Fleur de Loire

Pauline telling Rosemary and Hervé about the historic pillars in the bar.

Fleur de Loire is a new 5 star hotel with a 2 star Michelin restaurant at Blois. The chef is locally born and raised Christophe Hay [link], who is the only chef in the Touraine Loire Valley who has more than one star. We were invited to visit along with Loire ConneXion, on an outing organised by Summer Jauneaud, who is Loire Valley Concierge. Pauline Bernard the General Manager took us around and it was a very useful and interesting visit. 

The chef's Maserati in the courtyard. It is the only car allowed to park here. Guests cars are parked by the staff in a carpark hidden behind the eastern wing of the hotel.

It's a hotel for people who don't do the outdoors, although ironically it is perfectly placed for the Loire a Vélo cycle path. I've no doubt that the hotel does a great job of attending to their guests well being (Fr. bien etre), and this focus is just as is should be according to the latest industry trend reports. The main attractions are the Michelin starred restaurant and the Sisley spa [link]. There is a second restaurant too, with magnificent views over the Loire towards Blois, and a €75 a head gastronomic menu [link]. The decor is all soft purpley beigey blue greys that reference the river, with lots of black and white photos, mostly taken by Christophe Hay himself, and works of art by featured artists which change regularly [link]. The 112 staff wear turquoise uniforms and there are 44 rooms.

The Sisley spa.

The building is U-shaped, with an open courtyard facing the Loire on its left (south) bank. It was built by Gaston d'Orléans, the troublesome brother of Louis XIII (the king in the Three Musketeers) and up until now has been a hospice of one sort or another (most latterly an aged care home).

The Kiosk a patisseries [link], with a lovely view of the Loire and Blois.

The project has cost 9 million euros.

Wagu style beef, produced near Angers, on display in the Amour Blanc restaurant.

A typical room (not a suite, which we didn't see), with a view over the Loire.

Red wines in the 'cellar', a controlled atmosphere storeroom in the Michelin starred restaurant.

The Michelin starred restaurant.

Table setting in the Michelin starred restaurant, on the 'Chef's Table'.

The view of the Michelin starred kitchen that diners get.

The Michelin starred kitchen.

Repairing the Parquet at Cheverny

The parquet floors of the King's Bedroom and the Armour Room in the Chateau de Cheverny have been lifted in order to repair them. The rooms have been closed to the public and the admission tickets have been discounted for the period of the heritage conservation work. I was lucky enough to be there a day or two after the floors came up and I was able to get some photos.

 

The Armour Room, looking from the landing doorway towards the King's Bedroom, with the fireplace at the end.*

The pattern is known as 'parquet Versailles'. It was created for the Palace of Versailles around 1684 then widely used in grand town houses and chateaux throughout the 18th century.

Many broken joists were discovered when the parquet was lifted, so they will all be repaired. The pieces of parquet were sent to a specialist workshop for restoration, then relaid on the repaired supports. Then they were waxed and polished.

The joists exposed.

Because it was quiet I took the opportunity to talk to Reynaud, the House Manager, about the project. I asked him if all the utilities would be run under the floor to hide them, as would be the case in a National Trust house, for example. His reply surprised me a bit. He said that several decades ago they had a fire caused by a fault in an electrical wire hidden behind some panelling. As a result their policy now is to always have utilities exposed, even if it is a bit ugly, so they are easy to get to and faults are immediately apparent.

The work will be finished sometime between 15 March and 1 April. 

The floor pre-restoration, in the same corner as the photo above.

*At the end of the Armour Room the massive high relief carved and gilded fireplace depicts Mercury and Venus, accompanied by Love, framing a painting by Jean Mosnier of The Death of Adonis.

Walking Around Barrou

On Thursday 2 February I joined the walking club of Le Grand Pressigny at Barrou and we did 9 km. Up the hill, through the forest, round some farms and back down again.

Tinder Fungus Fomes fomentarius (Fr. Amadouvier).

Walking in the forest.

Farm buildings.

Flint stones being used as foundations for this barn.

A pond with very low water levels, presumably due to the ongoing drought.

A pear tree and farm buildings.

Snowdrops in a farmhouse garden.

Happy International Women's Rights Day

 

Last year my friend André gave me a huge bunch of wattle blossom (mimosa to him, since he's not Australian). It is traditionally given by men to women on International Women's Rights Day.

Espace Malraux and Cultures du Coeur

 

Coffee in the meeting room.

As part of my role to organise social and cultural outings for 'our' displaced Ukrainians on behalf of the Association d'Accueil et d'Accompagnement des Réfugiés en Sud Touraine (AARST) I was invited to participate in a meeting of Cultures du Coeur 37. They are an organisation which acts as an intermediary to facilitate access to cultural and sporting events in Indre et Loire. Joining Cutures du Coeur had been suggested to me when I got in touch with the Musée des Beaux Arts in Tours about the possibility of organising an outing to the public fine arts gallery.

Main entrance to the Espace Malraux.

Espace Malraux is a municipal multi disciplinary events and performance facility in Joué les Tours. It comprises three types of spaces -- a 1000 seat auditorium, a 250 seat room that can be adapted to many different arrangements and functions, and meeting rooms or work spaces. This allows the facility to simultaneously fulfill a regional role, with big events and well known artists, but also have a programme for families and the youth audience in the smaller rooms. Some events, especially those for children, are free.

Grand piano in a corridor.

Cultures du Coeur can organise their own events using Espace Malraux as a venue and working with them, or issue invitations to their partners and those their partners work with to existing scheduled events. Cultures du Coeur also works with many other cultural institutions such as museums, sports clubs and theatres in similar ways. Volunteer associations and those working with the disadvantaged join the Cultures du Coeur network and then work with the museums, sports clubs and theatres to create events, outings and workshops attended by people in difficulties, such as 'our' Ukrainians. Some of the possibilities they mentioned for Espace Malraux, beyond scheduled performances, was behind the scenes visits or workshops with the artists.

A meeting room.

The one disappointing feature of Espace Malraux is that getting there by public transport is complicated if not impossible.

Discussing the adaptability of this room.

The room that can be adapted to many configurations.

Restaurant la Claise

 

Christine moves through the crowd with a platter of nibbles at the soft opening on 24 February.

Christine Véré and Patrice Mellot have bought the restaurant la Claise in Preuilly sur Claise and it reopened on 28 February, now a bar as well as a restaurant.

Looking in through the front door.

For the past four years the couple have dreamed of quitting their jobs and working together in their own restaurant, with Patrice in the kitchen and Christine doing front of house. Patrice's parents are restaurateurs the Vosges. Initially he looked set to become a professional footballer, but injury saw him returning to the family business, where he worked for 15 years. He learnt on the job and is now an experienced chef. For Christine it is all much newer. She retired from the French Air Force and started working with Patrice. 

Looking in through the side window.

They found La Claise by accident, during a visit to family at Ligueil. Patrice noticed the establishment was advertised on SOS Village, a website dedicated to ensuring all French villages have at least one restaurant. Preuilly had lost all its restaurants in August last year when the last one, La Claise, closed due to the health issues of the owners. L'Esperance also ceased serving food at about the same time due to health problems in the family of the owner. Several years previously we lost l'Image, and some years before that the Auberge Saint Nicolas. We were reduced to a pizza vending machine!

The new bar.

La Claise will offer breakfasts, frequently changing brasserie style lunches and a limited choice dinner menu. In the bar you will be able to play board or card games and order a snack on a plancha. The restaurant seats 30 covers, with a back room which will be available for private functions. They have benefitted from a grant to buy new equipment for the kitchen.

The mayor, Jean-Paul Charrier, presents Patrice and Christine with a gift at the soft opening.

They are open Tuesday to Friday from 7:30 am to 3 pm and 5:30 pm to 9 pm (end of service) and on weekends opening at 9 am. They are closed Sunday afternoons and all day Mondays.

Walking Around Le Louroux

On Monday 13 February we drove 40 minutes to meet the Phoenix en Claise walking group at the big Etang and nature reserve at Le Louroux.

The Etang (dam) du Louroux, hand dug by medieval monks and now a nature reserve.

Polly the Airedale terrier managed to get herself in a pond, despite her owner's disapprobration.

The village of le Louroux.

The back of the priory in Le Louroux.

We sneak in by the back of the priory.

In the main (inner) courtyard of the priory. Fabrice no doubt spinning some yarn. Left to right Pauline, Monique, Roger, Annie, Jim, David, Danielle, Fabrice, Aline, Ingrid, Dominique, Maurice.

Jane and Simon taking a break.

The 17th century monks quarters, with swallows nests provided by conservationists under the loggia roof.

Checking out the menu of the restaurant in the priory barn.

Buildings that look like they have an industrial heritage on the central square in Le Louroux.

Ciclic

Ciclic is a government agency created to provide a cultural service to the public. They offer a wide variety of activities designed to encourage the creation and diffusion of books, digital arts and images. Probably their most high profile activities are their mobile cinema, and their amateur film archive.

Their remit is to encourage diversity and emerging creators in the fields of cinema and the audiovisual arts, from creation to diffusion, throughout Centre Val de Loire. They host a short film festival, a documentary film festival, have a special section for animations and provide grants and a mentorship programme for image makers, authors, producers and technicians.

 

The headquarters of Ciclic, in Chateau-Renault.

As well as the mobile cinema in a semi-trailer, they have an art class truck and an essay writing truck.

Their education and teaching division gives young rural students access to significant cultural works, gets them involved in artistic practice, and develops their critical sense. There are programmes for senior high school students and apprentices to write and develop a series or an animated film, with both workshops and YouTube training videos. There are also special programmes for the vulnerable and disadvantaged. Students can learn about image creation and the use of images in the media, using their voice, writing for screen or publication, or gain insight into becoming a librarian.

There is a section for 'living literature' and support for authors. Ciclic helps to promote living authors, involving industry professionals including libraries and bookshops with authors who aren't well known, to get their work noticed by the public. 

An important part of Ciclic's work is to collect, safeguard and promote the amateur films made in Centre Val de Loire so that they a regional audiovisual 'living memory'. These films are available to view on line and they form an important archive of material showing daily life as filmed by ordinary families in the Touraine.

I'm a big fan of their amateur film archive [link], and of their 'Mille lectures d'hiver' ('a thousand winter readings') programme (which, sadly, Covid seems to have put a stop to).

Further reading: Ciclic have produced a 5 page infographic in English to describe what they do [link].

The Gateway to the Touraine

 

Snowdrops in the grounds of the chateau/town hall.

Chateau-Renault is a town north of Tours, built around a castle. There is no evidence of man's occupation of the bluff the chateau sits on prior to a wooden castle on an artificial mound was built in 1140. The town below appeared after this construction, most notably after the Abbey of Saint Julien de Tours established a complex there.

11th century keep and modern municipal police station.

In 1160 the Count of Blois built a cylindrical keep when the previous wooden castle burnt down. The castle was protected on three sides by gigantic ditches and on the fourth side by cliffs. In 1560 the assassination of the leading Protestant, Jean du Barry, in the nearby forest, precipitated the Wars of Religion.

One of several cedar trees in the grounds of the chateau/town hall.

Chateau-Renault's main claim to fame is leather. The place must have stunk, up until the mid-1980s, when the last leather factory closed. As a sort of complement to the leather, there were also 'strong glue' factories, using, I suppose, the bits of the cow that the leather factories didn't want. According to a 19th century commentator, leather was to Chateau-Renault what silk was to Lyon, linen to Lille or wine to Bordeaux. The first tanneries were established in the town in 1543, and by the 19th century leather from here was known worldwide. 

The remains of the wing which burnt in 1907.

The chateau complex was given to the town in 1948 by the last private owners, with the intention that it become the town hall, although this didn't happen until 1962.

The chateau/town hall.

The chateau buildings have been rebuilt and remodelled several times since the 11th century, and much of what you see today is 17th century. In 1907 there was a fire which destroyed part of the principal buildings and only the southern wing was rebuilt.

Gatehouse.

The gatehouse, the lower part of which dates back to the 12th-13th century, was the main entrance to the castle. The upper part is composed of a room above which is a level fitted with hoardings (a defensive system overhanging the wall). The grooves allowing a portcullis to slide up and down are still visible under the vaulted passage. The bell tower contains a bell dated 1523. After the collapse of part of the building in December 2014, the tower has been fully restored.

Stables.