A French Countryside Vacation
3 Days in Saint-Martin-de-Sanzay
I’m a HUGE fan of historical docudramas, and Masterpiece Theater has filled my weekend calendar on more than one occasion. All that to say, I have a soft spot for “old-world charm.”
Visiting the larger cities of a given country (such as Paris) might be logistically easier, but you can learn and experience SO much about the people and history of a place by visiting the small towns and villages.
Why visit Saint-martin-de-sanzay, you ask? Equal parts random choice, regional location, and just the right amount of “unimportant to other tourists,” is what made it the perfect place for us to stay.
Where to Stay in the Loire Valley
Located in central France, it is best known for world-class wine and the stunning chateaus. I can’t recommend highly enough, spending some time exploring this area and sampling the many treasures that it has to offer.
Like anyplace that has wonderful things to see and do, there are going to be people that want to see all those wonderful things, and as a result, more touristy things invade the area. However, it’s possible to both see the things, and not so many of the “people,” by simply staying just off the beaten path.
The third part of this equation is the “random choice,” element. As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, we regularly utilize Airbnb when we travel, and in keeping with the “close, but not too close” guidelines, I simply opened up my search preferences to “Map View,” and started looking at properties in the general area of the things and places I wanted to see.
Voila, Saint-Martin-de-Sanzay yielded the result I was looking for!
Saint-Martin-de-Sanzay
Population 900, has a pub/convenience store and a post office. If you want restaurants and shopping, you’ll have to hop over to the neighboring village, which is just a few minutes away by car.
I adore this picture of my mother playing the piano, we were all laughing, drinking wine, and truly celebrating our time together in that house.
If you want a place where you hear church bells on the hour, see white doves just casually hanging out in the back yard, and nothing else…this is a place where you can just, “be.”
What “French Village” Dreams are made of
Want to open the shuttered windows and listen to some music on vinyl (we did)? Perhaps you just want to take a nap with the windows open? My father-in-law did, and when he woke up, a tiny kitten had climbed in through the window and curled up to sleep on his chest. I don’t know whom it belonged to, but I will forever affectionately call it, “le meow.”
Just a short drive to the many vineyards and chateau in the region, this countryside home has forever created a space in my heart, a space in which I mentally return to when I think of resting.
*Side Note: I also got married in this house, which I’ll share in another post.
The owner is an absolute sweetheart, and we have every intention of returning to this home again someday. If you want to reserve it for yourself, you can find the listing HERE.