July 22-July 31, 2018

Your beautiful home for the week is a magnificent 19^th century privately owned château, situated in the heart of the beautiful Loire Valley. We will not be sharing this amazing home with any one else.

Just a short walk from the picturesque town of Langeais, between Tours and Angers, the Château sits in an estate of 22 acres (9 hectares) of formal gardens with vegetable garden, orchard, woodland and rolling fields.

Renovated to a 5 star boutique standard and filled with luxury furnishings chosen by designers in London and Paris, with individually designed en-suite bedrooms (with private bathrooms) over two floors.

Activities at the Château include:  Golf driving range, Outdoor heated swimming pool, Boules/petanque court
Croquet, Frisbee/disc golf, Table tennis, Jogging trail, Indoor gym, Large trampoline, Badminton

Adventure Itinerary

Day One—Sunday

We will meet you in the early afternoon at the local rail station and transport you to your Château home for the week. Enjoy a tour of the château followed by meet-and-greet with homemade hors d’oeuvres and locally produced wines. Then relax  until it is time for a gourmet Welcome Dinner.  (Dinner by Chef Walter and Artistic Gourmet Adventures)

Day Two—Monday

After breakfast, we will visit our friends, an English-speaking wine expert and viticulturist couple, Cathy and Nigel, at Le Tasting Room in the nearby countryside. We spend the majority of the day with them at their home which is also their business.  Built between the 16th century and 1869 it’s a typical winemaker’s home built from the local limestone and is partially underground. During the morning Cathy leads a tutored tasting of 6 different wines from 6 appellation regions of Loire Valley wine.  This means you’ll come away with a greater understanding of the region as a whole and have tasted wines from at least 7 different producers during the day. You’ll enjoy a home cooked lunch prepared by Cathy and Nigel and served in their beautiful candlelit barrel cellar. They use their own herbs and salads from the garden and their cheese is sourced from the specialty cheese shop Beillevaire in Angers which is a Loire based company with shops in Paris & London.

Breakfast and Gourmet Dinner provided by Chef Walter and Artistic Gourmet Adventures. Lunch provided by Le Tasting Room.

Day Three—Tuesday

We will enjoy a delicious breakfast at our château. We will then drive through the French countryside of the Loire for a wonderful homemade, riverside picnic in a quaint medieval town.  We will explore the working water mill that, via a self-guided tour, will show us how it once ground wheat into flour for the local population and now provides electricity for the village. After visiting the beautiful 12th century church, we will head to Angers, capital of the ancient province of Anjou. You will have the opportunity to explore the small medieval city of Angers on you own or with the group. Highlights include great shopping in numerous unique shops, outdoor bistros and the beautiful hilltop Castle, home of the Fourteenth Century Apocalypse Tapestry, the largest tapestry in the world. Don’t miss a great opportunity for gift-shopping before we meet to enjoy a delicious dinner in a local restaurant (included). Breakfast/Homemade Picnic Lunch provided by Chef Walter and Artistic Gourmet Adventures.

Day Four—Wednesday

Homemade breakfast at our château, then we visit the nearby Château of Villandry. The last of the great Renaissance châteaux to have been built on the banks of the Loire River. The Château of Villandry is renowned for the harmony of its architecture. It is especially well-known for its gardens that spread across three terraces and combine aesthetics, diversity, and harmony. The gardens include a water garden, ornamental flower gardens, and vegetable gardens and are laid out in formal patterns created with low box hedges. The lands where an ancient fortress once stood were known as Columbine until the 17th century. They were acquired in the early 16th century and a new château was constructed around the original 14th-century keep where King Philip II of France once met Richard I of England to discuss peace. During the French Revolution the property was confiscated and in the early 19th century. Emperor Napoleon acquired it for his brother Jérôme Bonaparte. We will enjoy a homemade lunch on the terrace back at our château and have the rest of the day free to relax and enjoy our home.

(Breakfast/Gourmet Lunch provided)

provided by Chef Walter and Artistic Gourmet Adventures.

Day Five—Thursday

After breakfast, we will venture out for an exciting morning of shopping at the large weekly outdoor town market in Chinon. Amazing deals can be found in clothing, shoes, crafts and local and regional delicacies. After lunch at the market*, we head to Martin de Candre, maker of hundreds of locally made artisinal French soaps (savonnerie artisanale), once sold in Barney’s of New York and great for gift-giving.

After this enjoyable stop, we will travel a short distance to the village of Beaumont-en-Veron, in the wine appellation of Chinon. Here we will meet a local wine representative and sample the local wines. We are invited to discover wines of different styles produced on different soils in the Véron. We will be able to taste a selection of wines made by their 26 winemakers. Archaeological findings suggest that the vineyards were already cultivated in Chinon from the Gallo-Roman period. At that time, Chinon was already an important road and river crossroads, at the mouth of the Vienne River on the Loire. Under the domination of the Plantagenets, Chinon became the center of an immense feudal domain, and its wines were served at the Court. After a full day, we will head back to our château for a wonderful dinner.

Breakfast and Gourmet Dinner provided by chef Walter and Artistic Gourmet Adventures at the Chateau.

Day Six—Friday

We will enjoy a wonderful homemade breakfast at our Chateau and then travel a short way to the Grand Château de Chenonceau. After a delicious picnic on the grounds, we will be free to discover this once royal residence. It is truly exceptional due to its history; loved, managed and protected by women such as Diane de Poitiers and Catherine di Medici. The Château is one of the best-known of the Loire valley châteaux.  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 Cher. Today, the Château de Chenonceau is second only to Versailles as the most recognized Château in France.  We will wander the town of Chenonceaux before heading back to our Chateau for a delicious dinner.

Breakfast/Homemade Picnic Lunch/Gourmet Dinner provided by Chef Walter and Artistic Gourmet Adventures.

Day Seven—Saturday

Breakfast at our château, then we head to Normandy for our next exciting Adventure!  After settling into our Bed and Breakfast, we will enjoy dinner at a seaside restaurant where we will find oysters, mussels and fish of every sort*.

Breakfast provided by Chef Walter and Artistic Gourmet Adventures.

 

Day Eight-Sunday

After breakfast, we will go to the famous medieval city of Bayeux. Founded as a Gallo-Roman settlement in the 1st century BC under the name Augustodurum, Bayeux is the capital of the former territory of Gaul. Evidence of earlier human occupation of the territory comes from fortified Celtic camps confined to scattered Druid huts along the banks of the Aure and Drome rivers or on Mount Phaunus where they worshiped. Titus Sabinus, a lieutenant of Julius Caesar, subjected the Bessin region to Roman domination. Bayeux is the home of the Bayeux Tapestry, which depicts the events leading up to the Norman conquest of England and is an embroidered cloth nearly 230 ft long and 20 in tall. The tapestry consists of some fifty scenes with Latin tituli, embroidered on linen with colored woolen yarns. It is likely that it was made in England—not Bayeux—in the 1070s.

Breakfast in our Bed and Breakfast, Lunch in Bayeux* and dinner in a local seaside restaurant*.

Day Nine-Monday

Today, we head out to the beaches of Normandy. Here we will meet our expert guide who will journey with us and bring history alive for a whole day of discovery of the the miracle of the invasion of Normandy. St. Mere Eglise, Point du Hoc, Utah Beach, Omaha Beach and the American National Cemetery are included in this professional tour.

Breakfast in our Bed and Breakfast, Lunch in Sainte Mere Eglise* and dinner in a local seaside restaurant*.

Day Ten-Tuesday

Breakfast at our Bed and Breakfast and then we transport you to the local rail station for your next stop, Paris!

 

A fantastic week exploring France’s Loire Valley with Kim and Walter Eagleton leading the way. Each day was very memorable with gourmet food, wine tastings and visits to historic sites. Best of all was our “home”. Who wouldn’t enjoy living in a castle? Ray and Cydney

 About your Hosts

Kim and Walter Eagleton were married in 1985, and had their first “travel adventure” to France in 1986. Since that time, they have traveled throughout the States, Europe, the British Isles, New Zealand, the Mediterranean, Scandinavia, the Caribbean, and Mexico.

After many cruises, tours, and excursions, Kim and Walter decided they really enjoyed the “small group” experience, and launched Artistic Gourmet Adventures to provide such an experience to others.

By profession, Kim is a Women’s Health Care Nurse Practitioner, but loves the challenge of planning and organizing travel adventures, and caring for people.

Walter is a professional photographer (*PPA Certified, Master Photographer, Photographic Craftsman), a photographic instructor, and owned a portrait studio in Denton, Texas for over two decades. In addition, Walter, chef for Artistic Gourmet Adventures, and his staff work their magic in the kitchen preparing the delicious meals served in the Chateau for our Adventurers using locally grown and available produce.  Truly the Taste of France!  And in June of 2018, Walter will be a Le Cordon Bleu Paris Culinary graduate! As part of a giving back to the community, Walter and Kim began donating a series of five-six course dinners to be auctioned off at charitable events.  One such dinner sold for over $5000 and ‘beat out’ a dinner to be prepared by the namesake of a famous restaurant chain!

Glenda Lemons, also a Women’s Health Care Nurse Practitioner,  joined Artistic Gourmet Adventures after experiencing an Adventure during our inaugural year! She wears many hats: sous-chef to Walter, Adventure Hostess to guests and assistant to Kim. Glenda has been a family friend for over 20 years.

Kim, Walter and Glenda all enjoy making people happy, be it through the service of food, travel or photography instruction. Every attention to detail is considered to make Artistic Gourmet Adventures an experience of a lifetime.

 

Details

Included in Adventure

• Ground transfers to “your Chateau home for the week” from the local rail station and back to the rail station

• Private daily chaperoned group excursions with ground transportation by Artistic Gourmet Adventures via air conditioned vans

• Cooked breakfasts daily

• Homemade picnic lunches

• Gourmet dinners when dining at our Chateau

• Local wine when dining at our Chateau

• Luxurious double occupancy rooms all with private baths in the Loire Valley

• Bed and Breakfast in Normandy

• Guided Tour of the Invasion of Normandy

Not Included

• Airfare

• Meals when dining outside the Chateau-marked with *

• Travel Insurance is required and can be bought on line from Travelguard.com or Allianz Travel Insurance.com.

• Rail tickets to and from the Adventure. Artistic Gourmet Adventures can arrange rail tickets for you. This cost will be added to your balance.

Price Details

$4750 per person double occupancy

Non-refundable deposit of $750 per person due upon booking

Click Here to Book and Pay Deposit

Your Adventure is the “Private Bespoke Adventure July 22-July 31,2018”

Adventure Balance due April 23, 2018 and can be paid online

Click here for the “Fine Print”