Brézé, Montreuil-Bellay, and Michele

Alors... Today, Dan and I took off for some chateau de Loire that we had not seen. Our first stop was not the first stop that we planned because we found sunflowers! It's early for them here, but we saw field after field after field...

We were headed to Chinon but saw the sign for Chateau Brézé, which we had never seen, so we turned around and headed that way. Right across from the carpark was a shop with wines of Brézé called La Giraudiére! So we stopped and bought some crémant de Loire (and it's delicious!). Then, it was off to the chateau.

Chateau Brézé originated in the 11th century but has been added to and improved over the centuries. It has the deepest dry moat in Europe and has tunnels that go for kilometers and caves for every possible use. Dan will have to post his photos, but mine were the following: Dan standing by one of the many wine barrels and the really old wine press. They do not mess around about wine up in here.

We had a quick lunch in Fontevraud and headed to Montreuil-Bellay. I will let Dan post his photos because mine were awful.

After that, we followed the Loire river to Angers, where we picked up Michele Crump, who took a train from Paris. We arrived to apéritifs and then to a lovely dinner of galettes, ham, tomato salad, and apple tarte.

AND NOW, HEEEEEEERE'S DAN!

Oui, c’est moi. Some photos from the two chateaux. First, Chateau de Breze, which is “a chateau under a chateau.” There are 28,000 square meters of rooms and tunnels dug in the soft stone, serving as both protection and storage at various times.

Below is the latch to a gate. You can see how soft the stone is.

And now on to Chateau Montreuil-Bellay, initially built in the 11th century, but modified by each family who owned it. The current family has owned it since 1822. It also has its own vineyards and wine production.