I begin the day with a run, for the first time in a week. This town is so small that I run around it and through some of the surrounding countryside for a 3 mile run. Crazy.

The kids are so sweet playing with each other this morning that it makes it difficult to leave. Lillian is teaching Oly the alphabet. It’s beautiful.

It’s supposed to rain today, so we decide on a daytrip west for lunch and wineries. We drive about an hour to Saumur because it’s known for good food, and it will be a good starting point for exploring the Saumur-Chevigny wine region. We should have known better, but we hadn’t expected everything to be closed on Monday. Drat.

We still managed to find a decent spot for lunch on the main drag, Le7. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend the place, but it has flexble hours and decent food. It’s the first restaurant that has a few toys for children. Oly thinks that’s the coolest thing and plays with a truck and a Mickey Mouse puzzle the entire time before the food arrived. That window of time can be hard for the kids, so the distractions are appreciated. Lunch is still delicious. It isn’t pretty or exceptional, but it is solid. We love French food.

//Stefan Note: LL is always strutting

We walk to the chateau. It is a nice walk through the old part of town and up some steps. Because of construction, visitors are not permitted to walk around the grounds. We decide to just snap a couple photos and head back down. We don’t want to push the kids too much to see too old furniture and tapestries. It is raining slightly, but it’s still nice to walk around.

//Stefan Note: The town is overrated

Stefan and Oly retrieve the car, which we parked far from the restaurant, and Lillian and I walk to the Maison de Vins to do some wine tasting. The woman there teaches me a bit about the region’s wines and lets me taste 5 for free. Lillian gets to try some fancy grape juice. She gives me a map and notes a special winery she thinks is worth us stopping by. Worth it. The Loire Valley has several of these types of places. It’s a good introduction, so I recommend checking one out if it’s your first time to the area.

We drive to Rocheville, the recommended winery. Driving through vineyards is beautiful! This particular winery has new facilities and is very nice. The tasting room is empty. I guess Monday isn’t the hot time for such things. We taste 6 different wines, and it is very good. All whites are made from Chenin and reds from Cabernet Franc. They are completely different from the wines we taste in California, so it is very interesting.

//Stefan Note: Tasting with the troglodytes.  We drove home by Saint-Martin de Cannes which is where we should have spent the day.

We decide to take the slow route back home, driving on beautiful small roads off the Loire River. We stop at one place when we see it is built into the side of the cliff. Amazing. Instead of tasting wine, we indulge in great conversation with some travelers from Long Island and San Francisco. It’s refreshing to have interesting conversation with others, especially since we haven’t seen friends in weeks. I don’t think we are getting sick of each other, but it’s always best to mix in some time with others just in case.

We go home and make a simple dinner. Lillian points out it’s our first real family dinner of the trip. I think she means because I cooked, though I’m not sure. It is nice, but my allergies are getting really bad, which makes it difficult for me to enjoy things. An early night is needed.