Sunday-Monday July 20-21st

We arrived Sunday evening at Chateau Chougnes. Tom and Jamie have been dreaming about this part of our trip literally for years. To go to a chateau in France and invite family and friends to come and hang out, touring through the villages, visiting markets and castles, eating the pastries, drinking the wine, was for them, the epitome of a vacation. Jamie resolved to make it happen before she was 40. Tom was just happy she settled on renting. Her original plan was to buy one.

This is what they found. It would be home for a week.

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So let us show you around.

The kitchen was ideal for gathering and cooking. We used it extensively.

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Below is the billiard room.

_8503974 Let's go upstairs.

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JM and I were shown the proper deference when bedrooms were assigned. We got the master, shown above. Not your typical B&B.

Monday July 21st

This first morning we sent Tom to the bakery unsupervised. 

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No matter. There were fifteen of us. We ate it all.

This first day most of the group was in need of a down day after touring hard all weekend in Paris. So Jeanne Marie and I drove down to Tours to the shrine of St. Martin. 

_8503956 _8503952 St Martin was the first patron saint of France. He was an officer in the Roman cavalry and had converted to Christianity. The most well known story of St Martin is that on a cold winter day he encountered a beggar in rags so he cut his own cloak in half and gave half to the beggar. Anyway, it is a very old holy spot. The image just above is the actual crypt under the basilica.

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We went back to the chateau for lunch and scouted around the grounds for something to photograph.

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_8503912 _8503922 We also got to meet Gregor, the owner of the chateau. He and his family live here except when they rent it out to people like us. Then they stay in the gatehouse.

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And one of the big draws of this place was rather unFrench. It boasted a large in ground heated pool.

Rachel -11 Rachel -12 The kids loved it.

More touring tomorrow.