What better way to start our day then stop at a winery to taste some sparkling wines from the Loire Valley. As you know they can’t call it champagne because it does not come from the champagne region of France, but for all practical purposes it is champagne. The Bouvet Ladubay winery dates back to the 19th century and makes fairly inexpensive ($10-15) sparkling wines. We were given a tour of their aging cellars which were actually caves where stone had been mined in earlier centuries for buildings. The wine aging cellars are basically abandoned stone quarries. We tasted three different sparkling wines before moving on to our next adventure-lunch!

We stopped for lunch in the town of Saumur (population 28,000), situated on the Loire River. Since we had several hours we decided it was time for a proper French lunch…with a two-course luncheon and wine! We even managed to order in a local restaurant where English was hard to come by.

We were then off to see our first Loire Valley château, Chateau d’Azay-le-Rideau. Built by Gilles Berthelot, the treasurer-general of finances for King Francis 1, between 1518 and 1527, this château is considered one of the foremost examples of early French renaissance architecture. Set on an island in the middle of the Indre river, this picturesque château has become one of the most popular places to visit in the valley. Interestingly we learned that most of these elegant chateaus were built by bankers, financiers, and keepers of the monies of the time ..Hmmm. Is it because they had control of all the money?  Many of the chateaus were subsequently appropriated by the king for his personal use.  Hmmm.  Obviously, it is good to be king! We were given self-guided audio guides to use for our tour of the château.

By this time it was late afternoon and we proceeded to our home for the next two nights, Chateau de Rochecotte. This château is a late 18th-century château located in the French village of Saint-Patrice. It is a smaller château that has been made into an elegant boutique hotel.

There was another optional dinner tonight, again at a family-owned restaurant called Errard in the village of Langeais (population of 4,000). As we drove up to the restaurant we were met by a jolly, mustached chef, toque blanche and all, waving his arms to welcome us and I knew we were in for a special evening. We were the only patrons this evening. His wife acted as our hostess while Yannick worked his magic in the kitchen. The chef led a toast with Kir Royals to start the festivities before retiring to the kitchen. The food was superb, the wine flowed freely and we had a wonderful time. When we left several hours later, Yannick even walked us to the bus to bid us farewell. He was a congenial host and it seemed like we had dinner at a friend or relative’s home, rather than at a restaurant.

The driver put on some music and there was a group sing of “Sweet Caroline” and “Mama Mia” as we drove back to our hotel. It was a marvelous day and evening.