It’s now officially spring and we’re back in Blois for another couple of weeks. We couldn’t get over the difference in how many leaves have appeared on the trees in such a short time. The tulips are out as well so a visit to Château de Cheverny is scheduled for this week to see the 60,000 tulips planted every year. In the meantime, here are my favourites at Closerie Falaiseau and the view from upstairs.
I was delighted when I discovered we had orchids in our garden in Blois. I had thought they were strictly tropical plants but it turns out that France has quite a large number of wild orchids and our region alone has about sixty. We have found three different ones in our little wood. So when Susan from Days on the Claise, who is quite a specialist in the field, suggested we go together to an orchid fair in Blois, I didn’t hesitate.
All the orchids on display were of the cultivated variety of course. I learnt that it’s virtually impossible to grow the local orchids. Either they turn up in your garden or they don’t because they need a special kind of fungus to grow. So I’m very honoured that orchis mascula and two other varieties I have yet to identify, have chosen our garden.
I also learnt the orchis mascula, or purple orchis, derives its name from the testicle-like formation underneath the roots. In English, it’s also called Gethsemane because it is said to have grown at the foot of the Cross and received drops of blood on its leaves!
Mr and Mrs Previous Owner have an orchis bouc (bouc means billy goat) in their garden, so-named because of its smell. In English, it’s called a lizard orchid, which is much nicer! It has the most amazing flowers and grows to be very tall.
Most of the exhibitors at the Orchid Exhibition were Dutch with a couple of local growers thrown in. There was a stunning collection that drew a very large crowd and also an excellent poster exhibition where I learnt all sorts of interesting things. Vanilla, for example, is an orchid, to my amazement.
When we are living in Blois permanently and I have found the best location in the house for my cultivated orchid collection, I’ll venture into some more exciting ones. At present, the only ones that I get to rebloom are phalaenopsis or moth orchids.
After the orchid exhibition, the first thing we saw as we got home was that our new neighbours had moved in. The moment of truth! Chicken yard or not chicken yard ? I went into our vegetable garden pretending to be checking out the sorrel (it being the only thing growing at the moment) and saw a friendly-looking blond woman a few years younger than us.
I waved and she came over the say hello. She and her Spanish husband both have grown children and are at work all day. The chicken coop will eventually be turned into a garage and they had already been informed that they would need to keep their willow pruned so that it won’t damage the new slate roof of our barn.
We both called our husbands over and by the end of the conversation we’d established that we were all the perfect new neighbours! Great relief all round.
Another excellent piece of news is that I have also found a Portuguese cleaner for the gîte which opens again in April. It turns out that she used to own the house next door, and that her husband, also Portuguesue, actually built the house himself. Thank you Mr and Mrs Previous Owner for the tip!
We arrived in Blois on Friday and are here for a month, the longest we’ve ever stayed. This morning, we were rewarded with bright sun and blue skies so we went for a walk on the other side of the Loire River. The church is that of Saint Nicolas, probably the most noticeable monument in the city while the church in the header photo is the Cathedral.
For more photos of Blois, click on my other blog, Blois Daily Photo, which has a commentary in French and English.
And just to fill you in on the chicken situation: in January, we noticed that the enclosure was open during the daytime and so was the front gate. The half-a-dozen chickens run around the large yard and sometimes out into the street. There was a not-too-annoying rooster last time as well but we haven’t heard it this time. So unless the neighbours change their minds again, the chickens should no longer be a problem. We won’t have a noisy smelly poultry yard next door in the summer. We, have, however, learnt our lesson and will put the garden of the gîte behind it and not in front of it. It will actually be much prettier.
Today is the first day of the month and, as usual, I have joined the City Daily Photo Theme Day on my other blog, Blois Daily Photo. This month’s theme is Entry and I’ve chosen River Entry.
It is surprisingly difficult to take photos of Christmas decorations at night. Many of the streets in Blois have the blue and white decorations on the left. My favourite shop window is La Caf’Thé tea and coffee shop.
It’s a rainy Sunday afternoon and we’ve finally taken the time to collect our Blésois passes so we’ll have free entry to Blois Royal Castle and the Magic Museum plus lots of other places. The pass will also give our friends a reduction if we’re with them. “So, where do we go for afternoon tea?” says Jean Michel. A Facebook friend from the Loire Connexion has told me about Douce Heure (literally Sweet Time and a pun on Douceur meaning something sweet to eat) on the Loire side of Place Louis XII, so we decide to go there.
As we’re coming down the steps from the castle, a child says, “Look – a duck!” but in fact it’s a mosaic swan which I had never noticed before. We go past some pseudo sumos that are part of a Community Party festival of some sort. We watch for a while. They are exceedingly funny. Now why didn’t I take a video?
We arrive at Douce Heure and regret that we can’t use the attractive lollipop terrace but we go inside and it feels very inviting and cosy after the awful weather outside.
There is a large choice of tea, coffee and hot chocolate. We choose a cake each – a candied fruit cheese cake and a fruit tart – and are halfway through eating them when it occurs to me to take a photo!
We both order hot chocolate. It comes in a special chocolate pot and is thick and creamy. We have two very decadent cups each! That solves the problem of what to have for dinner tonight – nothing!
It’s a little more than a week later and we’re back in Blois with nothing in the fridge for lunch. It’s raining again. “Let’s try that restaurant our last guests suggested,” I say. “The one near the market on the river side.” I phone Le Coup de Fourchette to make sure there’s a table.
We park in the underground parking lot so we don’t get too wet going to the restaurant. Its red, white and black décor is very inviting and there is a large Bienvenue on the door. Inside there is a perroquet (parrot – why parrot?) coat stand. What an excellent idea. I hate having to sit with my coat draped on the back of my chair.
The welcome is warm and friendly and we are shown to our table. For the moment, the dining room is fairly empty but it soon fills up with locals – mainly men – with big appetites as befits a restaurant whose name means “a hearty appetite”.
The waitress explains the menu and shows us the blackboard with the day’s specials. Prices start at about 10 or 11 euro for starter plus main course or main course plus dessert. We choose an entrecôte + French fries + green salad + dessert (café gourmand) each and a ½ bottle of local Touraine Vieilles Vignes red wine for a total of 39 euro.
The French fries are excellent and the meat is tasty. We have three mini-desserts with our café gourmand.
This is not a gastronomical restaurant. It’s a local eatery, frequented by locals all year round and savvy tourists during the summer, attracted by the terrace. It’s been open for just a little over a year and has already earned the Trip Advisor Certificate of Excellence, ranked 2 out of 103 restaurants in Blois, just after Les Planches which is next on our list!
The service and atmosphere are friendly, the food is simple but good and hearty. The servings are copious. Excellent value for money. We’ll definitely be back!
Douce Heure, place Louis XII, 41000 Blois. Open all year round. 10 am to 7 pm. Closed Mondays. Le Coup de Fourchette, 15 Quai de la Saussaye, 41000 BLOIS, 02 54 55 00 24. Open Monday to Wednesday, lunchtime only and Thursday to Saturday, lunchtime and evening.