A Week in the Country: Loire Valley, France

Another random catch-up from our 2012 holiday.

This post is made up solely of images taken on the property we rented.
So beautiful, I could have spent our whole week here and venturing nowhere but our own backyard.

You can find our more about renting Les Averries here ←










The afternoons were so lovely we planned every day to be home by 5pm for a swim.
Our days spent out & about, it was hard to come home to this :)







We stayed in a township by the name of Bougueil, and it was beautiful and perfect.

The Café de la Promenade was just down the road, and there were markets to explore,
Troglodite caves, castles, wineries and beautiful countryside to drive through. 

Heaven.
















While the kids swam, I explored the amazing garden:


























Being inside was just as divine.  I was a bit sad the weather was so awesome and I couldn't
light that amazing fireplace .. maybe i'll have to come back for a winter visit too ...

















I would totally recommend visiting Bourgueil if you are visiting France. 
Our host, Michel has an office on site ( in the converted barn ) but is very
respectful of privacy.  He was actually away in Paris on business for most of our visit,
but was only a phone call away if needed.

Inside, there is a bureau of maps and pamphlets of things to do and a handwritten
note from Michel regarding when the markets are on, and which restaurants are good,
and how to get to the Hyper-U ( a huge shopping centre ) or the pharmacie.

The rental boasts everything you could possibly need ( details here ) and comfortably sleeps 6.
It was simply, gorgeous.
















The most perfect holiday ever.
Now you can probably understand why Amsterdam was a bit underwhelming for me?











It was hard to leave .. in fact, while the boys swam, AB and I sat under the willows and
breathed in the air ( and the wine ) and planned how we could possibly stay forever.







Alas, it was not to be..