brandie

Offerendum, Are there fewer tourists around due to covid? It appears like you have some of the gardens and facilities to yourself.

offerendum

No, it was packed in many parts. But I usually try not to photograph other people and the gardens were quite large.

offerendum

Next we went to the Chateau Ussé. Already from the parking lot you could see why the castle is called Sleeping Beauty Castle.


Just behind the entrance, on the left hand side, is the quite stately castle chapel.






Right next to it are the wine cellars.




And the stables.

offerendum

But now to the castle itself.



First we visited the tower in which there was a rather mediocre Sleeping Beauty exhibition.






Dolls with historical dresses were set up in the rooms of the castle.











Finally, we went to the castle garden.

offerendum

In the evening we ate out again. The choice was the Auberge des Matfeux. I found the restaurant in Michelin where it has a plate- The driving time was about 30 minutes, but Grand Lucé is not exactly central.
The restaurant is quite alone on the highway in a modern building, even from the inside it is quite stylish.


one problem was that the majority of the waiters did not speak English. Even though the drink selection was a bit difficult, the chef personally came to the table to take our order and he spoke good English.
The restaurant offered a 5 course menu for €55 at the time (€61 today), with a few dishes costing a manageable extra.
Amuse Bouche

What was next? Baby cat on ice for those who are impatiently waiting for cats? No.
First course: European lobster cannelloni with green melon, lobster bisque glazed freshness

Second course: Langoustine ravioli cooked in their juice

An absolutely great dish, overall one of the best of the vacation
GF main: Steamed organic sea bass, black rice risotto, juice flavored with nutmeg flower

My main: Tuna

Now came the cheese course. We chose the trolly put together by Fabien Degoulet, which cost € 4 extra. What I was here fastzinieren is the fact that one offered us immediately but to take a piece of each cheese. Very generous.


GF´s dessert: Intense Valrhona chocolate: Araguani cream from Venezuela, warm “Caribbean” velouté, crispy roll and cocoa nib ice cream

My dessert: Grand tasting of desserts (9 € surcharge)

Petit fours

Not only was the food very good, I thought it was sensational value for money. Had I known how good it was, I would have gone here 2 evenings. I can well imagine that the Michelin will soon award a star here, it would be absolutely deserved.

offerendum

In the morning we said goodbye to Grand-Lucé. On the way to our next hotel, we stopped in Angers. First on the agenda was the cathedral.










Maison d’Adam behind the cathedral

lb8001

Offerendum, as always, you do an outstanding job photographing the places you go and - even more impressive for me - the food. This report was another classic. But my favorite part was the fact that seeing “cats” as part of the title was important to more than just me - cathedrals and castles and yummy things to eat are great, but not anywhere near as fun as kitty photos.

offerendum

I will "split" the next cat to maximize the fun. And it´s coming soon

offerendum

The second famous sight of Angers is the castle. It is a massive complex with different parts.

















From the wall you have a nice view.









There is also a small roof garden upstairs.

offerendum

The most important work of art is housed in a new building.

The Apocalypse Tapestry is 140 meters long and dates back to the 14th century.

offerendum

Now it was time for our next hotel. After we first wanted to go to the coast, we decided on the Château de Maubreuil near Nantes. It is a converted castle near Nantes and it belongs to a local entrepreneur. It is the first 5-star house in Nantes and the rooms, even if you could not see so much on the Internet, at least looked very interesting. With just under 600 € per night for the largest suite category, it was OK from my point of view.
The castle is definitely a bit hidden and when we arrived we liked it at first sight. First we got a tour of the first floor and a few drinks at the bar. I would say that the interior is extravagant.
The staircase




Room of curiosities (shop, business center)


Bar



Meeting room





Restaurant




Some details

offerendum

Now we come to our suite. All suites have names, ours was the Jardins de Babylone. There was no key, but an access code.

In the living room you immediately noticed that it was a special room, you could also say a freaky one.





However, what also stood out was that it was toasty warm in the room. Had they forgotten to turn on the air conditioning? No. Supposedly, none was allowed to be installed for reasons of historic preservation, so we had to make do with a Dyson fan. Honestly, the room was super hot and if I had known before (you just expect air conditioning), I would have thought twice. Ultimately, only permanent draught helped, which actually can not be.
From the living room went also the toilet. Very stylish with Toto toilet. Only one thing I did not understand. While in the bathroom they had installed a frosted glass pane, here it was clear glass. The view went out to the main entrance, well visible. I do not know how others see it, but I do not need spectators on the toilet.




Now for the bedroom. Also stylish.




The minibar was well priced, the old safe a nice touch.



So really ingenious to hang things in it was the cabinet with low depth now not, especially with automatic light.

But now to the bathroom. Small, but quite already made. BUT! First of all, they love technology here and have not installed a conventional type of faucet that has been tried and tested for centuries, but a hypermodern part with a sensor. May make sense in public toilets, but in the bathroom at home no one wants that. If you reach for the washbasin or put the toilet bag down in front to look for something, the water turns on. If you want to fill the sink for shaving or the toothbrush cup, it takes forever. Simply impractical. Then there was the light. Here, too, a light switch is dispensed with and sensor technology is used instead. So the light is still on forever when you come out of the bathroom and airing overnight is accompanied by a certain light phase, which attracts all the mosquitoes and similar creatures in the area. What a stupid installation. The shower was nice and big, but the water pressure was really weak. The rainforest shower was just a trickle and the hand shower not much better.






For this we had a balcony with fire escape, from which you could easily get into the garden and thus to the pool. But it also worked the other way around, so you should never leave the door open (you had to actively lock it).


Without question, a lot of money has gone into our suite, but it has been poorly invested in some cases. Much of it was impractical and more pretty to look at than suitable for everyday use. So we found the ornamental plant chic, unfortunately, they were edges but also quite sharp and we both hurt our hand at night on it. At home, something like that would fly away immediately. Nevertheless, the room had of course what for itself and it was for 3 nights already an experience.

offerendum

Via the special descent we went down to the pool.

The complex of 2 pools is actually nicely done, but unfortunately the state of maintenance was not the best. Does one really want to swim in such a pool?

offerendum

The hotel also has a beautiful garden, but it is not finished yet. Besides the main meadow, there is an aviary for chickens and several themed gardens. When everything is completed, certainly unique.


















Some more impressions,

dwugson

Continuing to enjoy - I think Kitsch best describes your room here!