Six Days in the Countryside of France

Six days into our long vacation. Have driven off the beaten path in the Loire River Valley and Lot Region in France. Beautiful countryside, incredible chateaus, gorgeous gardens, and great food. What more could you ask for? First destination was a '10' at Chateau de Nazelles. The present owners have been slowly renovating rooms from the chateau and out buildings - rustic, but not in a country way. Unique and authentic! The rooms are simply furnished, but all the details are right on. We stayed in a single room cottage with a bath that was across the courtyard from the main house. Just perfect. The grounds were beautiful with woods across the back that you could just wander in. Since it is up on a hill in the tiny town, there were great views from anywhere on the property. Highly recommended for a place outside of a town - peaceful and serene.

The Loire River Valley is mostly rolling farmland with chateaus and manor houses scattered throughout. There are so many chateaus to tour you could stay for quite sometime and not get to them all. Many of them also have beautiful gardens, some quite formal. The one we toured inside was Chenonceau and the number of fresh flower arrangements was awesome. You could smell them as you entered the rooms.

Chenonceau Chateau

The Lot Region is more mountainous and rocky. It reminds me a little of Ireland. It is famous for its beautiful, picturesque villages, foie gras, walnuts and wine. It was pretty quiet in May, but many of the homes are owned by people from the city, or other countries and they get used primarily in the summer months. We spent three days just driving from village to village, stopping for a walk or bite to eat. In Autoire we hiked out of town down the river's edge and came upon cascades of water. You could hear it before you could see it. There are trails for biking and hiking all over the region. The weather was very unpredictable while we were here, so the one hike was all we fit in, though we walked miles through and around the villages, umbrella in hand.  Many of these beautiful towns are perched on top of cliffs or rock ledges which make them breathtaking to see on the drive in, long before you get there.

Village of Autoire

We really enjoyed getting out of the big cities and just meandering through these areas of France. Today we think we found a village even Bob could see himself  living in - Martel. We entered town and went for a walk right into the Saturday market in the center of town. Bought some bread, cheese, and wine. We are set for dinner tonight!

Next stop, Barcelona.