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Published: September 1st 2013
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Liquid Breakfast Stop
After our Carrefours breakfast we returned to the winery that had been closed earlier. We got there just as the shop was opening. First in line for freebies. Happy Birthday to me. I suppose this was a milepost as I turned 60 today and that monumental achievement was the whole reason I got to choose the itinerary for this trip, but it really seemed like just any other day to me when we woke up. As far as I was concerned, everyday of this vacation was special because I was not at work and I was seeing all kinds of new things that really interested me. I was truly thinking that this region of France might be just as fascinating to me as Bavaria.
After waking up in our budget hotel we took nice hot showers before packing up the car. As our trip was drawing to a conclusion we wanted to squeeze in as much as possible today. With New Year's Day following tomorrow, we realized this might be our last full day of sightseeing. If France was like everywhere else in Europe all the tourist sights would be closed for the holiday. In fact I feared things might be closing early today in anticipation of the New Year's Eve festivities.
The night before we had read a little more about the town of Saumur where
Getting Schooled in Wining
This being New Year's Eve I'm surprised more locals weren't popping in to buy some local bubbly for the evenings festivities. As usual, the Lunds would be in bed long before the clock ticked on into the New Year. Instead, we got our sparkling wine fix early in the morning. we were staying. It was quite famous for its renowned sparkling wines. Knowing that there were a handful of wineries just around the corner from our hotel and remembering that we had seen signs in front promising free tastings, we decided to head back that way. After driving past a couple of obviously closed places we saw one that looked to be open. I hopped out of the car and went to the front door. A sign indicated that they'd be opening today at 10 am. We had over an hour to wait. Agreeing that we should come back, we went looking for breakfast.
Near our hotel we had spotted a shopping mall with a big Carrefours store attached. We parked in the huge, but already packed underground parking lot then made for the discount department store. As usual I went straight for the pre-made chicken sandwiches and soda. The girls loaded up on healthier choices while a few more souvenirs were dumped into the shopping cart. We got our share of stares from the mall shoppers when we took our bags of goodies to the food court and settled down for breakfast. With nice clean (free) bathrooms nearby
We Were the Only Students That Showed-Up for Class
The shopkeeper knew what we wanted and immediately sent us to our desk while he went into the backroom for the wine school supplies. this beat the heck out of our usual in-car breakfasts.
we returned to the Langlois-Chateau winery just as a well-dressed gentlemen was getting out of his car. He walked up to the front door, key in hand, and let himself in. We sat in the car waiting as he switched on the lights then came out to prop the door open. Before he had a chance to settle into his day of work the four of us piled out of our car and dashed inside. To our great relief he was friendly, spoke perfect English and asked if we'd like to sample some of the wines. He set up a table for us and we began our education.
Our accommodations for the night of my sixtieth birthday:
http://www.domaine-moresville.com/domaine_moresville/Domaine_de_Moresville.html Our New Year's Eve/Birthday festivities at La Patisserie:
http://www.lapataterie.com/en/this-way-for-la-pataterie/pataterie-chateaudun
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