I am in the beautiful area of Loire, more precisely in the city of Saumur. My friends and I are staying in apartment in the city centre. We arrived in the afternoon, and Sundays most chateaux are closed. So we chill out and visit the city.
The town is beautiful and very quiet. There is a antique market going on today and very few tourists. What’s more, the chateau of the city closed at 5,30pm, so are not able to visit it. From the outside though, one can also admire this building which was originally designed as a castle in the 10th century. We walk around and notice that Sundays are extremely quite days here. Few shops are open and even the tourist centre is closed.
We were not even able to find a wine shop to get some wine for lunch. So we thought we would definitely try something typical to eat in the evening. For dinner, we chose a special place called “Les Pieds Bleus”, 15 minutes away from the city. It’s actually situated in a cave and is one of the so-called “troglodyte” (what a funny name!) restaurant. Think of a cave where there is a restaurant and where they grow mushrooms and escargots, as well as make wine tastings! Yes, sounds weird but it exists!
The food is great and the quality/price value is exceptional. Their speciality is the fouée, a little bread cooked with wood-fired oven, which is garnished with local products as rilette, sausage, beans and cheese. They are quite filling and the server and the baker keep serving you till you are full! Starting from 20 euros, the fixed menu is quite a bargain. It also includes some pretty good wine (we had a rose d’anjou, pretty good but with a little too much residual sugar for my own taste, and a red Anjou rouge, cabernet franc based, with predominant red fruits notes and smooth tannins). The apple cake, also make in the oven, was also very nice and a good way to end the meal. A unique experience was to see the plantings of mushrooms and escargots, which definitely are worth a visit.
It has been a promising start of the trip and I am really looking forward to tomorrow, when we will visit many chateaux in Savannieres and Anjou.