Les Haies Pays de la Loire

... is a parasite that grows on other trees and they are really easy to see in the winter because all the leaves have fallen off. I thought it was pretty cool so the whole way to tours I looked for mistletoe trees. I found lots and took some pictures.

France isn’t big on lighting up their roads and boy does it get dark at night. After almost driving off ...

... I know I'll wonder how I did so much living in so little time.

Something special happens to an estate that's been around for almost 250 years. It starts to take on it's own personality, and through that it attracts the type of people that would make what it is that much better. My hosts at La Meslerie treat the people that visit with such undying grace and character that it's easy to chock it up to some mystical ...

Thursday 29 Oct
Drive to Amboise - Loire Valley
Feeling good we took on our longest drive yet to Amboise, nestled in the heart of the Loire Valley and on the banks of the Loire River. We used the time during the drive to type up our blog ready for upload once we hit our next McWifi. We arrived just after dark and found several other campervans parked near the river so we decided to join them. Kim ...

And so, the harvest is over. After 4 weeks of preparing, harvesting, cleaning and pressing we here at Clos de Meslerie have produced 6,050 litres of organic, biodynamic, unaltered, hand-picked, hand-pressed, grape juice. Which, given the proper time and care will blossom into a beautiful Vouvray Chenin-Blanc. It has been such a great time and a great learning experience on so many ...

Things have been running pretty smoothly here at Le Meslerie. Just finished a great push of harvesting and pressing more grapes, 950 liters yesterday (which is laughable by pnuematic press standards, but by hand it's pretty damn good). It's with a heavy heart that I realize that my time here in France is dwindling, but this also means that more adventure is to come, hopefully the good kind.

After ...

I took a day trip into Tours, which is the biggest city around here. It's a pretty amazing places, I still have a lot of exploring to do here yet, but I wanted to post some pictures of my first trip that I took into Tour alone.

Enjoy

... a year. This was very special in many ways, because it was actually the first bottling of the wine under the new owner of Le Clos de Meslerie, Mr Peter Hahn. It was really fantastic to be a part of this, because it was a new experience for mostly everyone involved, so excitement filled the air.

Since then we've had one weekend were some harvesters have come ...

... In fact, sunset was at about 9.30pm, after which the sky retains serene blue/purple hue which seems to characterise European Summer. I am struggling with the lack of sunlight on return to Melbourne!
On our last night in France, we had dinner at La Chanceliere in Montbazon, the village near our Chateau. It was recommended by one of Yvonne's (our Travel Agent) clients but unfortunately the oyster ravioli is a winter speciality. Nevertheless, the food was superb.

... was all in one day. But fortunately, we were able to crash in a most excellent, non-gravel-pit-esque campsite (which I only mention because...well...it wasn't an adventure and was kind of anti-climatic). Chinon was our next destination. Standing in the chapel where Joan of Arc prayed every day is something that can't be described. I mean, how cool is it that one is standing in the exact spot that a Saint prayed? At any rate, Chinon was breathtaking. The ...

... do was cry out: "Oh, oh, oh, he's falling". Just as we instinctively prayed that the Lord would save him, he fell behind a hillside and then we caught a brief sight of a parachute. We think he made it down safely, although perhaps with some injuries. We were quite shaken by this experience. It was horrifying I don't think Mom plans to parasail too soon. That's all for now. I'll make a final report when we return home this weekend. Five weeks have passed by quickly but wonderfully. Love to all.