Château Chenonceau & Montpoupon 🇫🇷
Château Chenonceau on the River Cher
Chenonceau, the name alone conjures a romantic vision of what a château should look like in France. The main house and bridge that crosses the river Cher are among the most beautiful and most visited châteaus in France.
Our day started with a tour of the house, which is grandiose and lovingly restored. The grounds and gardens are stunning, and we both enjoyed roaming around, just taking it in. The sun was shining and warm enough that I did not need my coat. Indeed, a beautiful day.
Caves of Father Auguste - tasting and tour
There happened to be a winery on the way to our second château, so why not stop by and visit for another tasting? I love the fact that you can show up and have a tasting of wines from local producers. Caves Du Pére Auguste was well worth a stop, and we parked next to a couple from the US that had just bought several bottles of wine. Like us, they were amazed that the wine was so reasonably priced. He was running numbers in his head on what shipping would be to send it to his home. It was good to run into more travelers from the US. We enjoyed our tasting and, of course, bought a few bottles of our own to enjoy for the remaining time we have in Amboise.
Our tasting was followed up by us tagging along with a tour of the cellar. The tour was for a couple of Czech gentlemen that were on a buying trip. We enjoyed just observing and watching. The gentlemen bought several cases of wine and had a trailer loaded with the wine for their trip back.
Our second Château was not as touristy, but certainly beautiful. The ride through the French countryside was just stunning, and of course, we both kept uttering a simple “wow”. We both laughed at how many times we said this as we drove.
Château de Montpoupon - beautiful and less touristed
Château Montpoupon is a private castle, still owned by the same family since 1857. It is now a museum and is listed as a monument historique since 1930. The hunting museum was fascinating. We explored at a much more relaxed pace since there was not a huge crowd. The hunting culture and French country living made for a fascinating stop.
Wish we had a $1 for every time we said “wow” of our drive back!
Our drive back was stunning with color. All the early spring flowers were popping with beautiful color; the trees were expanding with the pale green new leaves. Add to that the fields of yellow flowers from the rapeseed crops, and it kept us both repeating “wow”. We were blessed with perfect weather on our drive back to Amboise.
We were exhausted upon our return, but we were also excited for the last day of exploring. The following day promised to be epic with the last two châteaux we planned on visiting.
Until Next Time…
