French Gardens 10: Epilog (EPI-BLOG?)

 

 

I realized than I need to revise my previous impressions of Francs as mentioned in “French Gardens” Introduction”.

But first we must mention that France is REALLY EXPENSIVE. Maybe all of Europe is. Our breakfasts today, either in the hotel or the airport, were $20 each. And, on Monday, in the hotel bar, two gin and tonics were about $60, or $30 each. These prices will sober you up quickly. Or break you if you keep drinking!

But today’s France, is not the France I remember from 10 or more years ago:

• The loooooong meals, the fancy and buttery sauces, the fourth or fifth course of cheese seen to be gone. Most restaurants offered a two or three course meals. And only one time did I have to sit through a cheese course.
• But the most important thing I noticed was the apparent change in attitude of the French people. On every previous visit to this country I encountered rude and condescending citizens, particularly those who interact with the public (e.g. wait staff). But this time it was totally different; everyone - EVERY waiter, every hotel staff member, every taxi driver, and others – were friendly. This was a very refreshing revelation. Maybe, some day, we’ll return.
• Via la France.

French Gardens 09: In Amboise

 

There are no gardens to visit today but there is a prescribed bike ride of 100Km.  That’s twice the distance of previous rides.  It’s supposed to rain and I hope it does so I don’t have to ride.  I want to see the house where Da Vinci lived and died.

Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci  was an Italian Renaissance painter, sculptor, architect, musician, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist, and writer.  He is widely considered to be one of the greatest painters of all time and perhaps the most diversely talented person ever to have ever lived.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In 1516, De Vinci entered François' (Francis I) service (e.g. moved to France), being given the use of the manor house Clos Lucé (see photo on right above) near the king's residence at the royal Château d'Amboise (see photo on left above). It was here that he spent the last three years of his life, accompanied by his friend and apprentice, Count Francesco Melzi, and supported by a pension totaling 10,000 scudi

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Left above, Leonardo’s garden.  Right, concept bicycle – with belt drive!!!

 

WHO’S RIDING?

 Jane Holahan (“Saint Jane”)

Our tour leader, Jane, lives in Dallas, TX with her husband Michael.  Jane completed her undergraduate work at UT-Austin with a degree in English and History.  She later did graduate work at UT-Arlington in French.  She has been leading trips since 2001 for Dallas Arboretum, private clients and Bicycle Adventure Club in the regions of Normandy, Provence, Brittany, Alsace and Loire.  Combining her French language skills, love of history and gardens, she lends a special charm to her tours.

Her only child was born in France on June 13, nearly 50 years ago, when Jane must have been 12.

Before turning her talents to leading tours she raised money for PBS programming and also was head of the Fine Arts Department at the Dallas Public Library system.

In addition to living in France for a couple of years during her early married years, she also lived in London for 3 years.

Thank you Jane for arranging a delightful tour and sharing special gardens with us.  The special tours with the Duke, Elsie and the Countess were exceptionally enjoyable.

John McManus & Brenda Cole

(Written by John McCoy)

John McManus and Brenda Cole are veteran Bicycle Adventure Club riders and leaders. John estimates that he has ridden 98 bike tours with approximately 60 being with BAC. Brenda estimates that she has ridden or lead more than 55 trips with BAC. They both retired in 2000 from Mobil Oil Corporation. John was on the Board of Directors of BAC from 2003 - 2007 when he help start the Ride Leader Training Program.

Currently they live north of Dallas in a garden home near White Rock Lake where they can warm up with a 10 mile loop that is mostly on bike trails and quiet residential streets. They escape the hot Texas summer months by residing in Frisco, Colorado which is west of Denver. Here they get their high altitude training in to be ready for the fall riding season.

John and Brenda also belong to and lead tours for a tandem bicycle club, DATES (Dallas Area Tandem EnthusiastS). If you want to visit with them after a ride, John prefers red wine and Brenda white.

”All good things must come to an end.”   And all bad things I suspect, also.  So the Gardens of Touraine blog comes to an end.  Tomorrow we take a taxi to Tours and the high speed TGV train to Charles de Gaulle Airport.  On Wednesday we have a direct flight from CDG to DFW.  We’ll find similar  weather to France in Texas; hot but with intermittent thunder showers.

Unless something unusual happens, this blog won’t resume until our “Huff and Puffers Ride Again” tour which starts in Connecticut on September 14.  This tour is a recreation of the original tour, 50 years ago, of the International Bicycle Touring Society which morphed into Bicycle Adventure Club.

If you want notices when the blog is published either sign up in the FOLLOW BY EMAIL window on the right of the screen near the top of the blog or “friend me” on Facebook.

French Gardens 08: Amboise to Chateau De Chaumont-Sur-Loire

 

Chateau de Chaumont-Sur-Loire is our last garden.  And none too soon for me; I’ve had enough gardens for a lifetime.  But Chaumont is more than a garden and chateau.  It is a garden of gardens, a sculpture garden (which we somehow missed) and art galleries – lots of them.  It includes Festival International Des Jardins (“The Gardens of Deadly Sins”) from April until November.  But really now, can you have deadly sins in gardens? Maybe deadly plants. But sins?  Oh well, if you believe in sin, you can believe anything.

 

 

So this fuzzy painting on the left – and dozens like it in the  chateau are supposed to remind you of the long lost wall paper on the chateau walls.  “Yawn”.  I think my photos of peeling paint are much more interesting and artistic.

 

 

 

There must have been thousands of attendees this weekend, which is a French/religious three day holiday.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

WHO’S RIDING?

John McCoy and Linda Stewart

This couple has their share of toys, and the hobbies to support these toys!  Where to begin?  Well, let's get careers out of the way.  They are both accountants, both worked in industry.  John is now retired and only takes on a few special projects doing business improvement consulting.  Linda, for 15 years, has been doing project accounting for engineering firms.

Their hobbies include scuba diving, which they say they have hung up their BVs (bouyancy vests) and fins.  Of course there is bicycling.  Although this is their first BAC ride they have done 3 other cycling tours with other groups.  And they have already booked a BAC ride for next spring.  Plus, they are going to a bicycle maintenance week long course at United Bicycle Institute in Ashland, OR in September and have planned a biking trip to Hawaii in December.

Another hobby is building and flying an airplane.  John build his own airplane from a kit.  It is a single engine, low wing, side-by-side craft that has about a 4.5 hour range, although their personal comfort range is about half that time.  The longest flight they have taken was to Alaska, although they have flown many places.  John commutes to his special projects work by loading his folding bike onto the plane, flies then rides the bike to the office.  Way cool.

They live in an airpark, think RV park but for planes.  Their house includes a hanger and a taxi-way to the airport behind their house.  How convenient!

And don’t forget motorcycles.  Linda rides a Harley and John a Victory.

French Gardens 07: Amboise to Chateau de Valmer

 

The forecast was for rain this morning and it was raining pretty hard at 8:00 so we decided to take taxis at 9:30.  But the rain let off by 9:00 and a couple of people jumped on their bikes.

Valmar is primarily known for it’s “kitchen garden”, shown in the photo above.  The chateau burned down in 1948; the photo on the left shows with shrubs where the walls and first story windows were.  We had a delightful tour by the owner, the Countess Alix de Saint Venant (right photo below).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After the garden tour, we were introduced to who I thought was the Count-in-waiting Jean de Saint Venant, the son of the countess who is responsible for the wine production.  But it turns out that our wine guide was a student intern.  We bought three bottles and hope to take two back   to Dallas.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

WHO’S RIDING

Fran Kaplan

Fran worked, then retired, as a personnel analyst for City of San Francisco for 30 years.  She has one brother that lives in Orange County, near LA.  Fran still lives in the San Francisco area, in Redwood City.  Her hobbies include biking, gardening, puzzles and travels to interesting places. She admits that she really loves crossword puzzles the most.

Her next adventure will take her to Patagonia in late November.  She had difficulty identifying a favorite trip, but thought maybe Buton might be a candidate.  This area borders Nepal.

 

GARDEN GROUPIES. All of us with Countess Alix

French Gardens 06: Montbazon to Amboise

 

Last night’s stay at Chateau d’Artigny was not as opulent at we had hoped.  We’ve been in more comfortable Best Westerns.  Note: the chateau is shown above but we were not in the main building.  We were in the Spa building to the left of the photo.

On the route today we visited (Too long a visit if you ask me!) Chateau de Chenonceau. To build this in the 16th century, Thomas Boher and his wife Katherine Briconnet demolished the fortified castle and mill belonging to the Marques family.

In 1547, King Henry II donated Chenonceau to his mistress Diane de Poitiers.  But the King was killed in a joust and his legal wife, Catherine de Medici kicked out the mistress and took position.  Of course the mistress of the dead king didn’t do too badly; she was given another chateau up river – or maybe it was downstream.

 

So here’s a philosophical question?  If you were king and your wife looked like Catherine de Medici (photo on right), wouldn’t you take a mistress Or two?

 

Once again we had some beautiful roads today. BUT YOU WILL NEVER SEE THEM.  NOT ON THIS BLOG.  When I’m riding beautiful roads and having a great time, I’M NOT GOING TO STOP TO TAKE A PICTURE.  They’re for me to enjoy and you to fanaticize about!  The only way you’ll get to enjoy them is to get on a bike and ride yourself.

CLICK HERE TO SEE TODAY'S ROUTE.  This includes the extra couple of miles when we missed a turn.

WHO’S RIDING

Dan and Rita Ireland

David and Rita have been married nearly 40 years.  Actually, next year is the 40th anniversary but they are beginning their celebration this year!  They have a son, Jesse (34) who followed his father into a career of firefighting and their daughter, Jan (32) is a mental health specialist.  Rita is originally from Iowa and David is from California; they met on a beach.  They have lived in Seattle for over 30 years.

David was a firefighter for 21 years and for the past 15 years he has been a Manager of Quality Assurance at the 911 Center.  Rita, now retired, was an educator for 42 years, working in the classroom and as a librarian.

This is their first BAC ride and their first organized bike tour.  They have enjoyed this experience and plan to do more traveling with BAC.  Their next trip is to Moab, UT where they will ride mountain bikes and motorcycles.

French Gardens 05: Chinon to Montbazon

 

There are no gardens on today’s route.  But it is a beautiful route, sometimes going through vineyards and sometimes with tree-covered paths.  The roads continue as smooth as glass. 

We all take a lunch break at Sache, which was Alexander Calder’s home. (See art in town square)  Lunch is in a bar.  The restaurant part doesn’t open until noon but the bar sure does.  I’ve often witnessed people in Ireland drinking before lunch; I believe this is the first time I’ve seen it in France (see photo below).

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our destination tonight is the Chateau d’Artigny, an expensive and exclusive place.  Below you see Brenda climbing amongst the trees on the way to the chateau and then the first glimpse of it.  This is not a historic building; it was built in this century.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CLICK HERE TO SEE TODAY'S ROUTE.

WHO’S RIDING?

Rich and Marianne Reinecke have been married for 35 years, live in California where they raised their 2 children, a son age 29 and a daughter 25.  Rich owned an electrical wholesale company that sold supplies to contractors.  He sold this business and retired in 2009.  Marianne has studied both landscape and interior design but spent many years looking after the family and the kids’ varied interests.  Their son was involved in horse competition and Marianne also participated in dressage. 

Marianne is also a gourmet cook and because of her studies in design she has put her personal touch on their home over the years.

Although this is their first BAC bike ride, last year they rode in the San Juan Islands off the Washington State coast.  Their next biking adventure will be to ride 100 miles in Holland, Michigan later this summer.  A unique aspect of this 100 mile ride is that the total elevation gain is under 1000 ft.  That is a pretty flat ride; however, riding 100 miles is quite an accomplishment!

French Gardens 04-2: Day in Chinon (Part 2)

 

We had a guided tour of  Le Jardin d’Elsie by the owner, plantswoman, writer and landscape designer Elsie De Raedt.  Madame De Raedt is originally from Antwerp; she built this garden from scratch over tha past 15 years.  Although her love is roses – there are340 varities in her garden – ther are also 1,000 perennials.

 

 

After the tour we had a 5 course dinner in the owner’s home.  Of course we began with a Kir Royale with Rose Syrup.

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

WHO’S RIDING?

Denise Merlick

Denise has been married to Chris for 19 years and they have 2 daughters, Ella is 11 and Audrey is 9.  No doubt they are as cute as their mother!  She and her family have lived in the Lake Highlands area of Dallas, TX for the past 17 years.  Although Denise was born in Dallas she spent nearly 2 years living in Leadville, CO during Jr. high school. 

She has a Photography degree from Columbia College in Chicago and worked as a free-lance photography stylist, doing some work in both food styling and commercials.  She now spends most of her time looking after her 2 girls.  Her  hobbies include watercolor painting and organic gardening, where she met Jane. 

This is her first BAC bike trip, her first bike trip and her 1st ever vacation by herself.  What a lot of firsts!!!  Her family will be joining her in Rome at the end of this trip and they will spend around 10 days in Italy. 

French Gardens 04: Day in Chinon

 

There are no gardens to visit today and there is 80% chance of rain, so we’re taking the day off.  However, at 10:30 the sun is shining.  And we actually are visiting a garden later today with a dinner at the owner’s house.  Chinon is a good place to chill out; both interesting and small enough to walk everywhere.

    

Last night we went to a wine tasting which was in a wine cave.  In addition to the winery’s storage, there are private cellars inside the cave.

 

 

    

 

 

 

No, we did not eat Tex-Mex at Le Tennessee last night; we had perch on a bed of risotto at At’Able, one of the best seafood meals in recent memory.

 

 

 

Below, the Loire River at Chinon, both downstream and upstream.

 

 

        

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Possibly there will be a Gardens 04, Part 2 after tonight’s dinner.

French Gardens 03: From Chinon Chateau de Rivau

 

The Castle dates from the 13th and 15th centuries. The Lords de Beauvau owned Le Rivau since the 13th century.  In 1429, Joan of Arc stopped here before the siege of Orleans to fetch horses.  In 1445, Pierre de Beauvau was allowed to fortify the castle. In 1536, in Rabelais’ book, Gargantua (We’re staying in Hotel Gargantua) gives the chateau to his faithful captain.  In the 18th century, Le Rivau was one of the rare castles spared by the Cardinal Richelieu.

        

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

           

 

    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Restoration of the chateau and recreation of the gardens were begun in 1993 by Erica and Patricia (see photo later) Laigneau. Eric is a builder and responsible for the chateau; artistic Patricia is responsible for the gardens.

        

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had lunch at the chateau (waiting for dessert in the photo), three courses and wine.  Fortunately the short return ride was only 12 km.  Our tour leader, Jane Holahan, worked at the chateau in the summer of 2008 and is a good friend of the owner.  Ms. Laigneau visited with us during lunch.