Amboise, a small town in the Loire Valley, is known primarily for its overbearing medieval castle- once home to some of France’s most famous rulers, as well as to Catherine of Medici’s ten children!

Amboise is also renowned for Clos-Lucé, the stately home where Leonardo da Vinci (invited by the French King Francois I) spent the last years of his life.  We recently discovered that Amboise is also noted for it’s Sunday morning open-air market- for us, this meant the discovery of some new cheeses and cheese desserts.

At first I thought it was a mistake- that the unidentified food item sitting on the vendor’s booth was burnt, really burnt. Turns out, that’s the way a tourteau au fromage is supposed to be. Made from thick, creamy fromage blanc this cake is originally from the Poitou-Charentes region of France. Outside, it’s round and looks like a turtle shell, or rather a crab shell (in French, a tourteau is a large crab). Did I mention it looks like a burnt crab shell? Inside, it’s light, airy and slightly sweet. We were told we could eat this delight either with an aperitif or for breakfast- it didn’t actually make it that far.

The next foodie adventure was camembert au Calvados- basically soft cheese soaked in alcohol and then covered in bread crumbs. Calvados is a brandy made of distilled apple or pear from Normandy. I had trouble deciding if I actually liked this cheese or not- it was smooth and creamy like ordinary camembert, yet had a very strong kick, thanks to the Calvados. We ended up saying, “It’s different.” Definitely worth trying, but might not make regular appearances on the cheese platter.

Next post: Still in the Loire, but this time…chocolate in Bracieux.

We didn’t really know if we were supposed to eat the heads or not!

Looking back at our most-recent two days in the Loire Valley, I’m still proud of myself for trying the tiny fish you see in the photo.  Friture de petits poissons was listed as an appetizer on La Croisette’s menu.  We were sitting out on the restaurant’s terrasse in a very small town called Béhuard, looking over the River Loire and enjoying one of the last warm evenings of late summer.  I was in the mood for culinary adventure and began setting up my rules for the evening: (1) I wanted to eat something I’d never tried before and (2) I wanted it to be something typique de la région.  Our waiter told us these little guys had been fished right out of the River Loire.  They were then battered up, fried and served to us with fresh lemon juice and tartar sauce.  Of course, the first thing I noticed were the beady eyes and I was slightly hesitant at first, but once I got cracking, I was having fun.  When the waiter came to clear the plate, all was gone- except for a few (yep, only a few) conspicuous-looking heads.

After this came the filet de sandre au beurre blanc, a white fish in a thick butter sauce.  According to the dictionary, sandre is “pikeperch” in English (I’d definitely never heard of that one before).  We’d been told it was not only native to the River Loire, but also the best thing on the menu.  We’d also been warned not to drink water with it- because the sauce was so rich (remember oil and water don’t mix!).  Instead, one was to drink wine.  When it comes to dining, we like to follow local advice.

Since we were trying everything else local, we went for two (well, four in the end) different glasses of dry white wine from the region.  According to this site, the Loire Valley is France’s leading producer of white wines.  Here’s what we ordered: a Savennières (Domaine des Forges, Clos du Papillon) and an Anjou blanc (Domaine Mosse). Unlike many other French wines, those of the Loire Valley tend to be made from a single cépage (grape variety).  Both of these were of the variety Chenin and, served chilled, went extremely well with the sandre.  As usual, I was on the lookout for a candidate for my “extra kudos for sustainability.” This trip’s winner: Domaine Mosse, since they practice organic farming techniques in their vineyards.

Our meal came between a visit to the Chateau de Serrant and a night in the bed and breakfast La Tour Girault.  This lesser-known castle was especially impressive for two reasons: the 135-square-meter kitchen (with its eight-oven kitchen range and 900 pieces of copper cookware) and the equally large library (with its 8,000 leather-bound books, including an original copy of Jean de la Fontaine’s Fables).  Apparently, this collection is one of the largest in France and actually counts 12,000 books total.

We have yet to be disappointed with a bed and breakfast in the Loire Valley and now have another favorite to add to our list.  Ask for the room “Sampan” for the very original charpente (the A-frame woodwork coming down from the ceiling).  Our hostess was especially welcoming and even made our dinner reservations for us- knowing the only restaurant open on a Monday evening!  And, as usual, I paid special attention to the homemade green plum jam at breakfast.

Two days was way to short, but that’s probably why we keep going back to the Loire Valley…

This is the third post in my series on the Loire Valley.

Like this one, the last post was on a castle and the first one about a bed & breakfast.

Part 3: Warning: Medieval Obsession!

As many of my friends know, I’m slightly obsessed (no, much more than slightly) with medieval history. That’s surely one of the reasons I enjoy living in France so much- almost everywhere you turn, there are remnants of the architecture from this fascinating period. Of course, the Chateaux de la Loire, are among the edifices that get me the most- for their imposing structure, as well as for their intriguing history.

A mere 6 miles from Azay-le-Rideau is Langeais, an historic city sporting a lesser-known castle that is certainly worth visiting. The Chateau de Langeais was originally built in 1465, near the end of the medieval period. Although its looks like a fortified castle, our guide told us the chateau was purely residential and not used for defense. Unlike many others, it was not built on a hilltop, but directly in the city. What struck me were the large windows and sunlight that poured through them. Our customary image of a medieval castle is one with tiny windows and very little light. It was also interesting to observe the use of space in the Middle Ages. A single room would have had many functions and the notion of privacy wasn’t the same as today. For example, the royal “bedroom” also served as a room to receive guests. Today, we usually don’t dare ask to go into our hosts’ bedrooms! During the visit, I learned that it wasn’t until the 15th century that we began moving toward the specialization of space.

We visited a number of rooms, restored and refurnished, including the Hall where one of the most important marriages in France took place. Anne de Bretagne (Duchess of Brittany) and Charles VIII (King of France) were (secretly) married on December 6, 1491. What impresses me about this ceremony is the numbers and their auspiciousness- Charles was 21 years old, Anne was 14, and the ceremony took place at 7 o’clock in the morning! The story’s a bit complicated: Apparently, Anne was already married (by procreation) to Maximilian I of Austria. They had never consummated the marriage and it was annulled by the Pope. If I understood correctly, this didn’t actually happen until after she and Charles were married. The wedding ceremony turned out to be a significant event in French history because the union played a crucial role in reuniting the still independent Brittany with France. The walls of the insignia room at the Chateau de Langeais have been decorated with their initials and emblems (a fleur de lys for the king and an ermine tail for the duchess). The marriage, however, didn’t last long. Only seven years later, Charles died. The story goes that he hit his head on a low doorway. Interestingly, the marriage contract had stipulated that Anne marry Charles’ cousin, Louis XII (next in line for the throne), if anything should happen to him. I could go on and on, but…

Back to architecture: Next to the castle, you can still see the remains of the “oldest donjon in France” which dates back to 994 when the ferocious Foulque Nerra, Count of Anjou, took possession of Langeais. Don’t get confused: the French word donjon is best translated to the English “keep” or “strong hold.” In other words, it’s the large round tower in a fortified castle. Our common English use of the word “dungeon” refers to the cachot or oubliette- the dark underground prison. The word oubliette comes from the French oublier which means “to forget.” I wouldn’t have wanted to be one of these unlucky prisoners!

Next and last post on the Loire Valley: what we ate.

The first one was about the cave we slept in. In the next two posts, I’ll be talking about castles.

Part 2: Leave your guidebook at home

Our travel guides on France have started getting tattered- we tend to use them faithfully as we gallivant through new regions. On our last trip to the Loire Valley, however, we discovered there are quite a few “hidden secrets” waiting to be unearthed- and our guidebooks hadn’t even mentioned our favorite one. With so many remarkable chateaux decorating the countryside, it’s easy for many of the lesser-known sites to fall under the shadows of the most celebrated. If you’re like us, you’d enjoy visiting the renowned Azay-le-Rideau, Chambord, and Villandry, but you may also want to get away from the crowds and discover the other, equally fascinating, treasures that lay just off the customary itinerary.

Chateau de la Chatonnière is in Azay-le-Rideau, a very short drive from the town center. Why visit this medieval manor? Its gardens. I was impressed with the gardens at Villandry, and was equally enchanted by these. (You won’t be surprised why after you look at their website to find the connection between the two!). At first, we thought the site was closed since no one else was around. As soon as we arrived at the front gate we were greeted by the head gardener- telling us straight away that we needn’t pay attention to the closing time listed on the sign. We could stay as long as we wanted and, of course, watch the sunset.

Once inside the iron gate, we were free to wander around the twelve different gardens- each with its own name and theme. Among the most impressive were the vegetable garden (Jardin de l’Abondance), which took the form of a gigantic leaf, and the Jardin des Romances, which was an interlaced series of life-size “rooms” made of willow branches. We also enjoyed getting lost in the labyrinth and gaping at the seemingly endless field of white narcissus, in bloom only from March to May. The chateau itself is not open to visitors, but this was not a disappointment. The gardens, with the manor towers idling in the background, stood completely on their own.

Part 3: Chateau de Langeais