We moved on to Gien on Tuesday morning. Gien is on the river Loire, on the eastern edge of the Loire region and about 45 miles south east of Orleans. The campsite at Gien is within walking distance of the town which is pretty handy although we visited the town by bike rather than on foot. It was also right next to the ‘Loire a velo’ cycle route which provides a nice flat and safe cycling path alongside the river.
Gien is famous for its pottery which still produces porcelain today. We visited the factory outlet shop and were staggered at the price of pottery pieces, What??, £28 for a dinner plate?, outrageous. Needless to say, we’ll stick to buying our plates and bowls in Ikea at 50p a piece.
While in Gien we also visited the Museum of Hunting in the Chateau, which turned out to be well worth a visit. I didn’t realise that there are so many ways of hunting and killing the native wildlife.
One of our favourite meals on holiday is ‘tomates farcis’ which is tomatoes stuffed with pork mince, probably some sage, onion etc, all served on a bed of rice. But at £3.50 or so per tomato, I baulked at the price this year. Instead, we bought 3 large tomatoes and 350g of stuffing and made our own. They were superb and a fraction of the shop price. We have added this recipe to our short list of meals to do again very soon.
Gien across its bridge and in the distance. The day started off cloudy but the sky soon cleared to give us an afternoon of 30C.
Gien from further down river.
The parking near to the river and site exit was somewhat crowded, but away from the river there were a number of large empty pitches. One of which we bagged.
Parked up in the evening sunshine. We had to move the table and chairs to the shade to escape the heat while we scoffed our home made tomates farcis.
The Museum of Hunting in the town chateau was well worth a visit, which is much more than can be said for the museum of pottery at Gien faience. However, the pottery outlet shop was well worth a visit.
Ah, the good old 49er is running out despite competition with local produce, but it still has the advantage of price.
Note to self – bring more next time.