July 7th.
Today we got up early and took a TGV train to the Loire Valley. On the way out of the apartment, Christi tripped down the last flight of stairs and badly twisted her ankle! It was horrible! We considered having her stay at the apartment and rest but ultimately she decided to press on. She was able to hobble along through the metro to Gare Montparnasse where we _barely_ caught our train. Seriously, it was only about 2 minutes after we sat down that the train backed away from the quai.
I think Paige got motion sickness from the subtle rocking of the train as she decided to spew on Sara and Christi about half way to St. Pierre des Corps. She managed to soak Sara in her new dress and made a big mess everywhere. So, Sara's new mission for the day was to find some new clothes to wear. She was able to go to the bathroom and wash out most of the baby spew but it still smelled pretty bad. Poor Sara! After that Paige was pretty quiet the rest of the day.
We rented a car at the train station, a VW Touran, and drove around the Loire Valley the rest of the day. We went back to see Chambord once again and of course it was beautiful. Christi had never seen it before so it was neat to share it with her. Cameron enjoyed climbing the spire and exploring the terraces. Near the Chateau there is a building where local wine makers present their wines. Christi and I each bought a bottle of of Savignon.
After Chambord we drove south to Loches, the closest large village to the chateau we were to stay in that evening. We walked around the ancient village of Loches and I found a little photo studio that did weddings. So, I decided to stop and talk to the owner and photographer Gilles and talk shop. :) It was interesting to hear how Gilles prices his packages and I was surprised to hear how inexpensive his rates are. He rarely does more than just formal portraits for his couples and he told me he doesn't really like to do 'reportage' of the wedding ceremony and reception because it takes a lot of time and he doesn't get that much money for it. For 15 prints in an inexpensive album he charges 150 euros. Add to that 'reportage' coverage and another 15 prints or so in the same album and he adds an additional 160 euro! That's it?! I was shocked. He relies on print sales to make up the difference. On average he expects about 2,000 euros per wedding after print sales. We talked about this and he told me he was going to do it my way next season. :)
Sara found some new clothes at Loches while Christi and I got lit at a local pizzeria on cheap wine. I didn't think 50cl was that much wine! We hadn't eaten anything all day and intended to eat as well but unfortunately it was only 6 and they don't serve pizza until 7! Oh well, drink up! Sara drove us back to the Chateau de Razay so we could check in. We still hadn't eaten and the Madam de la Maison made reservations for us at a nearby Auberge de l' Hote et Chateau named Montpoupon. The food was to die for and we all had a great time eating outside in the garden. I had la poisson and the ladies had the boeuf along with an interesting salad.
The grounds of Chateau Razay are beautiful if not a bit run down. But, I've come to find that most chateaux look a bit bleak outside. Inside, our room was very nice and very large! If fact, it's much larger than our apartment in Paris! I could stay here all week. I'm writing this from a large chair in our room with the natural light of the morning streaming in through our huge multi-pane windows looking out at the vast grounds surrounding the chateau. I can hear the pleasant chatter of birds outside, even a dove cooing and the occasional call of the resident peacock. :)
Today we're going to visit some Troglodyte dwellings and check out a few more chateaux before heading back to catch our train this evening.
Jeff LaPlante
