Transit nightmares and adventures with the Doc

Early yesterday morning, John and I checked out of the hotel, picked up some pistachio and coffee flavored eclairs for Mom and Dad, and descended into the Metro to take the RER train out to Charles de Gaulle airport, where I would point John in the direction of his flight and meet up with my parents to take a train to the Loire valley. John and I encountered our first transit adventure when my Metro turnstile locked up, despite the fact that I had a valid ticket. I handed John the eclairs, my backpack and my suitcase over the barrier, then ducked under the turnstile and managed to slide through the barrier, just barely. Then we were off to the Chatelet Metro stop, one of the largest in Paris. After navigating our way through with all our luggage, we made it to the RER platform and boarded the incredibly crowded train. And when I say incredibly crowded, I mean really, really crowded. Everyone squished up against one another, piling on more and more people at each stop. At one point some would-be passengers couldn’t even board the train. It was definitely a stressful experience, and gave me the impression of being in the deepest circle of hell.

At long last, we reached the airport. Once there, we found we couldn’t exit the train station because the automatic doors weren’t working, until a maintenance guy came and opened if for us. This is right about when I decided I would fork over the cash for a taxi next time. On the other side of the doors we found my parents, who had landed about an hour before. By divine intervention, the eclairs made it through the journey relatively unscathed. The four of us chatted for a little while, then it was time for my parents and I to hop on our train to St. Pierre des Corps, two hours southwest. John and I said our goodbyes, and he sat down with a book to await his flight.

Off with the Doc, oh so chic.

Once on the train, Mom and Dad promptly fell asleep, something neither of them had had any luck with during the flight over. We arrived in St. Pierre des Corps, where there is a medium-sized train station and not much else, right at noon when all the rental car offices closed for lunch. After I sweet-talked the concierge at a local hotel into letting us store our luggage there, we grabbed a taxi over to nearby Tours to see the famous cathedral, explore the town and (most importantly) eat lunch.

Around 2:30, we headed back to the train station, picked up our luggage and found our rental car. Then the next transit nightmare of the day began: my father behind the wheel of a manual transmission in a foreign country with only a vague idea of where he is going. After getting lost just a little and jostling us around quite a lot, we arrived in Amboise, a small but beautiful town on the Loire river. After some more jostling and getting lost again, we were grateful to get to our bed and breakfast and into the incredibly welcoming presence of Madame Sylvie, our host. She showed us to our rooms, which are large and beautifully decorated, advised us on all the important places to see and even complimented me on my French. I don’t think I’ve ever met a more hospitable person.

Our room at Au Charme Rabelaisien

Which brings me to a point I’ve been intending to make: the stereotype of French people as unfriendly and snooty? Completely false. I have yet to have a single French person be rude to me, even in Paris. Everyone has been helpful and obliging, kind and friendly. Yes, it helps that I speak the language, but I find that some people here are more than willing to practice their English on you.

Anyway, Madame Sylvie left us to “s’installer,” or get settled, after which we ventured out into the town for a glass of wine and some gelato. Amboise is small, but very picturesque. It is home to the first Renaissance-style chateau in the Loire valley. We explored the town for an hour or two before heading to La Cene, said to serve the best pizza in France. And indeed it was very good. Although Mom and Dad nearly fell asleep at the table, the proprietors were extremely gracious and even sent us on our way with pocketfuls of caramel candy, just because I said they were delicious and asked them where they got them.

That was some serious pizza.

 This morning, the parents woke refreshed from their jet lag and Ambien-induced slumber and we enjoyed the breakfast Sylvie laid out for us, a variety of breads, jams, yogurt, fruit and cereal. We also met her husband, a dentist, and their adorable dog, a Jack Russell named Bergamot, who were both very sweet. The whole hospitality experience here thus far has been beyond compare.

View of the chateau from the gardens

Breakfast finished, we began our tour of the city, starting with the chateau itself. When the French invaded Italy at the beginning of the sixteenth century, they found they couldn’t win the war but could borrow some ideas from the Italian Renaissance. Amboise was the first chateau in France that showed these Renaissance influences. We walked all through the castle and gardens, which are much smaller than many of the later castles in the region, but really beautiful. There is also a small chapel where Leonardo da Vinci is buried, as he spent the last three years of his life in Amboise.

Medieval tank, courtesy of Monsieur da Vinci

That historical nugget led us to our next stop: Clos de Luce, da Vinci’s residence during his stay in Amboise. Nowadays you can tour the old manor house and the large gardens, where there are many models and life-size reproductions of da Vinci’s inventions, including a tank! Yes, a tank, and I got in it. And it was awesome. It was a truly neat place to visit, to see all the ingenious things he came up with, but by then the afternoon had gotten really hot and our feet were sore, so we headed back to Madame Sylvie’s for a break.

It wasn’t until 8pm that we set out in search of dinner, which we found at nearby Chez Hippeau. After a long day of touring in the heat, I enjoyed my blackberry kir, omelet with herbs and this apple/onion/zucchini/goat cheese concoction I ordered because it sounded interesting. Dad continued to revel in the joy that is eating meat and dairy after his six weeks of veganism; how can one enjoy France without eating cheese? He also seems pleased with the abundance of cheap wines, and continually demands that I translate things for him. As always, traveling with the Doc is a unique adventure. 

Tomorrow, our first foray into real chateau country here in "the Garden of France."