Esprit de France Trip Report: Day 5

[tsgirl]

Our Day 5 differed from the original itinerary. Instead of visiting 2 chateau today, we only visited one, allowing us to have some free time at our beautiful hotel. We left the hotel this morning at 9:30. Our simple breakfast buffet consisted of wonderfully flaky croissants, fresh fruit, eggs (scrmbled and boiled), cheese, nutella, yogurts, and even a jar of skippy peanut butter. We boarded the bus for a ride of about 75 minutes, to arrive at the Chateau Chambord. The group assembled for an easy bike ride around the grounds. For those wanting to skip the ride, there was free time to visit souvenir shops.

The whole group met up again for lunch in an outdoor restaurant, where we had pre ordered our lunch choices. There was a very nice salad, followed by chicken, halibut, or pasta. The desserts were scrumptious, with a choice of molten chocolate cake or sponge cake with berries. Following this, we were led by local guides through the Chateau Chambord. In our scenerio, our groups were divided into the under 18 group and the "adult" group. It is important to keep in mind that each ABD tour is it's own entity. This means that things will differ from week to week, based upon the personalities, physical make up, and interests of the guests. Our group, as I mentioned, has a lot of older kids, so I'm sure our guides decided that the older kids would all enjoy spending more time together. At no time, however, is anyone forced to do anything, so kids could have chosen to be with the adults. Today, all the kids chose to be together. It was really nice. We are beginning to feel more and more like a family. After the tour and a few minutes in the gift shop, we rode back to our hotel to enjoy the pool, sunshine, a run, a walk, or even a nap. Dinner tonight includes a wine tasting for the adults and a movie night for the kids (yes, the movie is Ratatouille this time!).

 

[Turtlemom]

thanks so much for the trip reports! Its especially helpful to get your views, since we are thinking of this trip for our family for next summer. We have 2 dd's ages 15 and 12, so its nice to know how your girls are enjoying the trip.
Are the hotels fabulous?
Can't wait for the next installment.

 

[1whooper]

Thank you so much for taking the time out of your trip to write your trip report. I have been reading them in preparation for my trip on Sept. 1, 2012. They are fun, interesting, and informative. Looking forward to Day 6 and 7!

 

[Aburns8]

Looks like a beautiful chateau and bike ride.