There are National holidays galore here in France and you really need to pay full attention, as shops and restaurants are closed, transport timetables altered and cultural mores to adhere to.

But we didn’t pay attention at all, we were blissfully unaware and blithely set out on Monday for a day trip, this time to see the beautiful château at Dissay. Jeff had done his research and felt it worth seeing, so ‘On y va!’ We asked our friend Petra to come too, we love her company. We planned to visit the château and then find somewhere locally to have a French lunch (le menu, s’il vous plaît), which is often a set 3 courses, with no option to choose. It’s rare for us to have lunch at all so, when we do, it’s great to just go with what’s offered and try something new.

En route, Petra asked whether we knew that it was ‘un jour férié?. Sacré bleu! What would we do for lunch now, on a public holiday? A conundrum indeed, for any self respecting French person! We arrived in Dissay and the château, built in the 15th century, was even more magnificent than anticipated. Jeff’s diligent research had paid off. It has been fully restored and is now a beautiful hotel, while still retaining all the history and architectural features.

We hoped that, as a hotel, perhaps there might be the possibility of having lunch there, or a coffee at least. As it turned out, it has a Michelin starred restaurant and, while certainly not where we imagined we’d be lunching that day, we thought ‘why not?’. If we were ever to choose to eat in a Michelin starred restaurant, where better than in a stunning château in rural France? In we went.

The meal, the service and the ambiance were nothing short of spectacular. We had a fabulous day, and even more so because it was unexpected. And I was absolutely thrilled when thé maître d’hôtel hadn’t realised that I spoke English, it was only when Jeff spoke that he said, ‘Oh, you speak English?’ Julie, my French teacher will be VERY happy as we’ve been really focusing on pronunciation, so it’s paying off. Or it did that day, at least!

So, Château de Dissay is now on top of the list for a return visit….