When my daughter and I arrived in the off-season at Le Prieuré, astunning chateau on the Loire river just a few kilometers from Saumur, we were surprised to be offered an upgraded room gratis. Imagine our delight and amazement when we entered this spectacular room swathed in roses and graced with antiques and a huge marble bath, with its French doors opening right onto the rooftop overlooking the river. The breakfast served in the room was exactly as in this photo. My own non-digitalized photos are off in a album buried in my shed. You can see the flat rooftop of the dining room in the center right of this aerial view of the chateau and our French doors that opened onto it.

In the restaurant that evening we decided to splurge and order the Gastronomique menu which at the time (1999) amounted to $200. We started with an amuse bouche in the salon, then moved to our table, where for the next 3 1/2 hours we were treated to course after course, eleven in all, including three appetizers, three full main courses (filet mignon, lobster tail, and duck), and three full-sized desserts, with a palette refresher of grapefruit sorbet in between, plus 5 different wines. When the waiter arrived to ask about coffee, we looked at each other and graciously declined. Not another bite or swallow was going into our bodies. We decided it was the most grand meal we’d ever had (or have had to this day). So even when we discovered to our shock when we paid our bill the next morning that it was $200 EACH, we felt it was well worth it for an unforgettable memory.