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Sunday, May 12 – Saturday, May 18, 2019
Home Back to Adventure ACCOMMODATIONS Price and whAT’S INCLUDED
Sunday
We will meet you at the Tours rail station in the afternoon and transport you to your Chateau home for the week. Enjoy a meet-and-greet with homemade hors d’oeuvres and locally produced wines, followed by a tour of the Chateau. Then relax around the luxurious pool or explore the estate until it is time for an “Opening Night” Gourmet Welcome dinner. Dinner prepared by Le Cordon Bleu-Paris Alum Chef Walter Eagleton and Artistic Gourmet Adventures.
Monday
After we enjoy a delicious breakfast by Artistic Gourmet Adventures, Chef Walter will lead you in today’s hands-on preparation for lunch and dinner.
Breakfast, lunch and dinner provided by Le Cordon Bleu Paris Chef Walter and the Artistic Gourmet Adventures Staff.
Tuesday
Breakfast prepared by Artistic Gourmet Adventures. After breakfast, enjoy a short cooking demo by Chef Walter.
After the demo we journey to a little picturesque town on the Loire River to enjoy a time with an English-speaking wine experts and viticulturist couple Cathy and Nigel Henton of Le Tasting Room. The day begins with coffee and sweets, and includes a comprehensive and fascinating education and tasting of Loire Valley wines. We will then be treated to a homemade lunch in the comfort of their old barrel cellar.
After a wonderful day, we will return to the Chateau to relax and enjoy dinner prepared by Chef Walter and the Artistic Gourmet Adventures Staff.
Breakfast and dinner provided by Le Cordon Bleu-Paris Alum Chef Walter and the Artistic Gourmet Adventures Staff. Lunch provided by Le Tasting Room.
Wednesday
Awake rested and ready to go. After breakfast we will have hands on preparation for our dinner tonight, then we will drive to the ancient town of Angers. We call it ‘Petit Paris’. Famous for the castle and the Apocalypse Tapestry which is the largest medieval tapestry in the world commissioned by Louis I, the Duke of Anjou, and produced between 1377 and 1382, it depicts the story of the Apocalypse from the Book of Revelation by Saint John the Divine in colorful images, spread over a number of sections that originally totaled 90 scenes. Despite being lost and mistreated in the late 18th century, the tapestry was recovered and restored in the 19th century and is now on display at the Chateau d’Angers. It is the oldest French medieval tapestry to have survived, and historian Jean Mesqui considers it “one of the great artistic interpretations of the revelation of Saint John, and one of the masterpieces of French cultural heritage”. Lunch in a Brasserie* on the Plaza and time to wander the numerous boutique shops or linger with a cafe au lait and watch the world go by! Angers is also a wonderful town of medieval buildings and great for shopping!
Breakfast and dinner provided by Le Cordon Bleu-Paris Alum Chef Walter and the Artistic Gourmet Adventures Staff.
Thursday
After a delicious breakfast we will head to fascinating Chinon and our favorite weekly town market to shop together for fresh ingredients with Chef Walter for today’s cooking Adventure. You will also have time to shop the market for great deals and enjoy a galette and crepe lunch* at one of the market stands or you may decide on one the many little restaurants in the town. You may also choose to wander off on your own and visit the Castle overlooking the town. Then we will return to the Chateau for hands-on dinner prep with Chef Walter.
The historic town of Chinon is on the banks of the Vienne river. Settlement in Chinon dates from prehistoric times, the site was fortified early on, and by the 5th century a Gallo-Roman castrum had been established there. During the Middle Ages, Chinon further developed, especially under Henry II (Henry Plantagenêt, Count of Anjou, and crowned King of England in 1154). On Henry’s death at the castle in 1189, Chinon first passed to his eldest surviving son from his marriage with Eleanor of Aquitaine, Richard I the Lionheart. The castle in Chinon served as a prison for a time when Philip IV the Fair ordered the Knights Templar arrested in 1307.
Chinon again played a significant role in the struggle for the throne between the French and the English during the Hundred Years’ War (1337-1453). In 1429, the 17 year old Joan of Arc came to Chinon to meet and to acknowledge him as the rightful heir to the throne. At the end of the 15th century, the commune of Chinon was the birthplace of the writer, humanist, philosopher and satirist François Rabelais. Apart from townhouses and convents that were built, the city changed little up to the Revolution.
Breakfast and dinner provided by Le Cordon Bleu-Paris Alum Chef Walter and the Artistic Gourmet Adventures Staff.
Friday
After breakfast we will enjoy hands on preparation for our French picnic lunch and then depart for Chateau Chenonceau where we will tour the grand and historical palace which straddles the River Cher. The estate of Chenonceau is first mentioned in writing in the 11th century. The current château was built in 1514–1522 on the foundations of an old mill and was later extended to span the river. The bridge over the river was built (1556-1559) to designs by the French Renaissance architect Philibert de l’Orme, and the gallery on the bridge, built from 1570–1576. Noted as the Chateau built by women, Diane de Poitiers, Catherine de’ Medici Louise de Lorraine, Françoise de Lorraine, Louise Dupin and Marguerite Pelouze all owned the Chateau over many centuries.
We will enjoy a Picnic Lunch on the grounds of the Chateau and then visit the little town of Chenonceaux just outside the Chateau.
We will then depart for our Chateau home to enjoy more hands-on prep for our final dinner.
Breakfast, picnic lunch and dinner provided by Le Cordon Bleu-Paris Alum Chef Walter and the Artistic Gourmet Adventures Staff.
Saturday
Breakfast at the Chateau, then we transport you to Tours train station for your return home (or your next destination).
The Loire Valley is located in the middle stretch of the Loire River in central France. The area of the Loire Valley comprises about 310 sq miles. It is referred to as the Cradle of the French and the Garden of France due to the abundance of vineyards, fruit orchards and artichoke, and asparagus fields, which line the banks of the river. Notable for its historic towns, architecture, and wines, the valley has been inhabited since the Middle Palaeolithic period. The Loire Valley wine region is one of the world’s most well-known areas of wine production and includes several French wine regions situated along the river from the Muscadet region on the Atlantic coast to the regions of Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé just southeast of the city of Orléans in north central France. Loire wines tend to exhibit a characteristic fruitiness with fresh, crisp flavors.
*These meals not included. Only meals, and wine at our Chateau home as well as picnics are included in your Adventure.
Itinerary is subject to minor changes.