News /Toasting city’s routes to States
We rounded off our sunny day by wandering around the quaint little streets of Behuard, the only department on an island in the Loire river, and visiting Jean-Luc Duvignon’s woodcarving studio. He was raising funds for a school in Brazil so we bought a necklace made from deep red Brazilian seeds.
Then it was back to the guest house where Serge had hooked a delicious Sandre – a freshwater fish – from the river for our supper.
As if being hosted by a village mayor wasn’t enough of a surprise, we were in for another the following morning when we crossed the drawbridge and entered the magnificent 15th Century family fortress of Le PlessisBourre, which is surrounded by a lake-sized moat.
Armed with a plan of the castle, we set out on a self-guided tour through its beautifully furnished state rooms only to open a heavy oak door and come upon the beheading of Mary Queen of Scots!
We’d stumbled on the dramatic set of a historical documentary film being made for French TV, as was explained by a young man called Maxime who was playing The Duke of Norfolk and spoke excellent English due to time spent at the University of the West of England in Bristol.
There was now just time for the traditional €13.50 three-course lunch in a typical French hotel and a wander around Saint-Denis D’anjou, our final Petite Cité de Caractère, before beginning our mid-afternoon drive home to Lassay.
It had been an expedition with a certain je ne sais quoi. A MASSIVE vending machine featuring beers from all over the United States is coming to Spinningfields this week.
Virgin Atlantic and Delta Air Lines are bringing the machine, which will serve 230 different US craft beers, to Spinningfields Square, to celebrate the rise in popularity of craft beer.
Serving the likes of Anchor Steam from San Francisco, to Neapolitan Milk Stout from Michigan and Wandering Blues from Georgia, it also aims to celebrate some of the 200-plus US destinations that UK travellers can fly to from Manchester Airport.
The vending machine will be open from 12pm to 7pm on Friday, 14 and Saturday, 15 September and there will also be non-alcoholic root beers, in-flight snacks and money-off flight vouchers up for grabs.
Claire Cronin, senior vice president of marketing at Virgin Atlantic, said: “What better way to bring people together than over a beer, or better still, 230 beers! Our pop-up vending machine will bring a taste of the US to Manchester and through the ever-popular US craft beer scene, show the variety of destinations that UK travellers can fly to with Virgin Atlantic and Delta Air Lines.”
Corneel Koster, Delta’s senior vice president Europe, Middle East, Africa and India said: “At Delta and Virgin Atlantic, we are renowned for our hospitality and this special vending machine enables us to bring a flavour of our hospitality and American craftsmanship to Manchester.
“Come down and have a special beer on us and be inspired to make the US your next destination.”
Some of the beers on offer will include Sixpoint Brewing Sweet Action, from the Sixpoint Brewery in Red Hook, Brooklyn, New York.
There will also be Spencer Brewing Trappist Ale, which is brewed by the Trappist monks of St. Joseph’s Abbey in Spencer, Massachusetts, one of only ten Trappist breweries in the world.