September 16th 2014: France: Blois

Monty the Motorhome is parked up at his first French Municipal Aire. We have travelled south from Chartres and to Blois in the Loire Valley.

The site is right in the centre of town, close to the historic Chateau that has given the town it’s prominence over the centuries. We had a little trouble getting in, but with the help of a French couple managed to work out that a credit card machine must be used first, which generates a security code, which in turn is used on a separate keypad to gain access. The only trouble is that three different options are given when presenting the credit card, all in French. Luckily we picked the right one. 

The site is large and spacious, with bays marked out for 30 vans. Facilities such as water and waste are free, though the toilet costs 20 cents. Parking is 5 Euros - but this for 24 hours. 

The Chateau attracted King Louis XII, who brought his court here in 1498, making it a virtual ‘second capital’. Royal patronage attracted wealth to the town resulting in a rich mix of historic architecture.

The building itself has many rooms and halls which contain all manner of art works. We again hired an audio guide to help interpret the many treasures on view. However the commentary was disappointing as it was based on descriptions of daily life that was associated with the various features. For example an actor would play the part of a young stone mason and describe his day building an ornate staircase. There was little in the way of actual history. 

The visit took us way past lunchtime, so on venturing into town we were lucky to find a boulangerie open. Croque Monsieur (grilled cheese, lardon and potato sandwich) and Pain a Chocolate for both of us, which we ate sitting by the bank of the Loire in brilliant sunshine.

Our picnic spot

Feeling lazy and hot we returned to the van and sat in the shade for a few hours.

Tonight we decided to splash out on an evening meal and went for a recommendation from one of our library book guides (Back Roads of France) - Les Banquettes Rouges. It certainly lived up to it’s description as a warm, snug little bistro down a small atmospheric street. We just had main course and sweet. Ruth had a rack of lamb (a bit tough but the trimmings were delicious), while I had veal liver in a morello cherry sauce (melt in the mouth). Our sweets were some of the best we have ever had. Ruth went for chocolate fondant and morello cherries with salted caramel ice cream, while mine was a raspberry and vanilla ice cream with poached peaches. A carafe of local Cheverny rouge wine was a revelation - such a different taste to that we normally buy - a la supermarket.

Back at the van all windows are open, fly screens down - hot and sticky night in prospect. Bad weather still forecast, so we’re enjoying the heat and dry conditions while we can.