La belle échappée

😊: This is a beautiful house, with a lovely large garden, which at this time of year (late June, early July) was bursting with colour. The concierge service, run by Anaïs, was outstandingly helpful, friendly and quick to respond. There was a heatwave during our stay, but there are large windows on all sides of the house, including French windows on the western side, so we could allow a breeze to flow through, which kept the interior cool. There were two large fans, which were used in the bedrooms. There is a beautiful terrace/patio outside facing the garden, with a large awning, so this was a good place to read with a cup of coffee in the morning and to take all our meals. The house was well-equipped, with ample cutlery, glasses, and crockery, as well as a sizeable refrigerator. The location exceeded our expectations: Saint Clement les Levées is a beautiful village, a fairly short drive (c. 20 minutes) from Saumur, with a friendly bakery (excellent baguettes and croissants!), a café (tabac) with a terrace on the square by the main riverside road, church, post office and Mairie. The church is worth a look - the mariniers (the bargemen from which the rental's street takes its name) were apparently very devout and there is a small museum dedicated to life and work on the river.. 😢: We missed a decent chopping board in the kitchen and the shower floor was slippery when wet, so we purchased a new chopping board and a slip mat and have left them with the property for the next users..