Crossposted at HuffingtonPost.com. Comments not included here.
The Lone Wolf and I slipped onto the TGV and sat down in our single
seats facing each other in the First Class car. We were escaping from
Paris. Yes, even though it's pleasure to live here one still needs to
get out of town. And it was a fast 46 minute train ride to Vendome
(pictured below),
where we were picking up a car. In fact, I didn't even finish making my
"To Do" list before we arrived and hopped into our darling little Fiat that
was a cross between a Volkwagen Beetle and Mini-Cooper in which we
would sportily zip around the Loire for the next few days.
We were headed to chateau country. Better than that, we were checking into a chateau-B & B, the divine Chateau de la Barre, which is near tiny village Conflans-sur-Anille in the Sarthe department in the Pays de la Loire region of France. The chateau is owned by the Count and Countess de Vanssay, whose family it has been in since 1404. Countess Marnie de Vanssay is our new Grace Kelly--a beautiful former model who happens to be American and became a countess when she and the count (Guy) married. Marnie and I had gotten to know each other through social media, and she had invited the Wolf and I down for a weekend ages before. It had taken us months to get there, but we were on our way now. We couldn't have been happier.
We arrived in Vendome in time for a nice lunch and a walk around town before making the short trip, well-marked and easy, to the chateau. All L.W. and I could say to each other once we saw it was, Oh my God, this is going to be one fantastic weekend. And I'll just cut to the chase right now, and say it absolutely was.
Guy met us and showed us to our gorgeous yellow room. But by the time we descended the ancient stone stairs, Marnie was home and served us wonderful artisan-made cider and homemade banana bread in the Salon Rose.
I don't even like to bake but thought I would love to have the recipe.
L.W.and I wanted to relax, and we took our books down to the lawn to
read in the fresh air and enjoy the scenery. But I could hardly force
myself to crack my book open because we sat at the table near Kakoo, who
I immediately fell in love with. I spent my time talking to the
handsome bird.
Before dinner, we gathered in the Grand Salon of the chateau for a chamber music concert that was marvelous.
The musicians, a German couple, had found the chateau several years
before on their way to Brittany and now made a yearly pilgrimage. I can
see why, and what we discovered while we were there is that there are lots of repeat guests to Chateau de la Barre. I'll tell you right now that we will be some of them.
It is not just the fact that the chateau has been renovated impeccably, and the rooms are elegant and
wonderfully comfortable, it's also the graciousness of Marnie and Guy
that charms everyone who walks in their doors. They're the kind of
people one likes immediately, genuine and fun, who are comfortable in
their own skins. But I don't want to tell you too much about the
chateau and spoil Guy's superb tour of his family estate.
There were 12 of us at he Grand Siecle Dinner in the XVIIth century
dining room, and I've never been to a better dinner party anywhere. We
were one with fine company, delicious food, and amazing champagne and
wines. Even the Lone Wolf, who has his name for a reason, was warm and
glowing in this communal convivial embrace.
L.W. and I have been to the name-dropping chateaux one comes to the Loire to see, and we spent the next two days frolicking through Marnie and Guy's neighborhood to add new experiences to our French repertoire.
After breakfast, we started the next morning at Montoire-sur-le-Loir,
a pleasant village that is (unfortunately) best known for the handshake
between Adolf Hitler and Marechal Petain, which marked the beginning of
organized French collaboration with the Nazis. But for WWII history
buffs this is quite a spot. L.W. and I perused the local market and
stopped for a cafe creme before continuing on to the charming village of
Troo.
Troo is a troglodyte village, that we found winsome in its architecture
as well as its history. This is a village that protected Jewish
children in the war.
We also made a quick stop at the renaissance Chateau de Courtanvaux, which I'm told can be rented for a song.
And then we drove on to Montmirail, a private chateau where we saw the
12th Century guardroom where Henri II signed his will sharing his
kingdom among his three squabbling sons. We also were given an
extensive tour of the dungeons, which I must say were appropriately
creepy, and we were shown rooms decorated in the XVIIth Century by Louis
XIVth's daughter, the Princesse de Conti.
We drove to nearby Lavardin to Le Relais d'Antan for a delicious dinner in the garden before we hurried out to the Chateau Rochambeau for an open air performance of the opera, Carmen.
It was a full Saturday of chateau-ing.
On Sunday, we had only one chateau in mind to visit, and this we'd actually toured 12 years earlier: Chateau du Clos Luce in Amboise, where Leonardo da Vinci spent the last few years of his life under the patronage of Francis I. I am a great da Vinci admirer, and I wanted to make the return visit along with the fact that Marnie had suggested we book there for a Renaissance lunch.
Our server was dressed as a Renaissance maid, which actually was not too
Disney-ish, and she explained the food and wine selections in relation
to the years in which da Vinci lived. We sat outdoors at L'Aberge du
Prieure, which is on the grounds of the chateau.
Amboise had changed since we'd last been there. It seemed busier and
more touristy, and Chateau du Clos Luce had been improved. The park is
now dotted with da Vinci's inventions with some even having a soundscape
with his own words. If one is interested in da Vinci--and who's
not--it is a unique experience of this artist-genius's mind and life.
Our last night at the Chateau de la Barre was lovely and relaxed. We
had a simple supper with Marnie and Guy and watched fireworks explode
above the treeline over the chateau's park as Conflans-sur-Anille
celebrated its village fete.
The Lone Wolf and I hated going back to the city the next day. But our great consolation was that we would come back here. It is too close to Paris and it is too lovely for us to ever forget. For us, it was jumping off the Eiffel Tower and landing in cloud.
For more information about Chateau de la Barre, click here.
---Beth Arnold in Paris
