Gennes to Montsoreau

September 8th

It's not far from Gennes to Saumur. Just out of Saumur is the commune of Saint-Hilaire-Saint-Florent, home of Veuve Amiot wines, a sparkling wine that we have been known to buy on a number of occasions. We called in to their winery just as it was closing for lunch and the people on duty kindly let us stay on for about 15 minutes of their lunch-hour (not a common practice in France), as we didn't feel we had the time to wait for the afternoon opening at 2pm. It was good to see where the wine came from and to meet such nice people as well.

Saumur castle from camping ground

We arrived in the Saumur camping ground at the end of lunchtime and were able to put up our tent and leave our gear before biking up to the castle for the afternoon. We managed to be in time for a display of 'medieval horsemanship' and had enough time to check out the castle before it closed. We hadn't been there since 1990 and it has changed a lot inside and is still being changed. A law of 2002 decreed that places which were designated in the past as museums have to BE museums, so there has been a lot of changes to the interior. The third floor isn't yet open again, and even the staff that we talked to haven't been up there. Fabulous views though and from the exterior a thoroughly 'castley' castle!

September 9th - to Montsoreau and Fontevraud

The Loire around Saumur is well known for houses built into the limestone hills. Apparently they are very good for living in, with temperatures pretty stable all year round. We would have eaten at one of the restaurants but we were an hour or so too early and they didn't do coffee! It was fun biking past these places. When you are in the train they just whoosh by.

We checked in at the wonderful campsite (for bikers) at Montsoreau. We wanted to go to the Abbey of Fontevraud, and were able to leave our gear in (free) lockers for bikers while we did so. In fact we didn't put our tent up there either, as there were four bunks in one room, and another sleeping area undercover, rather like a DOC hut, available for cyclists. Plus three fridges, tables, power points for charging phones, computers et al. Really imaginative and practical. 

Good for the colder weather, too. By September our summer bags were really not warm enough and our other bags are in NZ. Also the tent got really wet from the dew and had to be rolled up wet - no chance any more of drying before we left in the morning. So we were really pleased to be able to stay here.

We biked to Fontevraud, which was uphill nearly all the way, with a subsequent downhill roll on our return. Yay! The Royal Abbey of Fontevraud dates from the 12th century and was closely associated with the nobility. Four of Louis XV's daughters were educated there (very fashionable at the time). It has been called the largest monastic grouping in Europe, housing both monks and nuns and, as desired by the founder, the leader of the order was always an Abesse, (half of whom were of royal blood). 

Two of the 7 or 8 fireplaces.

The order was dissolved during the revolution, of course, and the monastery turned into a prison. Until 1963!!! When the Ministry of Culture took over. Then followed over 20 years of trying to make it look like a monastery again, so that it could be opened to the public. And the restoration and renovation continues. Last time I came here I was bowled over by the octagonal kitchen, which has fires at all angles so that you can choose the ones best placed for the wind on any one day. How clever was that! 

This time there were many other things that I found interesting, whether they were there previously or not - in particular an exhibition of the monastery in its time as a prison. In the Abbey church, recently restored, is the site of the graves of Henry II of England, his wife Eleanor of Aquitaine, Richard the Lionheart, Isabelle of Angoulême, marked by recumbent figures. It brings a lot of history together in one place.

Returning in good spirits (downhill) to Montsoreau, we had time to visit the chateau of Montsoreau. It's not large but it is very well placed, on the river bank, just on the confluence of the Vienne and the Loire. When it was first built the river formed its moats. Half fort, half residential (XV century), having done times also as apartments and warehouses, today it is interesting to the visitor because of the different audio-visual displays in 18 of its rooms. 

The theme is La Loire and there are displays of the boats that plied the river over time, including displays of what they took upstream and what they brought downstream. There is a time-lapse video of the Loire over the seasons, where you can watch it come up to flood level, covering the sandbanks that are so much part of the river, then losing all that extra volume, exposing newly formed sandbanks. There are lovely views to be had from the rooftops, and it is fun following the tour through the various rooms and displays.

The Loire, the Vienne and the sandbanks. In the view  below, there are troglodyte dwellings in the cliff in the background.