Costumed Entertainment in the Loire Valley

We don't dress up in costume to escort our clients. We've thought about it, and we've thought about providing retro accessories for our clients, but it hasn't come to fruition yet. Instead we just enjoy the not infrequent encounters with costumed characters at the chateaux we visit. The young woman in this photo was rather sweet. She wasn't a guide, she appeared to be an ordinary visitor who was adding to her experience by dressing in Renaissance costume. We guessed she had made the costume herself, and it was her Dad accompanying her to take photos inside the perfect Renaissance Chateau of Chenonceau.

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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. 

Wild Plant Foraging in the Loire Valley

Man has lived in the Loire Valley for tens of thousands of years, and one of the reasons is that the natural landscape provides so much -- abundant fresh water, forests full of game, and a wide variety of plants and fungi which are edible or medicinal. The climate then and now is temperate, and there are the raw materials for making everything you need in life -- flint and clay in prehistoric times; wool, hemp, limestone and iron in medieval times. Recently there has been an upsurge in interest in wild foraging for edible plants, and based on our own knowledge, and working with partners, we are able to offer special opportunities for workshops and experiences in wild foraging in the Loire Valley. Places are limited, dependent on seasonal conditions and tours which include this element are highly customised.

 

Wild Strawberries, foraged by us in the Loire Valley.

 

Let us know if you would be interested in foraging for pungent wild garlic, delicate wild strawberries or other wild delicacies according to season, and we will see what we can arrange.

 

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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. 

A Review From Ted

Ted and Maura, clients from Boston celebrating their wedding anniversary, were not feeling on top form when Olivier and I picked them up last July. But with some last minute adustments to their tour we still managed to show them what they wanted to see. Ted very kindly left us a review:

"Susan is a fantastic tour guide! Plus we toured in her 50s era Citroen. How fun."

Maura, Ted, Claudette and Olivier outside the restaurant in Cour Cheverny.

 

And the next day they were off to attend the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Paris. They certainly were packing in the highlights! 

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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

When our specialist mechanic Dominique discovered that some nuts on the front transmission drive universal joint on Claudette had worn and were allowing some movement we immediately asked him to replace them with new bronze nuts. It is important to keep on top of maintenance like this in old cars and often quite simple actions like this make a big difference to how the cars drive. And of course it is imperative to keep the cars safe! If you love old cars, we'd love you to book a tour with us.

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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.