Thenay and New Friends met!

Sue found Thenay on the Internet - it wasn't a tourist destination, in fact far from it. Many of the places are "out of the place" places.......That's what makes them so memorable.
This little cottage in a pretty much unknown village came with some extra delights. It's owners, a couple of ex-pat "Poms" (said with affection) were to become good friends. The cottage itself was a delight, clean, comfy and just a great place to come home to after a day of sightseeing.
Thenay is just a few kms from Pontlevoy and another 15 minutes down the road was Montrichard. You are in the centre of all the grand Chateaux of the Loire in Thenay.

A very unusual structure was this windmill,
never seen anything like it in my experience.
Can anyone enlighten me of its origins.



Faded signs make the drive more interesting - don't you think?
The secret is to never be in a rush.



Travel slowly and all manner of doorways open to you.

We drove out of Chartres with the expectation of calling somewhere home for the next week - the weather was a little overcast and there was a drizzle of rain. We decided we would make a lunch time stop at Macca's - I don't believe the French have succumbed to this fast food establishment but it did have WiFi and we were able to send news home.

We arrived at Thenay too early to meet our hosts so we took a drive around the village - well that didn't take long!!!!  Then off to Pontlevoy and that also seemed very quiet. Somehow though these seemingly quiet villages hide some wonderful experiences not evident on first appearance.

Our cosy cottage for the next week - a central place to explore the wonders of the Loire. This we did - Amboise, Pontlevoy, Montrichard, Montresor, Loches, Chambord, Cheverny, Richelieu, Chinon and much more in the space of a week.

Some notes from the Diary.
"Arrived back at the cottage to meet Carole and Mikey, very nice English couple who love a chat (so do we). They were able to offer lots of good local info and they kindly left us two local bottles of wine.
The house is compact and just perfect for the two of us and excellent value. Spotlessly clean and thoughtfully equipped as well for someone who enjoys cooking.
As our hosts were about to leave a cat sauntered over and I said to Carole that I missed our cats. Turns out she has five. They have rellies in Australia and I mentioned that if ever she required a house and cat sitter we would be most happy to offer our services."

Our huge garden

The bedroom

Many a great meal was cooked and local wine was enjoyed here.

And after a long day out enjoying the sights that the Loire had to offer, we would relax in the living area looking out to the garden outside.

It's not a large village but it had a certain charm and a few hidden treasures that didn't present on first encounters.

Such as scenes like these - not obvious unless you left the car in the drive and walked the streets.



And I finally had the chance to unpack the bike
and enjoy riding for the first time on this trip.



Prior to leaving for this trip, Sue had been regularly reading a blog that many of you are already familiar with by two Americans living only just across the river from Carole and Mickey - we were fortunate to have the opportunity to say hello. What a small world it is.

Sue bought some mussels to cook with pasta for our first night at Thenay. We finished that off with fresh bread with a Brie Margeaux and apricot tarts and way too much wine. How good is life.