A Loire Valley Chateau

What do I do for a significant wedding anniversary? What any self-respecting husband would do. Plan a nice dinner at a winning restaurant (with white tablecloths!), splurge on the wine, and call it a night.

What does my friend Bjarne do? He rents a French chateau on a lake in the Loire Valley with 32 bedrooms and invites 60 or so of the couple’s best friends for a week of fine wine, extravagant dinners accompanied by a string quartet, and gourmet food (yes, even a spit-roasted pig) from a pretty darn good chef.