Is it me or is the Loire Valley Tropical ?

Half way through the season now and the opportunity for an evening off beckons so we head off to our little cottage by the Loire River (La Petite Maison) in the commune of Chênehutte Trèves Cunault for an evening of rest and relaxation.

It’s a beautiful evening but so hot and we decide to cycle to the guinguette in Chênehutte - Le Futreau - a beautiful 10 minute ride along the Loire à Vélo cycle path that follows the river for over 800kms.

Now for those of you un-familiar with the term a 'guingette' (in this region of France) is a riverside restaurant or bar with live entertainment invariably from a French crooner and accompanied by particularly bad dancing.

The sun was shining and the Cremant de la Loire was chilled and delicious......

Chance to relax on the riverside deck before dinner.....

Our bikes were used as a prop to display the menu.........

There was evidence of at least the start of some very bad dancing..........

The restaurant was buzzing, full with about 60 people all patiently waiting in various stages of being served. Chantal (with extremely larged pencilled in eyebrows) was crooning away and everyone was happy.

The opportunity for some frivolity was obviously high on these ladies agendas....!

.....when BAM from out of no where, whistling down the river, comes the most powerful storm you can imagine. It was the first gust that sent the whole scene into disarray. The sky went black, tables blew over, umbrellas went flying, bottles and glasses broke as they hit the deck! Small children were tucked screaming under their parents arms and run to shelter. It was a scary moment and the rain came so heavy and fast that my pave’ de boeuf frites was swimming in seconds.

How to empty a restaurant in 2 seconds flat.....

Quick grab the bottle......

The restaurant across the road was instantly turned into what looked like a refugee centre. We watched with dismay as all the soaked diners simply sat down at new tables and waited for service to recommence amongst the chaos. They should have been wearing Don’t Panic - Normal Service will be Resumed as soon as Possible T-Shirts . Only in France! We helped the struggling waitress carry tables across the road in an attempt to restore some order and helped clear the debris from the deck.

We had left our dogs on the veranda back at the house and feared for the worst. Willow is so frightened with storms and we thought everything else would be awash so we jumped back on our bikes and cycled quickly home - to find it bone dry not a drop of rain had fallen - the dogs lying there with their 'why are you back so early look on their faces'.

The calm after the storm....... It was as if it had never happened!