All tanked up!

Advantages: Every tank that ever existed
Disadvantages: Needs to be better presented

...So there we were in Saumur. We'd visited the castle and picnicked in the park by the castle, looking over the town, the Loire and the countryside beyond. "What shall we do now," I asked. "Let's go to the Tank Museum," said my other half. Tank Museum? Now despite being a female wishy-washy liberal I'm quite happy to pore over things warlike, yomp over battlefields ancient and modern, and love places like the Imperial War Museum and Duxford. But tanks? I know nothing about engines - I have trouble locating the bonnet release catch on my car - and have little interest in heavy metal in any form. I was still iffing and butting as we pulled up outside and went in, as I always knew we would. We emerged about 2½ hours later having had a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon. If armoured warfare is your thing, stop what you are doing...

Chouchinciao 06.12.2006 · Read review
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Review of Tank Museum (Musée des Blindés) Saumur

Mayenne - the forgotten Loire

Advantages: Beautiful, rural countryside, unspoilt, but with plenty to do
Disadvantages: Must have transport to visit

...Most people visiting the Loire tend to go to the area around Tours and Saumur, often travelling through Mayenne to get there. They should really stop in Mayenne and see what this fabulous department of France has to offer. Mayenne has beautiful chateaux, many private chateaux open their doors to the public during the summer months, water parks, zoos, boating, museums, music, arts, golfing, fishing, medieval towns; everything that the southern Loire region has, without the crowds of tourists. Ideal for couples and families alike. The scenery is stunning, the weather temperate, the people friendly and with excellent travel links to the UK. Well worth a visit - and if you must go to Tours/Saumur - they're only a day trip away. Also worth a visit out of season for the music and arts festivals, Christmas markets, wonderful X-mas lights...

DebzC 17.10.2005 · Read review
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Review of Loire Valley (France)

The lovely Loire

Advantages: Lovely tranquil area, iseal to relax in
Disadvantages: No wild nightlife or beach (actually an advantage to me!)

...I have visited France with my family several times in the last 8 years but we have always stayed by the coast. This year we thought we would like a change so we decided to venture into the Loire Valley. I must admit I didn't do a lot of research before I made the booking so I opted for an area that looked easy to get too and then opted for a caravan site that looked promising. The Loire Valley is in fact separated into several departments and we were actually staying in the Anjou region, very close to Touraine, the closest large town was Saumur. Getting There We sailed overnight to St Malo and then found we had an easy drive down to our destination of about 5 hours. Due to the fact we tow a caravan we tend to stick to the A road and pay tolls ( about 25 euro) when necessary because it makes our journey easy even if a little...

Meggysmum 15.09.2009 · Read review
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Review of Loire Valley (France)

Money can't buy me love....

Advantages: A pleasant period novel
Disadvantages: Could be regarded as moraliizing

...When it came to packing for my holiday in September, I wanted to take a couple of thin(nish), light books that wouldn't take up much room in my rucksack and that I would not mind leaving behind in a hotel or hostel for others travellers to take with them. I searched through a pile of books I had to read and one that matched my requirements perfectly was "Eugenie Grandet" by Honore de Balzac. Written in 1833, this is the story of the Grandet family, living in Saumur, in provincial France. The head of the family, Monsieur Grandet is a miser who lets his wife and daughter live in near poverty whilst he busies himself with the task of counting his gold in his private quarters. The Grandets live in a vast mansion which is on the brink of falling down for lack of repair. Each morning, Monsieur Grandet weighs out sugar, meat...

fizzytom 12.01.2004 · Read review
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Review of Eugenie Grandet - Honore de Balzac

Compelled to Chanel

Advantages: Bueatiful, womanly, elegant
Disadvantages: Expensive (but Xmas is coming up)

...Chanel no.19 Eau De Toilette Spray ****The woman and the company behind the products:**** Chanel was founded and run in the beginning by Gabrielle ?Coco? Chanel. A Frenchwoman born on August 19, 1883 in a southern village called Saumur. At seventeen, she was sent to live in the Aubazine orphanage after her mother died and her father ran away. After she left, she held done many jobs including seamstress and cabaret dancer. Through the theatre, she met Etienne Balsan, a playboy who bankrolled her move to Paris where she opened her first hat shop in 1909. Her next amour was Balsan's friend Arthur Capel, another wealthy Frenchman who has gone down in legend as the love of Coco?s life. However, more importantly for the Chanel empire, it was he who backed her expansion from hats to clothes and from Paris to all the fashionable...

ElizaF 05.11.2003 · Read review
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Review of Chanel No 19

BOTTOMS UP TO YOU TRAMPUS

Advantages: see op
Disadvantages: see op

...As some of you may know I have been challenged by Sarah, aka Trampus, to write one wine op every week, but the wines have to be bought from Bottoms Up, so here is the first one. It is very difficult walking into a large shop like Bottoms Up and picking just one wine, this task took me about 20 mins and I came out with 2 bottles, one red and this rose. Both were French though as I thought I would start off with France and work my way around the world, as it were. I do like rose wines and as this was the only rose wine I could see in the French section I had to buy it. This rose wine is (according to the bottle) "a very popular classic Loire wine made from grapes grown in the Anjou-Saumur to the east of the muscadet region along the Loire River" This wine also only cost £3.79 so was well within my £5 budget! Food suggestion...

princesssoapy 04.06.2002 · Read review
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Review of Bougrier Rosé D'Anjou

I should Coco (Chanel)

Advantages: Gorgeous fragrance, easily absorbed
Disadvantages: The price!

...Saumur, France in 1883. The name Chanel is known all over the world as a leader in the fragrance market, Chanel no5, created in 1921, by Ernest Beaux, at the request of Chanel. Chanel no 5 is one of the most famous fragrances of all time. Apart from fragrance, Coco Chanel is remembered as one of the greatest fashion designers of the 20th century, her fashions were innovative and new to a generation of women who had previously been clothed in the restrictive apparel of the late 19th century. Chanel's modern and fresh approach to female fashion were welcomed by women world wide. Coco Chanel died in Paris in 1971 at the age of 87. **Availability** Coco Mademoiselle Body Lotion is widely available from department stores and numerous on line retailers. As previously stated www.amazon.co.uk are currently selling the product at £25...

brittle1906 13.05.2008 · Read review
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Review of Chanel Coco Mademoiselle Body Lotion

Delicious with pizza

Advantages: With italian food it's the only credible alterative to red wine
Disadvantages: doesn't taste good out of plastic bottles

...Here goes! It's about 79p in Tesco. It is Italian sparkling mineral water. You can get it in multi packs cheaper- but then it comes in plastic bottles and tastes average as water goes - but in glass bottles it is to die for! The fizz is equivelent to a good Saumur (the best French fizz outside of champagne)and the flavour is clean, fresh, no hint of this or that, just perfect to refresh you and clear the palate. I like my red wines(rather too much in fact) but San Pellegrino can replace it no question when eating in an Italian restaurant. I can still be tempted by a good barolo (excellent Italian red wine with fantastic fruity taste) - I'm not commenting on that now - but even then I order both. At home I find it easier to drink than most mineral waters as there is no "bloating" effect, and its very good after a heavy nights boozing as...

pinballwizard 18.01.2003 (27.01.2003) · Read review
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Review of San Pellegrino Carbonated Mineral Water

Gratin of Pastes Coquillettes and Munster

Advantages: good, yayou
Disadvantages: calori

...the frying pan and to mix with the plugs, hams and mushrooms. That becomes interesting. To place your preparation in the dish out of glass and to mix to it all with the pastes by adding grated cheese there. (Significant to mix well cheese grated with the preparation). Once that all the ingredients are well mixed and spread out in the dish out of glass, to still add cheese grated on the top (for gratiner, hummm). And finally, to cut out fine cheese MUNSTER sections and to place them over cheese grated To place to it all in the furnace, and to leave gratiner to your suitability. Time is of no importance, only the monitoring is significant. And veiled it is ready, not to forget especially not to serve this dish with green salad. Out of drink, I recommend for the small purses "SAUMUR CHAMPIGNY" year 2000 or less if you find...

ChimereDemonAsh 23.03.2004 · Read review
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Review of Quick and Easy Recipes

You just walk, they do the hard work

Advantages: Hassle free, well organised
Disadvantages: Not cheap

...Sherpa do a range of walking and cycling holidays and as the name implies, you do the walking and they move your baggage for you. Their holidays cover Europe, East Africa, Morocco, Russia, South America and the Himalayas. Some are group tours and others you do on your own. We chose a self-guided tour of the Loire Valley, described by Sherpa as 'easy' (hey, there's lots of vineyards to try out, you can't combine tasting with too much walking). The price of the holiday includes plane/rail travel, transport of baggage each day to the next hotel and, in most cases, an evening meal. The walking holiday started in Amboise and ended in Saumur but we wanted to spend a few nights in Paris before our walk, have an extra night in Chinon, one of the towns half way and then finish off with a few nights in Tours after the walking. Booking was...

Phil_P 12.06.2002 · Read review
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Review of Sherpa Expeditions