Monday, November 1, 2010

Loire - Troglodytes!

We took a trip into the Loire Valley, a beautiful rural area of France known for its wine, mushrooms, pears, chateaus, beautiful land, and quaint towns. Naturally, stop one was a dip into the caveman life!

One particular area of the Loire is full of troglodyte caves.
Basically, caves where people lived. But these are no man vs wild caves, these are French caves! And in proper French style, they are quite nice, fancy, even homey. We slept one night in a cave hollowed into the limestone, though it was perhaps a notch above the originals. Complete with waterfall shower, 2 beds, a kitchenette, and rockin mood lights (3 lamps that changed color every 10 seconds or so), our room allowed caving it in style. Sawyer loved the wicker chair outside.




Also in the area was a troglodyte farm village, set up more or less as it would have been in its heyday. It was a pretty interesting place, which showed how the French commoners of the area used caves as homes, told the history of stew, and had animals for petting all around. Sawyer loved the goats, laughed at the feel of the donkey's ear on his face, stared down the ducks, and watched a horse with a hint of apprehension. By far his favorite activity of the day was feeding the chicken.


Up next, Chateau d'Ussé and Chinon.

No comments: