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ITINERARY
Day
1-2
Spend two nights in an elegant, charming Left Bank hotel with breakfast
each morning. You are free to see Paris on your own if you have favorite
places you want to return to. Or you can let us be your guides and take
you around to our favorites. On one day we have an optional trip to Giverny,
Claude Monet's famous home and magnificent gardens.
Day 3
We leave Paris and we head for the Champagne region...Here we see a different
way of life, where champagne producers completely dominate small villages,
and where with the exception of perhaps flowers, champagne is king. We
stay in a beautiful small hotel in the tiniest champagne village along
the "Route touristique du Champagne", surrounded by rolling
vineyards. We explore this enchanting region, touring large and small
cellars and educating our palates to learn what makes Champagne's product
so unique.
Day 4
In Epernay, Champagne's unofficial capital, we drive up the splendid Avenue
de Champagne to visit a famous, traditional champagne cellar and of course
have a tasting. After lunch we drive along the Route du Champagne to the
picturesque village of Hautvillers, where we pay homage to Dom Perignon,
inventor of champagne, by visiting his 17th century tomb. Next we take
a barge ride on the Marne River, passing beautiful little villages so
peaceful it's hard to imagine this was the center of some of the worst
fighting in World War I. In the evening we enjoy a gourmet dinner in a
beautiful 17th century château.
Day 5
Today we visit Reims, with its magnificent cathedral where the kings of
France were crowned for centuries. We have a tour of Château Pommery,
one of Champagne's oldest cellars, where barrels are still kept in the
deep caves dug by the Romans for the same purpose. In the afternoon we
follow the Route du Champagne along beautiful rolling vineyards to the
tiny village of Oeuilly, where we visit a family owned champagne winery.
If we're lucky we'll meet the owner, his son, his father, and his father.
We'll have a champagne happy hour in the garden of our hotel followed
by another gourmet dinner.
Day 6
After visiting a monolithic monument to the veterans of World War I in
Mondémont, we spend the day in the fascinating medieval city of
Troyes. Next we head south toward the Loire Valley, stopping overnight
near the town of Chablis to sample some very fine Burgundy wine with a
gourmet dinner.
Day 7
Our first stop in the Loire Valley is Chambord Château, the first
Renaissance château to be built in France, and a masterpiece of
16th century architecture. We spend the next five nights in a beautiful
16th century manor house in the country village of Truyes in the heart
of the Loire Valley. This is an ideal location to serve as a base from
which we can visit several magnificent châteaux, stopping in medieval
picturesque towns along the Indre, Loire, and Vienne rivers, and exploring
ancient streets where our French guides tell us stories of the kings and
queens who once walked there. The Loire Valley is also known for its many
fine wines, and our explorations take us to several private wine tastings
in the small caves only the local Tourangeaux know about. Pascal and Dominique,
who run our manor house, are warm, charming, and add greatly to our experience..
Day
8
After visiting the lovely Renaissance château Azay-le-Rideau, we
have lunch at the home of some friends, Lionel and Françoise. Françoise
always cooks us something devine, and Lionel proudly serves us wine from
his brother-in-law's neighboring vineyard. In the afternoon we have a
guided walking tour of Chinon, steeped in history from the days when the
Plantagenet King Henry II and his wife Eleanor of Aquitaine had their
largest castle here to the time of Joan of Arc, when she came here to
try to convince the Dauphin Charles to take the French crown. On the way
home we stop at a small Chinon winery where the owner joins us for a tasting
of several of his best wines.
Day
9
This morning we visit the medieval town of Loches and its historic château
where so much changed in France's history. Most exciting is the Donjon
with its display of outrageous torture instruments. In the village of
Loches we shop in the market for many varieties of local cheeses, hams
and salami, olives, pâtés, French pastries, fruits, and wine.
Then Pascal takes us to a wonderful, idyllic hidden spot for an authentic
gourmet French pique-nique. In the afternoon we visit the most famous
château of the Loire Valley, Chenonceau. We round off the day with
a visit to a fabulous Montlouis winery, where the owner joins us for a
thorough tasting.
Day
10
Today we take a scenic drive along the Loire River to one of the oldest
châteaux, Langeais. This impressive fortress, surrounded by a moat,
is furnished with medieval antiques and tapestries. The room where Anne
de Bretagne and Charles VIII were married in the 15th century is set up
with wax figures in authentic costumes to make you think you are at the
wedding. We have lunch in a charming creperie overlooking the river, and
then visit an interesting troglodyte (underground) village. We can see
many troglodyte houses built into the cliffs as we drive through the countryside.
We'll stop for another wine tasting on the way home. Dinner tonight is
a gourmet affair at a magnificent 16th century château.
Day
11-12
Today we visit the historic city of Tours, ancient capital of Touraine.
We'll see the Basilica where St. Martin was supposedly buried in the 4th
century and a tower built by Charlemagne when he was crowned in 815. Dominique
and Pascal will show us the markets where the best bargains are to be
found, and we'll have lunch in a medieval square, Place Plumereau, surrounded
by half-timbered houses. We return home to Dominique's kitchen, where
she gives us a first rate gourmet French cooking class. Pascal supplies
the wine during intermission. For our grand farewell dinner their friend
entertains us on the accordian. In the morning Pascal and Dominique take
us to the train station where we take the high speed TGV train to the
Paris airport for the return flight home. We leave the Loire Valley with
a deeper understanding of the 16th century philosophy of France's beloved
François Rabelais who urged all to drink more wine to gain a better
appreciation of life. Vive Rabelais!
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