You Never Know Who You Might Encounter

We took Caryn and Joe, from Washington DC, to the Château de Montpoupon as part of their day trip with us. It's the sort of smaller, less well known château that many people don't make the time to visit. But sometimes these smaller places give you a much richer and more personal experience.

After exchanging a few words with the owner, Count Louvencourt, who popped his head out of an upper storey window to make sure we weren't going to miss part of the display, we crossed the courtyard to where we had noticed a man dressed in splendid red velvet regalia.

This gentleman turned out to be a retired French general, now a member of the well regarded la Gourmandière wine co-operative in Francueil, just down the road from the more famous château of Chenonceaux. The co-operative is rather like a guild and winemakers were there for a meeting, dressed in their formal costumes. The general was affable and knew Washington well. It was a delightful and genuine interlude.

If you would like the possibility of encounters like this, why not email us and ask us to design you a day trip?