Sancerre-ly yours

Today was our last in Sancerre. Jennifer and the boys finished their schooling this morning and received a certificate to prove it.  I spent much of the morning sitting in the sun at a cafe in the Square, reading a book and nibbling on a fresh croissant.

After lunch we set out for a final walk through the countryside. We decided to walk to Chavignol as Jennifer and the boys hadn’t been there. This time, though, we stayed off the road and walked through the vineyards and fields to get there. That made for a much, much tougher walk.

The road goes round the hills, our route took us over the ridge of a couple of hills and down the valleys. As we were often sliding down or up flinty slopes it was tiring on the legs. But it was entirely worth it. Not only were there no cars to contend with, the views, looking all the way down the valley to the Loire and beyond. were spectacular.

Unfortunately the cheese shop in Chavignol had sold out of pastries, although they still had a lot of cheese obviously. We bought some cheese, but were left a bit short of energy for the return journey. The walk back took us by the local beer brewery, complete will lovely coppers; although Sancerre is renowned for its wines, they do a really fine beer too. By the time we arrived back in Sancerre we were all seriously tired; but drinks in a shady spot outside the Cafe des Artes in the Nouvelle Place perked us all back up.

Sancerre has been a joy and we’re going to miss it immensely.