Our First Few Days in France

The start of our year in France landed us in Paris on Aug 5. Access to our new home would not be until end of the month, giving us a 3-week window to explore the country. After grabbing our car rental from Paris’ CDG airport we started making our way towards the Loire valley, splitting our first few days between the towns of Orléans and Saumur.

Orléans is located on the Loire River and is well known for Joan of Arc who liberated the city in 1429 (from English rule). Joan became a central piece of the town’s main square, immortalized by 30’ foot statue paying homage to her. Joan lived a short life of about 19 years but her legacy as a national hero is profoundly alive today. Even though scholars state that she never fought in combat, she was pretty bad ass in her short life given her liberation of Orléans and influence in unifying France as a nation.

The Loire is speckled with castles or châteaux (plural of chateau), some dating back many hundreds of years. They served as residences to prominent families or retreats to royals, just a couple of hours drive west of Paris. Perfect setting for the kids especially Luna who is still very much into princesses and fairy tales. The châteaux delivered in terms of historical value and preservation of centuries old artifacts and were magical even for us adults. Access to the castles from Orléans proved to be swiftly attainable, just a short drive away.

Castles aplenty and also the setting for the largest abbey in Europe, Fontevraud built in 1101. The Loire Valley had it all!

And when in the Loire region, you’re always near vineyards and great wine. Indulging in this local pleasure came hand in hand with the castle tour. We tasted the local offerings of the Saumur and Saumur Champigny AOCs (or protected designated wine region, where white grapes = Chenin Blanc and red grapes = Cabernet Franc). The setting for numerous wineries is literally set in stone, the massive limestone cave system that occupies the region serves as perfect tasting rooms and cellars offering the right conditions for wine to thrive (darkness, coolness and humidity).

From the Loire region we made our way south towards Bordeaux where we spent the next few days getting serious with some wine tourism. Stay tuned for our next post!