Les Peupliers

Quite out of character for us, we left it till the last minute to book our next stay after we left Perigueux.  We don’t normally stay in B & B’s (bad experience in a previous life), but we liked the look of Les Peupliers (The Poplars) and the excellent reviews, so we thought we’d give it a try.  After our 300km drive north, we finally arrived travel weary and were met at the gate by Max the lab, Mike and Tracey, all with big welcoming smiles.  Mike is a German chef, Tracey is an English beautician and they have owned the property for 5 years, turning it from a farmhouse + large barn, into a tastefully remodelled and decorated 5 room B & B, each with its own ensuite and a beautiful shared dining facility.  As it turned out we were the only guests that week and we had a fabulous time eating, drinking and talking legs off chairs.   Oh, and I had a fabulous facial with Tracey.  We got on like a house on fire with our hosts, and on our departure felt like we had made some new friends.

Our wonderful hosts: Tracey, Mike and Max the lab.

Our room, ‘Stables II’ Les Peupliers B & B, Varennes-sur-Loire

Just one of the dishes made by fabulous chef Mike – this one with glitter brulée and a beautiful local dessert wine, served on slate.  They were hit by that terrible storm in February and we joked that the slate was probably off their roof.