Tuesday.  It was a spectacular day and we all had the best time riding the train to Tours to ride on the bike path along the river!!!  "We took the 8:16 into the city" and walked the block or so to rent bikes.  After that we made our way through the city of Tours to the bike path with no hassles and it was a very easy bike ride this time.  We knew Kema and Steve would love it and they did!  The weather was cool in the morning -- jackets were required -- but the sun was out and it was gorgeous.  That's Kema and Steve below -- sorry the photo isn't better!

As usual, I don't know if I'm coming or going!

When we arrived at Villandry we were hungry and didn't want to eat at the same restaurant David and I ate at the first time we visited there last week, so we looked at a few menus and chose a small pub-style place.  Sorry,  I don't have the name of the restaurant.  It was 11:30 and we didn't pay any attention to the hours posted on the door and just opened the door (which was unlocked) and walked in.  Well . . . the restaurant didn't open until Noon!  All of the workers at the hotel/restaurant were sitting together at a long table finishing their meal and they looked up and acknowledged us and told us to go ahead and sit down.  We felt a little funny about it but figured they must want the business so we did.  The menu items that caught our attention were omelets and frites so Steve and I ordered ham and cheese omelets and David had a plain cheese omelet.  They were excellent as were the frites! Kema had roasted chicken which looked very good too.

Of course we also had a basket of bread!  We want to be sure Kema and Steve get their fill of French bread.

After lunch we walked up the hill to the chateau.  Even though David and I had seen it the week before, it still is amazingly beautiful.  

We toured the inside of the Chateau this trip and here are a couple of pictures.  We didn't take many indoor photos because we couldn't wait to get outside to see the gardens!  I do love this chair, tho -- note the animal print on the side!!!  And the second picture is of one of the ceilings. 

We did walk up the tower and shot a few pictures.  The first one is Kema's "art shot."

I was pretending this was the door to my French home. 

The gardens are so beautiful you can hardly believe they are real.

 
It was hard to tear ourselves away from the garden but we had a long bike ride back to Tours.  It was an uneventful ride and we all enjoyed it (except for our aching butts!). 

We returned our rental bikes and it wasn't long before we were on the train from Tours back to Saint Aignan.  We took a taxi from the train station to our home in Saint Aignan.  I was tired so I suggested a taxi and no one objected so . . . .

On the way home Steve suggested we get pizza from our pizza place right across the street, L'Amarena.  It sounded great to all of us and we were really looking forward to it.  BUT, the restaurant was closed!  That was a surprise because they keep regular hours and normally it would be open.  We were all a little disappointed.  So the boys headed up to the little market and brought back frozen pizzas and they were pretty darn good!  

Monday.  It's so fun having company!  Kema, Steve and David walked to the bakery for breakfast and baguettes.  Turns out Kema and Steve didn't really have any good bread in Italy so they are loving the French baguettes and butter.  I swear I could have served them nothing else for the entire time they were here and they would have been happy!

We wanted them to have down time today after racing around touring Italy the previous week so we just took them out for a walk around our beautiful town.  We started our walk by visiting the old church and the crypt.  Then we went upstairs to the church to show them around.  David found a sound system that played a tour guide of the crypt in English so we went back downstairs to listen to it.  It was very interesting but stopped about half way through the walk around the crypt.

After the church we walked up the steps to see the Chateau -- at least the outside and courtyard of the Chateau.  We sure would like to get inside!

Views of the valley from the courtyard of the Chateau.  So beautiful!

Flowers outside of the Tourism Office.

By then we were thirsty so we went to the "beer garden" and sat outside and enjoyed delicious beer and just talked and talked.  We had so much to catch up on.

For dinner Monday night Kema and Steve treated us to a wonderful dinner at the Chinese restaurant we went to when we first arrived in Saint Aignan, called Delices D'Asie.  The first night we ate there there was only one waitress and she spoke no English.  No problem, tho, and we were able to order what we wanted.  This time the original server was there plus another one who spoke French and English.  She spoke very good English and really tried to help us with our ordering.  It was a delicious dinner!

We all turned in early because on Tuesday we were heading back to Tours to rent bikes and ride the bike path along the river again to show Kema and Steve the Villandry Chateau and gardens.  

Sunday.  Kema and Steve were scheduled to arrive by train at 5:43 p.m. so we had time to be lazy again this morning.  David walked up to our favorite bakery and saw that it is closed until September 30th.  Oh noooooo!  But he walked to bakery number two and it was open so he returned home with breakfast and baguettes!  

We didn't do a lot -- David washed and prepared the lettuce for salad and I read my book. Around 5:00 we walked to the train station to meet Kema and Steve.  They had been in Italy the week before and then flew from Venice to Paris Sunday morning.  Their train from Paris arrived a little late but not much.  The trains here are fantastic!  Convenient, not too expensive and almost always on time.

When they got off the train, they looked like seasoned travelers with very little luggage. They packed very smart . . . but I think they were looking forward to washing a few things at our house.  We thank Rachael very much for allowing us to use her washing machine while we are here!!!

We were planning to take a taxi back to the house but they decided they would rather walk. I guess they had been sitting awhile but it's still a mile and a half carrying bags!  It was no problem, tho.

Although we had followed along on their Italy trip through Facebook, it was wonderful to sit down and enjoy catching up with them.  We drank some wine and Kema and I (mostly Kema!) prepared dinner.  For the chicken breasts, I grated some breadcrumbs from a day-old baguette and Kema mixed together milk and mayonnaise with lots of garlic.  She dipped the chicken breasts in the mixture and then the bread crumbs and we baked them.

I washed the teeny potatoes and laid them in a single layer on a baking sheet.  I drizzled them with olive oil and salt and pepper and we roasted them in the oven.  We tore the lettuce David cleaned earlier and added tomatoes and avocado to it for a very nice, fresh salad.  We had store bought dressing to use -- it was creamy with herbs.  Kind of like David's beloved Ranch dressing!

We sliced the fresh baguette to eat with delicious butter and we were all set.  It was a great dinner.  For dessert we had little cups of chocolate mousse with whipped cream.  We all had plenty to eat and could not have been happier.  There is nothing more fun than sharing a good meal with great friends!!!

Saturday -- market day!  We heard the vendors setting up very early in the square right outside our apartment, about 5:30 a.m.  It was cool and rainy so we weren't in any hurry to get up.  We lingered over coffee and iced tea and then headed out to shop.  

Nathalie was in her shop and, as we headed out, she showed us a particular cinnamon pastry she bought for her breakfast.  She explained it was a special pastry made popular in Southern France.  She tried to give us hers but we told her we would buy one ourselves so as not to steal her breakfast.

Most of the stands were familiar from the week before but there was a new vegetable stand.  This stand's lettuce and tomatoes looked particularly good so we bought red and green lettuce and two tomatoes and two avocados.  Our friends, Kema and Steve, were arriving from Italy on Sunday so we wanted to have a fresh salad for them.  

We went to another vegetable stand and bought some very tiny new potatoes.  They were just a little larger than marbles.  I thought they were cute and I wanted to roast them in the oven with a little olive oil and salt and pepper.

The patisserie cart we shopped at last week was there again so we bought some pastries and a baguette.  The woman who owns it is particulary nice and friendly and tolerates my limited French!

It is surprising how many butcher carts there are there!  People definitely have their favorites, tho, and they were lined up at each one.  We went to the one where we purchased delicious eggs last week and lined up to wait our turn to order.  This particular butcher seems to specialize in ducks -- that was mostly what they had.  Lots and lots of people stood in line to order a whole duck (including head and feet!) to take home.  When some of the ducks were purchased, one of the butchers would work it over with a big blow torch, we assume to do away with the feather follicles that the plucking did not take care of. Oh, the poor duckies....  Next to this stand, and seemingly owned by the same people, a woman was roasting whole chickens, ducks and ham.  Underneath the roasting meats were trays of potatoes roasting.  The drippings from the meats dripped down on the potatoes and they smelled heavenly!  It truly makes your mouth water!!!  One of these Saturdays I'm going to buy a roast chicken and potatoes.

Interestingly enough, there was a cart making and selling fried rice and noodles which we think were Thai.  All of the dishes looked and smelled good.  The only  problem was that all of the dishes offered had meat in them and, of course, David doesn't eat meat, so this stand was lost on him.     

You'll remember that David loved the macaroon he bought last week so we returned to that stand and he bought a macaron and one of the cinnamon pastries Nathalie told us about.  It rained on and off but that did not keep the shoppers away.  By 11:00 it was very busy.    

We had one more stop to make.  Instead of buying meat at the market, we wanted to patronize the butcher just at the end of our street.  It is a beautiful butcher shop and so clean and the meat looks spectacular.  We have seen two men working there and they are always so friendly and holler out the door greeting us when we walk by.  I wanted to buy chicken breasts for dinner for Kema and Steve so we went there.  The men working there speak no English but we knew that chicken in French is poulet so it was easy.  We asked for escalope poulet to get the chicken breast.  He trimmed them beautifully and after that we went home.

We had our pastries for breakfast and David had his macaroon for dessert!  He also ate the cinnamon pastry which he said was good but very dense.  

The afternoon passed quickly since I watched several more episodes of House of Cards! I'm truly addicted to the series.  

It was Saturday night so it was cocktail night for us!  We had delicious and refreshing gin and tonics and a simple dinner of pre-made quiche with leftover beans and potatoes.  Very simple but good dinner!

Sorry no pictures today.  

Friday was another very lazy day of vacation.  Our big outing was a walk to the Super U on the tree lined street which I now know is named Rue Jean Magnon.  The Gymnase was open so we stopped in to check it out.  It's a big facility and David notes the bathrooms are very nice.  We didn't get to talk to anyone but we did see a big basketball court with young people doing laps around it.  Again we noted information on archery and hand ball so to our consternation, it is not a work out facility.  

We spent a long time shopping again.  This was the busiest we've seen the Super U, maybe because it was Friday afternoon.  It's just amazing to see what is offered there.  We were pleased with the huge, fresh fruit and vegetable department but we didn't buy anything because we wanted to buy from our outdoor market on Saturday.  We picked up a few staples (wine of course) and a few other things.  We bought five-cheese ravioli and bottled sauce for dinner.  The sauce was basil and olive which sounded very good.

Late in the day we went to Aux Cepages for wine before dinner.  The usual local customers were there.  A couple of men who have businesses nearby always drop by and there are a few couples who seem to be friends with the owners who come in for a drink.  It is an unusual bar in that you can have a glass of wine from a bottle and then buy the rest of the bottle to take it home or buy another, different bottle all together for taking home.  They also have draft beer here.  We've seen a few people drinking it, but have not tried it yet; we may, though, after we've sampled all the wine.  We are getting to know the owners, Joel and Eliane.  They always greet us warmly and Joel, in particular, encourages us to speak French.  David does very well!  He actually made a joke in French and Joel laughed very hard so David was delighted.  There was a very tiny, tiny bug that flew into my wine so Joel brought me a small spoon to get it out of my glass.  David told him in French that that would be my dinner -- wine with meat.  It took Joel a minute but then he got it.  When David went inside to order another glass of wine, he told Joel he would like "vin sans viande," wine without meat. Oh how they both laughed!!!  It's the little things, you know!

Dinner was easy to make.  Just heated the sauce and boiled the ravioli -- voila!  It was delicious!  The bottled sauce is way better than anything I could make.  For dessert we had tiny cups of chocolate mousse with whipped cream on them.  Very, very good!  

  

Thursday was a much needed day of rest after riding bikes for five hours the day before!!! And, Brandi, it was pajama day for me!  David did get dressed to walk to the bakery and guess what???  They are closed until September 30th!!!  First Effatt goes on vacation which means the neighborhood grocery is closed and now our favorite bakery is closed.  Oh well, I guess they deserve to go on vacation too.  David said this should be a lesson to us and we should always be operationally ready by having a minimum "tonnage" of wine on hand... you never know.

David walked a few more blocks to another patisserie to buy a baguette and breakfast pastries.  This, our secondary patisserie, also has good apple and almond pastries.  So, it's not like we're suffering because pattisserie #1 is closed for two weeks.  We had a leisurely breakfast with lots of coffee and iced tea.  

We knew that after Wednesday's long bike ride we were going to stay home all day so I did two loads of wash and watched a few episodes of House of Cards on Netflix.  David shaved and showered and headed back to bed for a nap.  It rained briefly, tapping on the slanted roof window enough to wake up David. It quickly turned sunny again, however.  We can't complain about the rain as we've had 12 sunny, summery days since our arrival.  Even the locals are considering September their Summer.

Late in the day we had wine and then it was time for dinner.  Lazy days go very fast, don't they?  For dinner we had scrambled eggs with colby cheese mixed in. This was the first orange colored cheese we've had since we've arrived in France.  This cheese, like the others, was excellent too.  Like David said, the worst cheese we've had has been fantastic. We've also learned that French eggs do not require any refrigeration; something with the processing makes this possible.  With the eggs, we had oven roasted potatoes and toasted baguettes.  David thinks French eggs are the best and I have to say it was a very good dinner!

Wednesday.  David planned a grand adventure for today.   We got up early and walked to the train station and took the 8:16 a.m. train to Tours.  We arrived in Tours around 9:00.  We left the train station and walked about a block to a company called Detours de Loire to rent bikes.  They have a network of shops along the Loire River to rent bikes, repair bikes, and help cyclists in general in their trips along the river.  David planned for us to ride on the Loire River bike path about 21 km which he says is about 13 miles one way. The owner of the bike store told us how to get from his store to the path but we weren't successful at first.  Although Tours has wonderful bike lanes, being there for the first time we were watching for trams, cars, pedestrians and a large number of bike riders.  Needless to say, there was a lot of sensory overload as we weaved our way through many moving obstacles.  

At one point we stopped to check our map and to get a second opinion.  I asked a passer-by if he spoke English.  He replied "Yes, parle Anglais" and chuckled.  Turns out he is Australian and was visiting France with his wife who was currently attending a language immersion class.  His name is Cliff and we had a nice chat with him.  He and David studied the map and agreed we were where we thought we were.  We followed David's good instincts and met up with the bike path soon thereafter.  

What a wonderful bike path!!!!  David said while riding through the tall corn stalks, the sun flowers and things we couldn't even identify that he felt like he was on his way to see the Wizard of Oz.

The forecast was for sun and temperatures in the 80s, but for most of the ride we had high clouds creating filtered sunshine which made for very mild temperatures.  We even had breezes throughout the ride.  Perfect bike riding weather!  We couldn't believe that for long periods of time we were the only riders on the path.  Occasionally we would see a runner or a rider or two.  Most of the day we felt like it was our private bike path!

Our goal of the ride was to visit the Chateau de Villandry.  I was very excited to see it.  As we turned off the bike path to head into the Chateau complex we could not wait to get something to eat and drink as we did not have breakfast before we left home and only had one bottle of water each -- we should have planned better.  There were a number of choices of restaurants but one drew us in offering pizza and salad.  It was called L'Orangerie and there were a few other people eating there at the time and their food looked really good.  And best of all they had a clean bathroom!

David had pizza with mushrooms and olives and I had mine with chorizo sausage.  Both pizzas were outstanding.  We drank a ton of water and had Coke Light and canned Nestea.  It was a terrific break for our butts too!!!

After lunch we walked about an eighth of a mile to the Chateau.  

Since it was getting late in the day we decided to only tour the gardens.  Cliff mentioned he thought the gardens there were the most beautiful he had seen.  David has traveled to many places in the world as have I and we agreed with Cliff.  Below are some pictures.

We wished we had had more time to spend there but we are thinking about taking our friends, Kema and Steve, there when they visit us next week.  And we had to think about heading back to Tours to turn in our bikes.  We knew it would be about a two hour ride and, of course, Tours traffic would be changing with people getting off of work.

The ride back to Tours was lovely.  We saw large fields of sunflowers that were past their prime but we imagined what they must have looked like when they were in bloom!  They look a little sad here.

Especially next to the other field which was in bloom!

We arrived back in Tours around 4:30 and returned our rental bikes.  By the way, the bikes were excellent!!!  I hate to admit this but I was extremely grateful I worked out a lot before this trip!  

We walked back to the train station, stopping once to buy very expensive bottles of water!  But we needed them so . . . .  We took the 4:58 p.m. train and arrived back at our train station around 5:50 or so.  By then we had ridden about 35 miles on the bikes and spent the entire day outdoors.  We were pretty tired -- at least I was -- so we took a taxi home from the train station.  

It was the most wonderful day and I love that David arranged everything for us!  Believe me, we went to bed very, very early.