Le Grand Prix Rétro, Le Puy Notre Dame

The last Sunday of July Le Puy Notre Dame hosts the ever increasingly popular 'Grand Prix Rétro'.

This year saw an estimated 15,000 visitors come to watch the fabulous vintage racing cars, motorcycles and sidecars being put through their paces.



Turned into a race track for the day, the pretty village of Le Puy Notre Dame, lined with straw bale barriers welcomed racers from across Europe, UK and even as far as South Africa!

Augustin will have to wait until he is a little bit taller before he can thoroughly enjoy watching his much loved racing cars. Poor thing, viewing from a pushchair wasn't ideal.

Bastille Day in Pouançay : le 14 juillet

Le 14 juillet, Bastille Day is celebrated all over France and our village of Pouançay was no exception.

The French national holiday commemorates the 1790 Fête de la Fédération, held on the first anniversary of the storming of the Bastille on 14 July 1789.












Held at the Mairie the fun got underway with games which was followed by the customary aperitif and buffet campagnard.

Gérald participated in palet with Monsieur le Mayor, a traditional French game similar to boules but requires greater dexterity to play well, whilst Augustin tried his hand too.

Vitiloire 2010 - Tours, Loire Valley

This weekend, 29th-30th May 2010 the beautiful city of Tours (49) will play host to Vitiloire for an 8th consecutive year.

Set in the centre of Tours this fabulous event brings together viticulteurs, artisans and sommeliers from across the Loire Valley region providing visitors with a wonderful opportunity to sample a wide range of wines, local produce and meet the vine growers directly.

During your visit remember to say 'bonjour' to Gérald who will there representing Domaine de la Paleine.

Loire Valley Wine Trade Fair 2010

As previously blogged about - this week saw Gérald at the Loire Valley Wine Trade Fair, (Salon des Vins de Loire), in Angers representing the highly reputed Domaine de la Paleine.

This salon is the largest wine fair held in the Loire Valley housing the majority of the Domaines from this vast wine producing region at any one given time. Most definitely a calendar marking event for any 'wine lover' and open to the general public on the 3rd day.












Whilst taking time to discover and sample the many different AOC appellations there are many opportunities to rest the olde feet and make & take notes of your favourite wines.

Salon des Vins de Loire, Angers (49)

Meet Gérald at the Salon des Vins de Loire, the Loire Valley Wine Fair in Angers on 1st, 2nd & 3rd February, 2010.

Open to wine traders and the general public on 3rd February only, visit vignerons and sample the largest selection of Loire Valley wines at any one given time.

A bientôt !

6eme Les Foulées du Saumur-Champigny

Varrains (49) hosted its 6th Les Foulées du Saumur-Champigny, a race course of 6kms or 17kms set amongst the vineyards of the AOC Saumur-Champigny.

Competing in the race was an impressive 2,500 runners, both seriously and for fun and as fun-runners past I couldn't help but get caught up in the festive spirit - a smile never left my face.

It was Augustins & my first les foulées and certainly not our last, the atmosphere was wonderful and an extremely well organised event for all to participate in and enjoy.

We were there to cheer our dear friend Hélène along as she had opted for the 17kms run...

...and by half-way she was still looking remarkably fresh !

Allez Hélène !!!

Not all about the race, a huge fête for spectators and runners to enjoy afterwards included playground rides for the children, artisans cuisine and of course, les dégustations of the AOC Saumur-Champigny wines.

5ème Marché des Vins de Saumur

On Sunday 6th September Saumur hosted its 5th Wine Festival - Marché des Vins de Saumur.

In glorious sunshine and set along the edge of the Loire river visitors sampled wines from 60 vigerons from the AOC Saumur and local artisans cuisine whilst enjoying live music and the festive atmosphere.

No stranger to Saumurs' festival Gérald was there presenting the Domaine.

And not to miss out on his 2nd Marché des Vins de Saumur, Augustin went along to help Papa...

...well, to bring Papa his lunch, to meet friends and annual returning holiday makers who make the Saumur Wine Festival part of their holiday - who can blame them, it's a fabulous event !!

6ème Marché des Vins de Saumur - Sunday 5th September, 2010

A Week in the Loire Valley with Ros & Peter

All the way from Perth, Australia Gérald & I welcomed Ros & Peter to 'La Bellevue' whilst on their Loire Valley leg of their own 'Tour de France'.

Clearly after our own hearts, Ros & Peter embraced 'la France' - this was going to be a great week !

A full days bike riding and exploring...

...warranted the evenings aperitif !

A morning spent at a bustling local market was followed...

...by an afternoon at the Domaine for a Private Wine Tour & Wine Tasting with Gérald.

Château visits and more bike riding where Ros & Peter covered some phenomenal distances continued...

And as all good things come to an end, Ros & Peter's final day in the Loire fell on Saumur's 5th Wine Festival - Marché des Vins de Saumur - perfect timing !

By now fully adept to the art of dégustation they enjoyed sampling wines from the 60 presenting vignerons, naturally spending more time with Gérald at his stand.



"Everything was PERFECT. Our stay with Sarah-Jane & Gérald was an absolute highlight. Their warmth, generosity & friendship provided us with a more complete French experience in this beautiful wine region. Gérald educated us in the art of wine making and his dégustation at La Paleine was an occassion to remember. The wines were superb, Annie's House was spotless & well appointed, set in the serene setting of Pouançay. We will return!"
Ros & Peter Buck, Perth Australia

Montreuil-Bellay Brocante

The first Sunday of every month Montreuil-Bellay hosts its monthly Brocante (flea-market).



The heart of this small town comes alive as locals, tourists and bargin hunters mill around stalls full of curiosities.




With a little patience, perserverance and bartering a French treasure or two can be found to take home to remind you of your time in the Loire Valley.


One of our favourite brocantes to visit Montreuil-Bellay is dominated by a impressive fairy-tale château....

....which can be visited after a busy morning of mooching around the brocante and a picnic lunch along the river edge at the feet of the château.

VITILOIRE, Tours (37) : 23rd & 24th May'09 - 7th Loire Valley Wine Festival

The medieval town of Tours, Inde-et-Loire (37, will once again host the 7éme édition du salon des vins de Loire the weekend of 23rd & 24th May, 2009

Meet Gérald there along with other wine makers from throughout the Loire Valley.

You will have the opportunity to sample wines ranging from the fresh sparkling wines, through the rosés, whites and reds and the deliciously rich sweet white wines.

Definitely a date for the diary !!

Les Puces de Montsoreau - Flea Market

Every 2nd Sunday of the month the picturesque town of Montsoreau holds its famous flea market, brocante, and this weekend was no exception !

Although numbers were a little thin on the ground to normal, the setting along the bord de la loire with the glorious sunshine made braving the cold worthwhile.


Set along the edge of the Loire river venders and visitors braved temperatures of -9 to amble amongst the stalls of antiques, restored furniture and other goodies.

La Marché de Noël - Christmas Market

Last weekend Doué-la-Fontaine held its Marché de Noël in aux Arènes, the towns ancient arena. Artisans stands lined the festively decorated caves.

Musicians played festive melodies while roasting chestnuts, mulled wine and other foodie goodies filled the air.

There were plenty of stands to keep both adults and children amused and no shortage of christmas pressie ideas and local delicacies to indulge in. Gérald & I tucked into les escargots et les bulots....yum yum !

As for meeting Père Noël, at the time of our visit he was tending to his raindeer but we did meet a few of his little helpers.