The History of Drinking Chocolate in the Loire Valley

Want to buy a simple, inexpensive souvenir of your trip to France? What could be better than a box of drinking chocolate? After all, many people come to France determined to try this famous beverage. What they probably don't know is that the oldest French drinking chocolate is the Poulain brand, and it is sold in every supermarket in the land, not in expensive boutiques. It is truly a treat for anyone with a sweet tooth who loves chocolate. What is more, it is still manufactured here in the Loire Valley, and the brand is owned by a French company. It seems like too good an opportunity to miss. 

The range of drinking chocolates in one of our local supermarkets. Poulain and Nesquik are the market leaders and have been since the 1950s.

Of course, the purists would say that hot chocolate must be made with solid chocolate melted into milk, not this powdered chocolate stuff that is already dosed with sugar. But for the combination of flavour, price and convenience, Poulain has definitely convinced many French people to give it a home on their pantry shelves.

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For details of our private guided tours of chateaux, gardens, wineries, markets and more please visit the Loire Valley Time Travel website. We would be delighted to design a tour for you.

We are also on Instagram, so check us out to see a regularly updated selection of our very best photos. You may also like to check out our YouTube channel. 

Servicing Our Classic Cars in the Loire Valley

Claudette and Célestine, our classic tour vehicles, are more than 60 years old, so they take a lot of maintenance. Luckily we have a great specialist mechanical team that we can call on, who love Citroen Traction Avants, and know exactly what to do. If you too have a love of old cars, book a special tour of the Loire Valley with us in an old Citroen.

These days the reproduction brake drums are not so perfectly manufactured, so we've had the ones on Claudette skimmed to ensure they are perfectly round and not causing brake shudder.

 

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For details of our private guided tours of chateaux, gardens, wineries, markets and more please visit the Loire Valley Time Travel website. We would be delighted to design a tour for you.

We are also on Instagram, so check us out to see a regularly updated selection of our very best photos. You may also like to check out our YouTube channel. 

To See Great Medieval Art Come to Loches in the Loire Valley

Earlier this year the Cluny Museum of Medieval Art in Paris held a special exhibition of art from the reign of Charles VII. He is a much under rated late medieval king of France, and his mistress, Agnes Sorel, lived in Loches. The Cluny approached the town of Loches with a request to borrow her beautiful tomb effigy, the first time such a loan had been agreed. But on the day the specialist art transporters came to lift the effigy off the tomb and take it to Paris everyone involved was in for a nasty shock. The effigy was barely lifted a few millimetres and it was obvious that an old crack, dating from the 19the century, was opening up, and she would break in two if efforts to lift her continued. At the very last minute the loan had to be cancelled and the exhibition went ahead without her. That means, that if you want to see what was to have been the star piece you have to come to Loches and see her in situ. 

The effigy of Agnes Sorel taken a few days after the removal attempt, with the crack clearly showing between her elbow and her belt.

 

We are always happy to welcome visitors to Loches. It is packed with history, and Agnes's story alone will fascinate and intrigue you. Why not book a 3 hour walking tour of Loches, or a chauffeured tour that includes this charming medieval town?

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For details of our private guided tours of chateaux, gardens, wineries, markets and more please visit the Loire Valley Time Travel website. We would be delighted to design a tour for you.

We are also on Instagram, so check us out to see a regularly updated selection of our very best photos. You may also like to check out our YouTube channel.