Our last full day with the McCormicks

Tuesday was the last full day that we had with Debbie and Bill before they took off to Paris, and buddy did we pack it in.

The day started, as all days really should, with sparkling wine. Saumur is known for that kind of wine, so we visited the Caves Louis de Grenelle. It was fascinating to tour the caves, which were lined with who knows how many bottles of sparkling wine. (I believe our guide said 4 million bottles. I only counted 3.958 million. - Dan) Our tour guide was a college student from Toulouse, and she did a great job of explaining the history and the process. The tasting was good, and we all left with bottles.

These caves are centuries old. They have been used for making wine, quarrying stone for the Chateau du Loire, and for bomb shelters during the wars.

Covered in dust... Not good for the allergies.

They put these up so that the workers can find their way around the tunnels.

There is a brotherhood of some sort, and the members gather here to drink. The main wine person at the winery also gets to store his/her favorite wines here.

"When my glass is full, I empty it. When my glass is empty, I fill it."
- Rabelais

Our next stop was lunch, of course, so we drove into Saumur and found a great cafe with sidewalk tables. The person who waited on us (I think that she was the owner) was so excited to practice her English!

After lunch, we headed to the Cadre Noir, a riding and teaching academy for the best riders in France. I was fascinated not only because I love horses - they are so majestic! - but also because Bill and Debbie have lots of horses (ten, I think?), and Bill does training, competitive barrel racing, and ferrier work. (Their daughter Leah is a competitive rider as well.) This is in addition to his day job as an attorney for the State of Tennessee. He answered all of my stupid questions and explained what was going on as we watched horses being trained, went through the stables and the tack room, etc. The horses were gorgeous, and I loved seeing them.

Bill is explaining to me which end is which.

Our tour guide, who did the tour in French but was very kind to translate for us on the side

We were thirsty, so we headed to another winery for a tasting. This winery had emailed that they didn't have any tours in English but said that we could come before 5:30 p.m. "and we can make you taste it in English." And so we did, and they did.

THEN we went to the Rochemenier Village Troglodytique (http://www.troglodyte.fr/). In addition to the pejorative meaning, "troglodyte" is a person who lives in caves. Since medieval times, there are been people who have lived in areas dug out from cliffs or walls. These areas remain at 12 degrees celsius (about 54 degrees), so it's cool in the summer and relatively warm in the winter. I as fascinated, and as Bill pointed out, those rooms were likely much cleaner than the average housing during those times.

Church outside of the Troglodyte village

Troglodyte chickens

After a delicious dinner of shrimp and grits, made by Nancy, we hopped back into the car and drove to the le cimetière des martyrs (the cemetery of the martyrs).

During the Revolution, this area was Royalist and Catholic. In March of 1794, Republican General Crouzat's troops were led to a group of people who were taking refuge here from the fighting in the area. The troops were led by a traitor to the refugees. More than 1200 children, women, and elders were slaughtered. A memorial to those murdered was later erected.