here. We've eaten every meal so far on that outside table. Also in this picture are our two lounge chairs, and a small building on the left. Patrick says that there's an old well in this building. It's locked, and we haven't yet been inside. Behind our table and chairs, you can see the door to cave.

This, this, and this are pictures of the grounds. The lone shirt on the line is not ours.

Here is a picture of our building from another angle, showing the other gite and the door to Patrick's cave more clearly.

This is the front of our gite, and this is the side. That door goes into our kitchen. Here is the cave door, in all it's glory.

Okay, now let's go inside.

Here are four (one, two, three, and four) pictures of our living room. On the shelf under the stairs you can make out our impressive array of electronics. And here and here are two pictures of our kitchen. That appliance on the right in the first picture is our combination oven/dishwasher. In the second picture, you can see our washing machine, refrigerator, and microwave oven.

This picture looks down a small corridor from the kitchen to the bathroom. That shelf is what serves as our pantry. And there are two (one and two) pictures of our bathroom. Please excuse the ugly green bathtub, sink, and toilet.

Onwards to the stairs. This picture of the upstairs corridor shows our bedroom door on the left and a bathroom door on the right, and this picture of the corridor shows the guest room door.

Here are four (one, two, three, and four) pictures of our bedroom. And another four (one, two, three, and four) pictures of the guest room.

This is a picture of the upstairs bathroom. Yes, it's tiny. To flush the toilet, you have to open the cabinet door behind the bowl.

Now comes the moment you've all been waiting for: the cave door. Come inside. This picture is taken just inside the door, looking to the right. On the left are our bicycles, protected under a tarp. You can also see some construction materials, and a window. We have not yet explored that window. This is another picture taken at the doorway, this time angled to the left. There's nothing in that large concrete thing. Going further into the cave, you can see the wine storage and some more random pieces of concrete. Here is a better look at the contruction inside the cave. It can't go very deep, otherwise it would open up into Patrick's cave. And this is the back of the cave. That doorway on the right wall, at the back, leads to a short corridor and eventually to Patrick's cave.

Any questions?

Bruce