Tuesday 7 August 2012

Out and about

'Tis the season for visits and catching up with good friends, which is why we haven't been posting quite as frequently as we normally do.

Angles sur L' Anglin
Late last week we picked up Andrea, a good friend of Antoinette's at the TGV station near Tours. Currently she lives and works as the head of an international primary in the Netherlands and paid us a flying visit on her way to Nice.

We headed straight off to do a spot of wine tasting at Chateau Gaudrelle. Simon & Susan have written about this Vouvray producer a number of times before. We had a little look in the cellars and then proceeded to the serious stuff--trying their still and sparkling wines. We found them very tasty and a number of bottles were purchased for consumption on the terrace during Andrea's visit.
castle ruins, Angles sur L'Anglin
As it was only a brief visit, we wanted Andrea to get as much of a flavour of the area as possible. So after Vouvray we drove along the Loire to Amboise before heading home via Montpoupon and Loches.
upper village, view from the bridge at Angles
The next day we showed Andrea some of the sights to the south of us, notably the frescos at St Savin, which we have written about before. On our way there we visited the village of Angles sur L'Anglin, which proudly holds the title of being one of the prettiest in France. 
watermill at Angles sur L'Anglin
It was lovely to see Andrea again, and as always, when you have friends to stay, much fat was chewed: happily out on the terrace as the weather behaved! Much fun was also had and, most importantly, cats were spoilt! Andrea is very fond of furries and this was quickly discovered.

This Saturday we are looking forward to seeing other friends who will be spending the day with us en-route back home after a holiday in Poitou-Charente region.

C'est aout; tout le monde est en vacances!

16 comments:

Jane and Lance Hattatt said...

Hello Niall and Antoinette:
The countryside around you really is superb, as is so evident in the images which you have posted here. And, in addition to touring to towns and villages, you also have the opportunity for wine tasting [and purchasing]. It all sounds like heaven to us. We wish you continued fun!

ladybird said...

Except me :((

Enjoy the company, the visits, the food and the wine!! Martine

My name is Riet said...

Wat is het daar prachtig , zo'n mooie omgeving, wat zal her heerlijk zijn om daar te wonen.

Niall & Antoinette said...

@Jane & Lance - it gets pretty close :-)

Niall & Antoinette said...

@Martine - kom een weekend tijdens de vendenge :-) De Thalys loopt toch via Brussel?

Niall & Antoinette said...

@Riet - we kunnen zeker niet klagen! :-) Vroeger kwamen we hier op vacantie nu we er wonen [en werken!] hebben we weinig zin om weg te gaan. Eignelijk gaan we alleen weg voor familie bezoekjes in NL and Scotland.

Susan said...

Charles (Gaudrelle) mentioned you had visited.

Angles never fails to impress - it is so photogenic.

Niall & Antoinette said...

@Susan - yes we did say it was all your fault :-)

LindyLouMac said...

Summer is definitely the time for such pleasures and as I have probably said before it is the quality not the quantity that I enjoy. Have fun with the next round of visitors.

The Broad said...

It all sounds perfetly heavenly to me -- The part of the world where you live is so exceptional without the fact that it also has my favourite of all wines. Bliss for sure!

the fly in the web said...

I loved having visitors...well, still do...though when the same people came year after year I had to put on the thinking cap to try to take them somewhere new.

Luckily, as you have demonstrated, there was plenty to visit!

Niall & Antoinette said...

@LindyLou - absolutely :-) it is what we enjoy too.

Niall & Antoinette said...

@Broad - it's pretty good; but then so is your corner of France :-)

Niall & Antoinette said...

@Fly - we really enjoy it too and it's interesting to see one's house through their eyes.
As you say there's always something to go and see.

GaynorB said...

Angles is one of my favourite places. I wish we were a little bit closer...

Niall & Antoinette said...

@Gaynor - it is lovely and sitting the small square watching the world go by is great fun.