Back for more in the France Travel Series Part II. If you haven’t checked out Part I yet, you will want to take a look. Part II will be sharing our adventure to the Northwestern part of France, showing you how to have a truly authentic Loire Valley experience and a visit to the most magical place on earth, Mont St. Michel.
Mont St. Michel
When I last left off we were traveling from Bayeux to Mont St Michel, which is about a 1.5 hour drive, to the western edge of the country located on the coast. The island itself is located about a half mile off the coast and has a population of about 50 people. The island, reachable during low tide, is awe inspiring and stirs up your imagination. Perched on top of the island is a beautiful abbey that was once used as a prison and was eventually fully restored as an abbey. The walk to, from and around the island is not for the faint at heart. The actual island is located about 1.5 miles from the parking lot, we opted to take a horse-drawn carriage to the island and walked to the parking lot when we left.
Once on the island the journey to the top was actually challenging. A straight hike up stairs and winding roads led us to the gorgeous abbey. Once we transcended the final steps we didn’t believe our eyes. Perched on the very top of this island was an architectural masterpiece. Arches, pillars, stained glass windows and a luscious courtyard. The monks sang mass in the background as we toured this unbelievable site. It’s hard to imagine how they built this considering where the island itself is located and the trek up to the top.
On the way down from the abbey we stopped at several stores and grabbed a bite to eat. The majority of the shops were touristy, with postcards and souvenirs. Given that the island sees 2.5 million visitors a year, it can get very crowded. My suggestion would be to go early, if possible, and grab a bite to eat off the island. I’d also suggest walking to or from the actual island as it is amazing. Seeing the island sitting in the sea and its changing perspective when walking is not only stunning, but something you will remember forever.
Loire Valley
Our road trip continued as we drove about 30 minutes to the Loire Valley from Mont St. Michel. We spent 2 nights in the charming town of Amboise at La Manior Les Minimes. The Loire Valley is located in central France along the Loire River. This region is loaded with Chateauxs, vineyards and bike trails. We decided on Amboise through our research and the stunning hotel. The hotel was set on perfectly manicured grounds walled off by a gate. It felt like we were in our own personal Chateaux. We ended up getting a room in the small coach house on the property away from the main hotel and it was perfect.
The town itself is mild mannered and has a medieval feel with plenty of little cafes. The main focal point in town is the Amboise Royal Chateaux, which happens to be the burial site of Leonardo Da Vinci.
One of the reasons we chose Amboise was the close proximity to wineries, as we arranged for a private guided wine tour in which we visited 3 wineries and had lunch. We choose to do a private guided wine tour, partly by default. By the time we booked the tour most small group tours were filled up. My suggestion is to book early so you have as many options as possible. Wine Country in France is a lot different than Wine Country in Napa. Less touristy and less commercial. They haven’t yet caught on to the booming industry like in Napa, but I assume it will get there one day. The first stop of our wine tour was a private tasting in a wine cave, which was the tour company owner’s personal cave. In here we tasted new wines and fell in love with them, our favorites are:
Saint Nicolas De Bourgueil, not available in the US, but it’s a Cabernet Franc wine.
After sampling the wines, we actually bottled, labeled and sealed fresh wine that we gathered from a wine share co-op. It was truly a memorable experience.
We then traveled back to Amboise for lunch and a private tour of the Chateaux. Here we learned about the deep history of the Chateaux, toured the many rooms and spent time in the gardens. I wanted to dress up for this part of our vacation, and I opted to wear heels on this tour…bad idea, I repeat, bad idea. There is a reason why women in France aren’t walking around in high heels. The towns are filled with cobbled streets and hills and winding roads, all things that aren’t ideal for walking in heels. We got a really good laugh out of me struggling to walk around. Lucky for me I brought flat sandals just in case and boy was I happy I did that. Not as classy looking, but much easier to get around in.
We ended the tour at Domain Marc Bredif, which is truly one of the greatest names in the Loire Valley offering exceptional white, red and sparkling wines. The estate dates back to 1893 and survived both WWI and WWII and is magnificent. The wine caves are built into the countryside and consists of rows and rows of bottles. Each bottle is turned by hand daily to ensure proper fermenting and storage. After the tour we did a full tasting of all the wines they offered. We fell in love with the wines and took home four bottles, which we are still enjoying today.
Our two days in the Loire Valley went by quickly! Our next and final stop on this trip was Paris! Everything is true what they say about Paris, we literally fell in love with the city. Stay tuned for Part III where I breakdown the do’s and don’ts in Paris, and what to see and what to skip.
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