Gastro-touriste.

I apologize for not updating the past few days, but wifi here is very persnickety so I've had to wait for the right moment to blog. Today is our last day here in the Loire: tomorrow my parents will head to Paris, spend one day there and then fly home. I will be taking a train in the opposite direction, south to Cahors where I will stay for one night before being picked up by our family friends, William and Rosalie, who I will work for at their bed and breakfast for the month of June. Hard to believe it's practically June already!

Multi-purpose, too.

Sunday morning began with Mass at the parish church of St. Denis, where I spent the majority of the time watching the adorable pudgy-faced toddlers in the row in front of us. After Mass, we went to the Sunday market along the river where I bought some navy blue espadrilles, a type of shoe that originated in Basque country but now can be found all over France and Spain. They're very comfy, similar in style to Tom's but a lot cheaper. Mom found herself some lavender spun honey, and Dad chomped away on some emmental cheese--needless to say, he has not been maintaining his vegan diet over here. Mom and I also bought some beautiful baskets. After our shopping, we made our way back into town to lunch on some pizza: mine had chevre, bacon and honey, a combination I'm sure I'll never find in the States. Half the fun of being in a foreign country is sampling the different dishes; it's this sort of "gastro-tourism" that is the most exciting part for me.

All of these are vegetables.

After such a low-key Sunday, we launched into a full day of touring on Monday. We were not alone, as many French were out and about enjoying their Monday off (a national holiday for Pentecost). We first stopped at Villandry, known for its beautiful classic gardens. There was a water garden, a flower garden, a vegetable garden, a maze...each one more intricate than the next. Indeed, how bold I was to walk among my pollinated enemies. Sneezing and blowing my nose constantly, I must say I still enjoyed seeing such a thorough reconstruction of how the gardens would have looked during Renaissance times.

Can you imagine living here?

Next, we went to Azay-le-Rideau, a chateau built on an island in the Indre river with its foundations right in the water. This makes for some striking pictures with its reflection in the river. Though the interiors were decorated much the same as others we'd seen, we did get the unique experience of walking in the attic and seeing how the crossbeams and such were laid out. It's amazing to think how these structures have stood the test of time.

We had lunch in the nearby village, where I enjoyed a very strange but delicious salad: lettuce, tomatoes, dressing and chevre on toasts like usual, but with the addition of rillons, or large pieces of bacon, and seasoned home fries. Really tasty, but sort of odd for a salad. I'll have to keep these unusual combinations in mind as I try new things in the kitchen.

Then we were back in the car for another jerky ride around the countryside, stopping at the royal abbey at Fontevraud. Since my dad has been reading a book about Eleanor of Aquitaine, he has been seized by a desire to see every place associated with her. Inside the abbey we found her effigy, along with those of Richard the Lionhearted and John Lackland. They were buried there at one time, but their bodies have since been moved. The abbey itself dates from the 12th century, and Eleanor spent the last few years of her long life as a nun there--she lived to be about 80, which was incredibly rare during that time.

Eleanor and Richard's effigies

After Fontevraud, we drove through some beautiful villages nearby. We stopped at Candes St. Martin, where St. Martin of Tours was buried in 397. The people of Tours stole his body back at some point, but there is still a church there with his tomb. We paid our respects, and just as we ought to have been hitting the road to make our dinner reservation, Dad decided to drag us straight up the hill for a couple of miles on some very uneven cobblestones to a rather underwhelming panorama of the nearby rivers. Classic John Adler.


Finally we were on the road again, this time taking the autoroute, or highway. Getting off the highway after a couple of hours, Dad pulled over to consult the map for our next move. What ensued was a hilarious episode of folding and unfolding the massive map in various directions, both parents squabbling away. Priceless.

"Why can't I find anything in this Godforsaken country?" "Pretty sure the  map's upside down."

But we eventually found our way through the back country roads to Les Closeaux, a very out-of-the-way restaurant with incredible food at a serious bargain: four courses for 20 euros. The meal began with an amuse-bouche (literally, "to amuse the mouth"), which is like a complementary mini-appetizer. It consisted of a cucumber whipped cream and a yummy but unidentifiable spread on a cracker. Being that the appetizer I wanted, a beet salad with chevre, had already run out, I ordered salmon mousse on a bed of chopped avocado with a small salad on top. My parents ordered the same. Everyone loved it, even me who normally avoids seafood. My entree was pork with citrus cous cous--the meat was as tender as I've ever had and I am dying to know what they did to it to make it so good! Our third course was a small salad and cheese plate, and I finished the meal with profiteroles, a classic French dessert of ice cream in a puff pastry. It was hands-down one of the best meals I've ever had. Ever.

Pretty desolate. 

Tuesday saw another long day of touring, with just as much driving, jerking around the numerous roundabouts, getting whiplash every time Dad changed gears, etc. Our first stop was the battlefield of the Battle of Poitiers of 732, where Charles Martel (the grandfather of Charlemagne) defeated an army of Spanish Muslims. This was a definitive battle in the history of France, and eventually led to the union of the various Gallic tribes under one sovereign. The battlefield monument itself consisted of large placards with descriptions of the various elements. What made it so odd was the fact that 1) it was in the middle of nowhere, 2) cannon-fire would ring out periodically, supposedly to evoke images of the battle (although I'm not entirely convinced they had cannons in the eighth century, though I could be wrong--in any case we thought we were target practice), and 3) when I pressed a button on the placard marked "English," the Carmina Burana began to play loudly, followed by an overly dramatic narration of the story of the battle.

See how the pillars are painted?

By the time we had wrapped up at the battlefield and made the drive into the city of Poitiers, it was 3:30 and all the restaurants had stopped serving lunch. Besides Dad's attempts to starve us, Mom and I managed to find some sandwiches just off the main square. Then it was time to explore the city. Poitiers, historically a university town, also contains lots of history attached to--you guessed it--Eleanor of Aquitaine. We saw the church of Notre Dame, a Romanesque church that used to be completely painted inside and out, though only the interior paint has been restored today. We visited the ancient Palais de Justice, called the Montbergeon Tower, where Eleanor would hold court. Dad was vexed by the fact that you cannot go inside the building itself, as it serves as the courthouse of Poitiers even to this day, with the old tower now full of legal offices.

Sure doesn't look like the churches we're used to.

The next landmark on the list was the Baptestere St. Jean, the oldest church in France, built in 360 AD. This was closed also, because it was Tuesday. However, we did get to go inside the nearby Cathedral of Poitiers, whose stained glass depicting the executions of Sts. Peter and Paul also includes--who else--Eleanor of Aquitaine, Henri II and their children. Not really in the correct protocol, but money talks even with the Church.

After spending roughly two hours in Poitiers, we piled back into the car to head back to Amboise. We had dinner at a restaurant called l'Amboiserie, which has a rooftop terrace right next to the castle. I thoroughly enjoyed my peach kir and salad with pears, walnuts and fourme d'ambert, a mild bleu cheese that is tricky to find at home. Mom and I also got crepes, hers with apples and caramel and mine with bananas and chocolate. I have never been known to turn down a crepe.

Today, Dad took off for some hiking on his own while Mom and I did some shopping. We found souvenirs for family but also some fantastic cooking gadgets at a kitchen store: I purchased these sweet herb scissors that have 5 blades for ultimate herb-cutting action, a citrus zester that attaches to your palm and a similar device for peeling fruits and veggies. Having never seen anything similar at home, I seized the opportunity to make my culinary undertakings a little easier. At lunch (at a place called the Lion d'Or, which was also incredible) we told Dad about the wonders we had seen and he demanded to be taken to see all the gadgets with his own eyes. He then proceeded to purchase roughly half the store.

The rest of the day will be given to packing our bags, which might prove a challenge with all our new purchases, and eating our last meal here in Amboise. Tomorrow, a new chapter begins!