Helpful Hyperlinks
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In Bourges, the Saturday morning farmers market takes place at Halle Aux Blés.
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For a delightful wine tasting, try Château de Selles-sur-Cher.
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To visit one of the Loire's most iconic chateaux, make your way to Château de Chambord.
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Looking for a homebase in the Loire? Amboise is just lovely.
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In Amboise, Hôtel Bellevue is conveniently located for exploring downtown Amboise.
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The restaurant at Hôtel Bellevue, Lounge B, is a solid and convenient option for dining in Amboise.
From Bourges, we headed to Château de Selles-sur-Cher, for a wine and cheese tasting on a lovely estate.
Extra Photos
Daily 'Gram
Sometimes a photo only tells part of the story. Our wine tasting at Château de Selles-sur-Cher began idyllicly, on a picnic table under the trees. And then, a downpour, which forced us inside. Nonetheless, we had a great - albeit damp - time.
Daily Snap
And speaking of rain...though my umbrella died on me, I was determined to explore and photograph Château de Selles-sur-Cher, even if it meant getting soaked through. Luckily, there was plenty of room to dry out on our roomy tour bus afterwards!
At Château de Selles-sur-Cher, we met Nicolas, who originally worked in pharmaceutical sales but left his career to go back to school and learn about winemaking at the ripe old age of 38. Nicolas lead us through three pairings:
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A Sauvignon Blanc and a mild goat cheese;
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A Gamay (the grape used to make Beaujolais) and a mild but slightly harder goat cheese; and
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A Malbec with a more mature goat cheese and pain d'epices (a yummy spice cake!)
After our wine tasting, we had a bit of free time to explore the château's lovely grounds. Though the morning drizzle turned into a full-on downpour, I couldn't help but keep exploring, even though my umbrella quickly died. The estate just looked so lush and green!
We piled on the bus and attempted to dry ourselves off before the next destination: Chambord, one of the magnificent chateaux of the Loire Valley.
At Chambord, we wandered through the castle and marveled at the splendor of French royalty of yore. Not only was the castle itself vast, but we also learned that the woods around it are equally enormous: in fact, they cover more ground than the area inside Paris's city walls! Chambord also had a pivotal role to play in more recent French history, as the Mona Lisa and other priceless works of art from the Louvre were brought here during WWII before being shipped off to other hiding places.
Day 5: We began with a free morning in Bourges. Though it drizzled all morning (and indeed throughout the day), we still made sure to get out and about, visiting the farmers market and wandering around town. We also picked up sandwiches at a local bakery for our lunch later. After getting in a few last looks at Bourges (and a few more door photos, to be honest), we piled on the bus . . . destination: wine tasting!
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Our last stop of the day was lovely Amboise, our homebase for the next two nights. The views driving into town were gorgeous!
Upon arriving in Amboise, we dropped off our baggage at the Hôtel Bellevue and took a quick orientation stroll through town. While there, we encountered a rowdy bachelor party featuring an adult man dressed as a baby (diaper and all) who had been dared to sell as many derrière-shaped candies as possible to random passersby. Our group helped him out by buying a bunch - it was a pretty funny random encounter!
After briefly orienting ourselves to town, we returned to our hotel and had another great group dinner. I selected the warm goat cheese salad to start, chicken and potatoes for my main, and a tasty apple tart with salted caramel ice cream to finish. Yum!
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#LaDégustation: Meaning tasting, this is definitely a key word to know when in France, given the abundance of excellent wine and cheese. Our dégustation at Château de Selles-sur-Cher was truly fantastic!
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