The main event last week was my dad coming to visit. Will and I left home on Wed am around 7:30 and drove to CDG airport on the far side of Paris. We arrived in time to meet Dad as he got off the plane. We headed from there to Tours, which is about halfway back to our place, but a little further west. The weather had been great up until Tuesday, when a big storm rolled through. We escaped any damage, but there was plenty in villages not far away. We had temps in the high teens with clouds and rain for nearly all of his visit.
We arrived in Tours around 5 and got settled at the hotel. Despite the light rain, we headed out for a drink and dinner and ended up at a lovely little place on “restaurant row”. We enjoyed a great meal and some interesting local wines. Dad and I had lobster salad followed by lamb, and Will had magret. The staff were super friendly and one spoke English, which may explain why at least half the diners were not French. We strolled back to the hotel, and then Will and I set off to find the gay nightlife. Like so many cities, there remain very few gay bars, and the one we were looking for is closed. So we had a beer in a student bar nearby and called it a night.
On Thursday, we explored the city. We started at a museum of “compagnonnage”, which is the term for guildsmen in various trades. It’s a bit like Freemasonry, but focused on crafts, like carpentry, shoemaking, leather, roofing etc. There are some beautiful works done by the members and we spent a good hour appreciating them. The rain had mostly cleared off, so we explored the old town on foot, then strolled through the food hall. The city has a basilica and and cathedral, and we stopped in briefly at both. We grabbed lunch at a restaurant owned by an Englishman and then did a short tour of the city. This was on a small motorised train that snaked through the narrow streets of the old town, and other parts of the city too. In the afternoon, we visited the fine arts museum, which was nice, but not overly impressive.
For dinner that night, we decided to have something other than French and ended up with Thai. It was called “franco-thai”, but the only “franco” we could find was the lack of spiciness. The food was very tasty nonetheless, and we continued to sample the local wines. We didn’t bother going out that night after dinner, and watched some telly at the hotel before turning in. We checked out after breakfast and headed to Amboise, a town 20k up the Loire river. The town has two chateau, and we visited the Clos Lucé where Leonardo di Vinci spent his final years. The visit starts with a tour of the chateau itself including the rooms where he lived. There is also his study with his notebooks and curios, and the studio where he painted. The last rooms contain models of his inventions with explanations of his ideas.
The visit continues outside in the surrounding gardens. Here they had the same inventions but on a much larger scale, some of them interactive. After strolling around for a bit, we had a bite to eat and then headed back to the car. The rain had held off until then, but we had it for the entire journey home. We first stopped at Chateau Clemonceau which spans the Cher river, but you had to pay to see it and didn’t want to spend any more time. So we headed home and arrived around 5:00. We went out for dinner that night at the Hotel de France, compliments of Milhac Loisirs. Jo decided to celebrate her retirement, and treated all the members to dinner. Partners were invited but had to pay a reduced price. The meal started with an champagne-based apero, then moved on to a fish course, done in a curry sauce. It was spicier than the Thai food we had the previous night, and I figured it would be too much for the French, but they all enjoyed it. The main was pork, and they served magret to Dad since he doesn’t eat it. Dessert was a praline pudding and small chocolate tart. We were fairly tired, so were one of the first to leave.
Saturday was fairly quiet. Dad and I went to the shop in Nontron, and had a walk in the afternoon. We were invited out that night to Guillaume and Emilie’s, who live near St Front, about 10 mins away. They are redoing an old house which is far from done, so they had an inflatable tent set up in the garden. We didn’t know many people apart from them, but we chatted to some other guests, many of whom were former bandmates. Benoit and Virginie showed up around 9, and we spent the rest of the night with them and another couple. Everybody brought food for aperos and dessert, so it was the usual mix of quiches, tarts and dips to start. We had roast pork and beef plus salads for dinner. We skipped dessert since we all tired and had an early night.
The weather was slightly better on Sunday, although still overcast and cool. Will and I took advantage by bringing last year’s wood into the log shed. We had some left over from last year, so between that and this year’s purchase, we’re very well stocked. Dad and I went for a walk and had a game of Scrabble before heading out to dinner. He decided we should spend his last night out, so we booked a table at the Charbonnel in Brantome. This is our new favourite place, especially for visitors. It’s slightly pricier than our usual haunts, but well worth it. We started with a kir “perigordine”, made with strawberry and walnut and red wine. Dad and I had shrimp and leek ravioli soup followed by steak and Will had confit de canard. Duck has been off the menu most of the year due to bird flu earlier in the season, but it appears to have made a comeback. We each had dessert, plus various other small dishes they served us before and after. We left very full, but very satisfied and crashed out with a movie when we got home.
Will and I did a bit of work in the morning and Dad and I had a walk before lunch. He and I left for Angouleme in the afternoon, and did a bit of gift shopping before heading to the train station. His train was on time, and I got him situated before heading home via the shops. Despite the weather, it was a pleasant visit, and nice to spend time with Dad, especially since he didn’t come out last year. We’re back to our usual activities this week, including work. I’ll be working on a big project from Abby for the next few months, so that should keep the wolves at bay and me a bit more sane. We’ve also got a concert coming up in less than two months, and although Will has been practicing diligently, I can’t say the same.