Milk To Go: Chinon, France

On our last day of European exploring we drove to Chinon to see the Royal Fortress. This medievel castle was where Richard the Lionhearted was born and where Jeanne d’Arc (Joan of Arc) came to meet with Charles VII. It was lofty and majestic hanging over the hillside over the top of Chinon. With the Loire Valley light, sunflowers and vineyards in the foreground, it was a living postcard. The castle grounds had period movies describing events that had taken place there. The girls loved this. There was a lot of “why are they wearing that Mama?”, “what are they doing Mama?” and “what’s that Mama?” History is such a difficult concept at Sophia and Madelyn’s ages. It was a great way to teach it by experiencing it.

And guess what… Madelyn lost ANOTHER tooth while she was clowning around with Peter in the green lawn. She officially cannot eat corn.

Next on the agenda was wine tasting and selecting some wines to bring home! There was a beautiful vineyard just outside the castle grounds so we stopped there and picked up a gorgeous, award winning rosé. The girls were tired from walking all over the castle, so Peter took them for a drive so I could stroll down the medieval section of Chinon. I love walking in the footsteps of centuries of living. I feel their ghosts walking with me, living, working, laughing and it makes me feel a part of history. It was nice to do this quietly and alone. I didn’t take any pictures. I just absorbed.

While Peter was out driving he found a wine cave. This is exactly what this wine enthusiast wanted to see! He picked me up and took me straight there. He said with a big grin “I’m driving, you have fun.” The Cave Monplaisir is an actual geological cave that stores wines for several vineyards in Chinon. The cave contains around 700 barrels and tens of thousands of bottles. It is long, huge and so damp and cold that the bottles, the light fixtures, the barrels were all covered in mold. So cool. The lady doing the wine tasting was very nice and knowledgeable. Peter interpreted for me as I selected some more wines to bring home. Chinon is known for its reds… and for good reason. Yummy!

Our last day in France was actually the beginning of our return trip home: checking out of our apartment, driving to Paris, checking into our Charles de Galle airport hotel and returning our car. Fun stuff. The girls always love a new hotel room though, so they were happy.

My next post will include a resource itinerary that you can print and file away for future fun.

And then I will start in on a trip from the past… above the Arctic Circle with a 9 month old anyone?

Driving to Chinon we found this chateau for sale.

Chateau anyone?

Yes, we all scaled the fence to check it out.

Our itsy-bitsy teeny-weeny rental car.

Lots of rolling hills that daddy went up and down reallllllllly fast. "It's like a roller coaster Mommy!!" Great... I almost lost my cookies out the window. Everyone thought that was hilarious...