Apart from being a good homely place to stay at,
La Villa Julia, or to give it its grander name, the
The Hotel des Hotel des V oyageurs, at Pont Aven is
Voyageurs worth a visit, for it has been the tem-
porary home of many of the greatest French painters,
notably poor Bastien Lepage. They are welcome,
and are provided with studios, being only charged
5 francs a da j pension. “The country is charming,”
writes an enthusiastic correspondent, “ and one lingers
there, and the food is excellent. Even were it not,
dear old Mile. Julia Guillon is worth a journey. She
is one of the most delightful of French landladies.
In the old inn the walls of one large room are covered
with pictures and sketches given her by her chers
artistes .”
Quimperle
At the Lion d’Or, the old-fashioned, comfortable
hotel of the town, the food is excellent, and it tastes
none the worse because it is brought
to table by the laughing waitresses all
dressed in the picturesque dress of the province.
Another hotel in Brittany, at which four sisters, who
always wear, or wore, Breton costumes, are the land-
ladies, is the Hotel Lecadre at Rochefort-en-terre.
The Loire Country
Touraine, with its chateau and its pleasant inns, I
have not yet explored myself, but I hope that before
this book calls for a fourth edition I shall be able to
write with personal knowledge on the subject. The
following items of information have been given to me
by motorists who have passed through the district and
French Provincial Fowns 97
have noted where they have been well cared for at
inns and hotels. One of them, writing of the
journey between Orleans and Blois, says, “ At Mer,
the town where one leaves the main road for Taleyur,
we happened on an inn (the Hotel du Commerce)
which provided us with rather a good instance of the
resourcefulness of the French innkeeper, for its out-
ward appearance, the sanded floor of the room into
which we were shown, and the fact that it was an off
day in the town, led us to make up our minds that
we should be given quite an indifferent meal, but we
were provided in quite a short time with an excellent
repast.”
For the cuisine at the Hotel d’Angleterre at Blois,
several of my correspondents have a good word. At
Chambord there is an excellent inn, so I am told,
almost in the shadow of the chateau. It stands by
itself in the park. One motorist tells me that the
dejeuner that he and his companions were given at
this wonderful inn was so good that it decided them
to stay the day at the inn. I hear also good accounts
of the cuisine of the Hotel de P Avenue de Chateau
at Chaumont. The Univers at Tours is one of the
best known of provincial French hotels, and I have
never heard a dissenting opinion as to the excellence
of its cookery. Authorities are not so well agreed
as to the cookery at Le Faisan, one critic assuring
me that it was excellent bourgeois cookery, while
another is not at all enthusiastic on the subject.
Praise is given to the dejeuner at the Hotel Lion
d’Or at Langeais, and at Chenonceaux the Hotel
de Chateau receives nothing but praise. At Saumur
the Hotel Budon has an excellent cook and a
cellar of wine which deserves special attention. At
Nantes the Hotel de France is both in cuisine and
other matters quite first-class. There do not seem to
be any very special dishes belonging to the Loire
98 The Gourmet's Guide to Europe
Page 55
Presented as published in 1903. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
Apart from being a good homely place to stay at, La Villa Julia, or to give it its grander name, the Hotel des Voyageurs, at Pont Aven is Voyageurs worth a visit, for it has been the temporary home of many of the greatest French painters, notably poor Bastien Lepage. They are welcome, and are provided with studios, being only charged 5 francs a day pension. “The country is charming,” writes an enthusiastic correspondent, “ and one lingers there, and the food is excellent. Even were it not, dear old Mile. Julia Guillon is worth a journey. She is one of the most delightful of French landladies. In the old inn the walls of one large room are covered with pictures and sketches given her by her chers artistes .”
Quimperle
At the Lion d’Or, the old-fashioned, comfortable hotel of the town, the food is excellent, and it tastes none the worse because it is brought to table by the laughing waitresses all dressed in the picturesque dress of the province. Another hotel in Brittany, at which four sisters, who always wear, or wore, Breton costumes, are the landladies, is the Hotel Lecadre at Rochefort-en-terre.
The Loire Country
Touraine, with its chateau and its pleasant inns, I have not yet explored myself, but I hope that before this book calls for a fourth edition I shall be able to write with personal knowledge on the subject. The following items of information have been given to me by motorists who have passed through the district and
French Provincial Towns 97
have noted where they have been well cared for at inns and hotels. One of them, writing of the journey between Orleans and Blois, says, “ At Mer, the town where one leaves the main road for Taleyur, we happened on an inn (the Hotel du Commerce) which provided us with rather a good instance of the resourcefulness of the French innkeeper, for its outward appearance, the sanded floor of the room into which we were shown, and the fact that it was an off day in the town, led us to make up our minds that we should be given quite an indifferent meal, but we were provided in quite a short time with an excellent repast.”
For the cuisine at the Hotel d’Angleterre at Blois, several of my correspondents have a good word. At Chambord there is an excellent inn, so I am told, almost in the shadow of the chateau. It stands by itself in the park. One motorist tells me that the dejeuner that he and his companions were given at this wonderful inn was so good that it decided them to stay the day at the inn. I hear also good accounts of the cuisine of the Hotel de P Avenue de Chateau at Chaumont. The Univers at Tours is one of the best known of provincial French hotels, and I have never heard a dissenting opinion as to the excellence of its cookery. Authorities are not so well agreed as to the cookery at Le Faisan, one critic assuring me that it was excellent bourgeois cookery, while another is not at all enthusiastic on the subject. Praise is given to the dejeuner at the Hotel Lion d’Or at Langeais, and at Chenonceaux the Hotel de Chateau receives nothing but praise. At Saumur the Hotel Budon has an excellent cook and a cellar of wine which deserves special attention. At Nantes the Hotel de France is both in cuisine and other matters quite first-class. There do not seem to be any very special dishes belonging to the Loire
98 The Gourmet's Guide to Europe