France 2010 - Saumur and the Loire Valley

Once we left the Troglodyte area we headed to the main town of Saumur and found the Campanile hotel we booked earlier. It was very cramped but it was the only place where the whole family could share a room. While we were resting Pug had the unenviable job of trawling the Internet for a hotel near to Calais for our last night in France. He eventually managed to find a hotel and paid by credit card. He then printed out the directions only to find that the ‘Hotel de Calais’ was not actually in Calais. It was in fact 170 miles away in Treport. O well, it makes life exciting.

Having sorted out our next nights accommodation we set out into the town of Saumur.  In the centre of the town there was a magnificent Chateau perched on a hill.  We parked the car at the bottom by the Loire River and began the steep walk up to the Chateau.  Once we had reached the top there was a small café/restaurant with commanding views of the magical Chateau and surrounding Loire valley.  We decided to stop there and eat.  Food was good and as for location this couldn’t be beaten.

The sun was setting and we weaved our way back down the hillside through the back streets. The whole atmosphere was reminiscent of the Mediterranean we had left a week earlier; people were sat outside drinking and laughing; music was playing and the temperature was pleasant.  Reluctantly we headed back to our hotel room and went to sleep.