The day began with our second breakfast at the Chateau de Pintray – croissants with jelly, cereal, yogurt, fruit, coffee and hot chocolate. After our meal, we headed out for a day of biking.
We drove about 40 minutes east along the Loire river to the town of Brehemont to a bike and kayak rental shop called Loire Velo Nature. We got standard bikes for the boys and the moms. Steve rode with Elanor in a child seat on his bike and John road with Caroline on a trail-a-bike. After some snacks, we had a wonderful journey to a Chateau at L’Indre, which we admired from the outside. We had a lovely lunch at an outdoor café - sandwiches and salads. I have developed an addiction to the local goat cheese served with fresh tomatoes and a splash of balsalmic vinigrette – delicious!
After lunch, we continued our ride on a trail along the river. It was beautifully scenic – lined with small country houses, fields of sunflowers, and tall trees. There were also some mosquitos living along the bike trail, as we found out when we stopped for a water break. We kept moving and had only a few nibbles from the bugs. John had the boys in a paceline as they pretended to be the cyclists on the Tour de France.
We rode back through several little villages and farms. John and Wyatt were interested in the square bales of hay. We took lots of pictures. The kids were very tired, Wyatt slept in the car all the way back to the Chateau de Pintray.
We arrived back at the Chateau just in time for a wine tasting. We sampled some wonderful wines from the Chateau’s vineyard. Steve and John Christophe, our host and wine connoisseur had a lively conversation (in French and English) about the vineyard and the conditions that constitute a “good year”. The 2005 season was especially good for Chateau de Pintray, and we bought several bottles to bring home.
After the kids played in the back yard and enjoyed their new favorite game, billiards, each family headed out on their own for dinner. The Hoyles went back to Amboise, where we had a lovely dinner listening to outdoor music, and took a stroll along the riverside. The kids topped it off with American ice cream.
We headed back to the Chateau to shower and pack up. Tomorrow, we are headed for Normandy.
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