Sancerre (T 12 – 25)
After much-anticipated stress over picking up our long-term car rental in Paris, driving through (well, mostly around) Paris, and finding Sancerre, I’m happy to report that it all went pretty well. A little stressful, yes, but no different than large-city, heavy-traffic, trucks-and-crazy-drivers normal. We got through it and got to the sleepy little town of Sancerre on schedule.
Wine and goats
Sancerre is very tiny. Perched up on a hill and full of old buildings and narrow streets, it, above all, embraces the wine culture for which it has made its name. Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir vines in well-established boundaries make up the Sancerre AOC and wine growers sell their wares all around the main plaza and in neighboring villages to mostly weekend wine tourists. It helps that the landscape is so picturesque, with sloping vineyards and the majestic Loire River surrounding them. A pleasant surprise was a lesser known specialty of goat cheeses – the Crottins de Chavignol, which when aged for different lengths, produce a delicious diversity of cheeses much more complex than the creamy-crumbly concoction we’re typically used to in the states.
Quoi de neuf?
Our two weeks in Sancerre – the longest in any one location, was spent primarily in language school. I had dreams of coming out much more fluid and conversant but nope, I may even have regressed a tad as I now have greater awareness of all the things I didn’t know before or had not yet put together. Still very worthwhile and I appreciated all the conversation practices that our instructors seeded with “quoi de neuf” (what’s new) each day and patiently let us stumble through with straight faces.
Velo route
Bikes are everywhere here, and we got to experience one of the famous cycle-only routes along the Loire and along sleepy roads with only the occasional crazy driver or fast train. Not being a strong biker myself, I have a deeper admiration for those who brave the narrow, cobbled streets, the bumpy vineyard rows, and the crazy small towns with no bike lanes. Special mention goes to those who attempt the Sancerre hill with nothing but leg power.
Bourges
With a weekend in between and not a lot going on in Sancerre, we decided to check out nearby Bourges and its cathedral, a Unesco Heritage Site. Rookies that we are, we didn’t think about the fact that everything closes on Sundays, so we missed out on the hustle and bustle of the shopping streets and restaurants, but on the other hand, enjoyed live music in the park and relatively quiet streets. We found that we loved the size of Bourges - not too large to be overwhelming, and not too small to be a short walk around a plaza and done. And not a lot of tourists as it isn’t a hyper-known Loire Valley destination. A few hours well spent.
Fairy doors and quiet time
Being in a sleepy town like Sancerre with not much to do but homework and evening walks, I slowed down just enough to notice that here the pace is indeed slower. Lunchtime is sacred, park benches are always full, and young and old alike seem to stop to take in the landscape, the sunset, and the flowers much more often. And there’s the little pleasures and surprises such as the fairy doors in Bourges that are painted to match the host home’s real doors. I became a lot more aware of our culture of busy, of productivity, of cramming things into our plans, our days, our minds because otherwise we must obviously be wasteful, lazy, or not “getting our money’s worth.” It’s been hard to break from the guilt of a lazy afternoon doing nothing, but slowly getting the hang of it.
Reflections after week 4
We’re closing in on our 4th week in France and just as anywhere, there are things that are magical, things that are different, and things that we miss from home; lovely people and people who can’t be bothered; sights, sounds, and tastes that we will always remember and those that we wish could be transported here.
I miss the convenience of services and shops being open whenever I need them, but appreciate that by knowing things will close, I’m forced to schedule downtime or figure out how to go without something immediately.
I miss being able to stay in one spot, to really unpack, to make our own meals on our own schedule. Sancerre reminded us of this luxury especially when it came time to pack again and to find restaurants every day. But the ability to see and explore so many places is a trade-off worth making this time.
I’ve marveled at walled cities built hundreds of years ago and still lovingly used and adorned without the need to tear down, modernize, or enlarge. They give me a sense of permanence and stability rather than the unending pursuit of the next best thing.
I’ve found magic in a sunset over the vineyards, the morning mist escaping from a majestic river, the light shining through stained glass windows in cathedrals large and small, the pleasures of creamy and stinky cheese paired beautifully with local wines, and the calm of an evening stroll with nowhere to go and no rush to get there.
We’re trying to keep the remaining weeks light, with not too many scheduled things so we can go with the flow, adapt to the weather, and allow ourselves to take it all in. That is, of course, when we’re not taking our lunch break or our evening stroll. We’re learning. We’re getting there.
Next up: Bourgogne and Alsace