The region of the Pays de la Loire includes the departments of Loire-Atlantique, Maine-et-Loire, Mayenne, Sarthe, and Vendée with Nantes as its Capital and biggest city. It is one I come often, and enjoyed every minute of it. And of course, the Loire river passes by here too, I like to show some older personal pictures as said, this blog is my life’s history, Therefore, here are my personal curiosities of the Pays de la Loire region !!! Hope you enjoy the post as I.
At place du Ralliement, we had lunch before in the superb Le Pub du Ralliement , and we hit it several times each a wonderful time with the boys and Dad, and remembering those who came here and not later as my dear late wife Martine. The place du Ralliement of Angers, has the pub on the central square and its continuous service make this pub a must-see night and day. The square has beautiful architecture buildings, an underground parking Ralliement and plenty of shops and restos all around it. Glad that took my Dad Elio with me, RIP.
We had our lunch/dinner here in city center Brissac and voilà another gem of the wonderful French gastronomy. So good hard to missed one. The restaurant for the late lunch/dinner was the L’Ardoise-Brissac Divine we went to the shop purchase more for home ! the staff very attentive and friendly welcome and service, only families and found out dogs allowed for our next trip over lol!!! Lovely recommended at Place Clemenceau Brissac Quincé
Upon reaching rue Louis Moron D123 and the junction with road D55 you have the entrance to the Château de Brissac and we rest outside waiting to be the first ones inside !! Memories of the road warrior !!
We stopped at an old favorite chain and was superbe! This was the Courtepaille restaurant , This outlet is in Carquefou on the road D723 on the traffic circle of the Belle Etoile (or beautiful star) This is very close to the highway A11 (Le Mans Paris etc) and the D723 (route de Paris) takes you to Nantes at about 12 km away. Check as restaurant chain is selling some units or all, Here for the memories of always, My Dad Elio loves to travel as well!!
Not looking at the day as a Monday, we were lucky because here in the countryside the restos are closed Sundays and Mondays. Fortunately, this little gem was open on Monday! It is call Le Pain Coupé or the cut bread! It is an unpretentious restaurant, located in the heart of the town of Château Thébaud. The owner, passionate about his work, will give you a warm welcome, and generous and tasty dishes, at a very attractive price. This was a zeal, even the manager front desk was very friendly and the owner came out to greet us as well as the server. This is a country town restaurant very typical of good inexpensive eating in my belle France.
One of our fav properties is the Domaine Poiron-Dabin at Château-Thébaud. They are only 15 km south of Nantes , and about 1h45 from our house. The winemakers of Château-Thébaud area have won seven times since its creation “la Bouteille d’Or”, or the golden bottle ,rewarding the local vineyard town which had the highest number of prizes in the Nantes and Paris wine competitions during the year. The folks at Domaine Poiron-Dabin have been winegrowers since 1858, Sandrine, Jean Michel, Laurent and their team will have a lot of fun making you discover their profession. 70 Hectares make up this superb vineyard. Always a fun educational visit to the world of wines !
We arrive at the Brasserie Le Grand Café by 14h30, I call and we got in!!! La vie est belle!! For more than 20 years, the Grand Café has welcomed you in the historic setting of the old City/Town Hall , and the Vendée War History Museum. In this exceptional site in the heart of city center/ downtown Cholet, we have created an atmosphere in the great tradition of Parisian brasseries. We were lucky to found it and got in, memorable indeed.
The 2nd Edition of the Village Vignerons; or the independent winemakers of the Nantes region. We come here and get our house wines all the way from here to Amboise in Touraine. These are wonderful wines not yet too known ,very affordable and good winemaking with lots of history behind The event took place at the Place du Vieux Marché , Guérande. I was able to meet and mingle with a collegue from work who lived here,and have visited their home, sadly gone to Canada but still in touch.
There is a super museum which is a must to see while visiting Le Mans and especially a must for all cars/motos aficionados. The Musée des 24 Heures du Mans is a bit outside the city center. It is located right next to the circuit of races for the famous car race the 24 hours of Le Mans.
The island of butterflies or île aux papillons! This is very educational for the whole family right out of Noirmoustier Île direction La Guériniére, The enclosed garden is kept at 26C or about 79F and see hundreds of butterflies from Guyana, Kenya, Madagascar, Costa Rica, and the Philippines! This is claim to be the largest butterfly greenhouse in France.
We ate at the Le Bistro du Grand Pavois at 11 Place de la Rampe and corner with Avenue de la Vielle Ville. Located in front of the port and the Loire estuary in Saint Nazaire, Another memorable stop and great to be at Father’s day with my now late dear father Elio, Memories forever !
We took the easy ride on route de mauves to reach Vignobles Marchais, We already been here couple times before. We were met by a very nice and knowledable guy who immediately took out into the terrace where there was a wine barrel out that served as the table and started to bring bottles out! We have gone out to do some viticulture cutting of the grapes here too !! Memories forever !!! And yes another wonderful trip down the majestic Loire river and great wine country nearest to me at Thouaré sur Loire !!
There you go folks, wonderful road warrior rides into wonderful superbe sublime Pays de la Loire region of my belle France, Again, hope you have enjoy the post on my curiosities of the Pays de la Loire !!! as I
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 