Good Morning Le Gaimont ! 

We are planning a low key, day of rest today with a little visit to the town of Vouvray in the morning as well as a drive through the vineyards to explore the Chateau de Valmer with a wine tasting.  

Breakfast here is served in a beautiful room carved into the side of the hill. It's a cave that was used in the past for wine-making activities. Matthieu provides every morning a spread of delicious morning foods including yogurts, cereals, fresh fruit, delicious cheeses, fresh croissants from the local bakery, the best baguettes and french butter, plates of thin slices of ham, sweet cakes and of course coffee and teas. Fresh-squeezed juice is also part of this delicious breakfast buffet. We are looking forward to enjoying this every morning! 

Later in the morning, we head down the road on foot to explore the little town of Vouvray. It takes about 10 minutes or so to reach the town centre. There is a wonderful little wine shop with all sorts of gourmet foods and such. We see other shops too, including a bakery where we think the delish croissants are from.... along the road to the top of the little hill where the church is located we find a shoe store, Here we find some great deals on the clearance rank... 17 euro for some very cute sandals. Sold! 

The church is at the top of a hill overlooking the rooftops of Vouvray. We visit outside and admire the views from this vantage point. Walking down the hill via some stairs, we find the local supermarket. Here we find some food and beverages for lunch later on at Le Gaimont. 

Back at Le Gaimont we rest a little and putz around before heading out again in the car. The place we are going is quite near to Vouvray and takes only a little while of driving through vineyards. These roads are narrow and very beautiful as they wind through the grape vines. We are sorta sure we are supposed to be driving here ?? 

We find Chateau de Valmer where we park our car under some trees. It's pretty hot outside now so that's really good. Here at the chateau we are basically the only people here... we see only a handful of other visitors. We first visit the shop where they do tastings of the wines produced here at the chateau. The wine is delicious. We enjoy our visit and talking with the young interns working here who give us a nice "tour" during the tasting of the wines. The sparkling wines and roses were very nice. 

After our tasting, we step out to the gardens to explore the grounds. They are pretty expansive and beautiful overlooking miles & miles of vineyards. The buildings here are old but the original chateau itself was destroyed a long time ago. The gardens have a renaissance Italian style to them. The plants are crying for water... it's been a long, hot & dry summer which is very evident in this garden. There are some modern art sculptures around the garden that have us wondering.... it's a lovely place to visit. 

Back at the estate, Le Gaimont, we are looking forward to a relaxing picnic dinner. Our host is again very attentive to us during the evening. The pool is welcome in this warm summer evening. We are so very happy here.