Days 182-183, 11-12 December 2014, Tours, Christmas Magic at Chateau de Chenonceau, bubbly tasting and art at Wine Cave Monmousseau, 700 kms covered. Having made it to Normandy we found our adventure had not even begun. Left here lunchtime Thursday for 360 km drive to Tours - stayed the night there and then went to our very first Chateau - Chateau de Chenonceau on the River Cher - wow. Wrap it up and we'll have it for Christmas. The Chateau, started in the 1500s, straddles the River Cher - a tributary of the Loire River. A hotbed of intrigue, this chateau was created by and developed by three famous women- in particular Catherine de Medici who ordered the gallery to be built across the river. The plan was to have an identical lodge on the other side for symmetry, but the funds ran out. The kitchens are actually located in the piers holding up the gallery down near river level. The gallery itself was for Catherine to feel more at home and to recreate her native Florence - with gondoliers on the river and fireworks imported from Italy set off in the gardens. The main gallery was her ballroom. Of course its use changed as times changed. In WWI the owners of the chateau turned it into a surgical hospital and thousands of operations were performed. The recuperating soldiers found great entertainment in watching the fish in the river. During WWII this chateau marked the demarcation line between northern and southern France and the owners allowed villagers and Jews to escape to the south via the gallery doors - hugely risky as Nazis were patrolling the river and the moats. The chateau is one of over 70 located in the Loire. Incredible. Truly a top suburb from the olden days. It is one of the more special ones to visit because it is furnished and also has roaring open fires in most rooms. They also take pride in always having fresh flowers to welcome guests to the chateau - and, at this time of the year, many, many Christmas trees. After our visit we drove to nearby Montrichard and found a plat du jour at a local watering hole. It looked closed from the outside, but was packed with locals when we went in - I had a fillet of Sandre, a local freshwater fish and James had the all time most French of meals - Confit du canard (Duck!) A stroll about Montrichard to let lunch settle then off to the wine caves of Monmousseau. This winery specialises in bubbles and we took a stroll around the wine caves - storing 3 million + bottles. If we had to get locked in a cave at any point - this would be the one. We were exhausted by the time we got home last night at 9 pm and we weren't even driving.