Spring, Glorious Spring in the Loire
Posted on Wednesday 28 April 2010 by Sarah Glazer Khedouri
What are the ingredients of a perfect cycling trip? A week of sunny days when your rain jacket lies unused in your panniers, congenial mates, trees bursting with pink and white as far as the eye can see, chateaux of course, and hearty regional cooking you’ll never forget. We had them all on our Loire Valley trip April 10-17.
Our group of 11, ranging in age from 11 to 70, started out with memorable coq au vin in the medieval town centre of Orleans, an auspicious start for a believer in the motto “Ride to eat; eat to ride.”
Chateau de Chambord
Our first full day of cycling took us to the magnificent Chateau of Chambord, the largest castle in the Loire, which we approached, as bicycles are wont to do, from a quiet back entrance like conquering heroes. There at a café in the sun I had my first tarte tatin of the trip, apples caramelised just perfectly. (Tarte tatin, was born in the Loire region after a lady inn-keeper left apples, butter and sugar cooking in a pan too long, then rescued the dish by covering it with a layer of pastry dough and sticking it in the oven.) more »
