A sunny morning and a run along the Loire started off the day right. It was the first day that I actually was warm enough to just wear a t-shirt, after a month in England and France. At last, new things to wear in my suitcase!
“Stopped into a church I found along the way….” of course. The Royal Chapel Notre-Dame des Ardilliers began in the mid 15thC when a local peasant, digging in his field came across a statuette of a Merciful Virgin in a place where there used to be a spring renowned for its beneficial properties. Housed originally under a simple arch constructed over the spring, eventually a chapel was built with the alms and offerings of pilgrims that had started coming to see the statue. The chapel was enlarged in the mid 16thC with some help from wealthy benefactors who extended the pilgrimage’s fame. Then there were 49 official miracles registered at the chapel, which helped transform Saumur, which had been primarily Protestant, to be a new Catholic conquest. Over the centuries more buildings were added when the king bestowed the status of Royal Chapel and when a college was added. I only went into the church — didn’t want to disrupt my run!
Not feeling the need to drive all over the valley to look at chateaus or to taste wine, I chose one to visit today — Chateau de Montsoreau — primarily because it’s the onl one in the Valley built inside the Loire riverbed. Its location is a very strategic point at the intersection of three regions: Anjou, Poitou and Touraine. Rebuilt in 1450 in Renaissance style, it is a style that is between a fortress and a palace. And it has been immortalized by Alexandre Dumas in the novel “La Dame de Monsoreau”. While it does has exceptional views of the confluence of the Loire and the Vienne rivers, it was a bit of a disappointment overall. I knew that it was a museum which housed a private collection of contemporary/conceptual art, but I wasn’t prepared for how very conceptual the art was! The rooms were all either natural or white washed over the stone, and the it appeared that they were in the original order or placement, but there wasn’t any reference to what those rooms might have been used for when the palace was in use. So essentially it was a stroll through a stone chateau into rooms displaying the works of the Arts & Language Movement. Created by a Brisith collective at the end of the 60’s, the group is considered the inventors of conceptual art. I will say that it was a very quick visit through the collection; I did enjoy getting to the terraces on the top — an amazing view. And there was a lovely place for lunch on a lower terrace that offered a breeze and a vista.
Back to Saumur and a short cruise up the Loire. I didn’t learn anything new, or see any new parts of Saumur, but it was nice to be on the river and to see things from that perspective. Once the Loire was an important river for trading when ships would sail up from the Atlantic with goods. The river was wider and deeper then; there’s mostly pleasure boating now. There were people in canoes and kayaks and some traditional “house-boats” moored to the bank. The area is home to a national park, so there were many campgrounds and lots of cyclists too.
Another lovely day in France.
