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Published: August 20th 2007
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Chateaux in Brittany
Leprechaun I think..... Take a look at the figures on this spire. Monday, August 13, 2007 - Well, 3rd Time’s the Charm. We all got up and piled into the car to go off, again, to the Chateau de Keriolet, built by the great grandmother of one of Rasputin’s killers, at 60, for her younger new husband, to buy him political klout in the area. It didn’t work, but it didn’t matter, as she only spent one week a year there anyway. Humph. At least we were able to get in and tour the chateau, albeit in French. I am getting good, or okay, at picking up certain phrases, as is Kevin. He seems to concentrate on verbs and adjectives and I am working nouns. Wendy and I personally preferred the kitchen, all done in blue and white tiles and HUGE! After Keriolet, we headed home as it was rainy and Wendy and Ed needed to get ready to leave tomorrow. I took a nap.
Tonight, as it was THE LAST SUPPER, we went off to Pont-Aven (see the 11th) and had dinner at the local hotel-restaurant. Very up-market, very enjoyable. As usual, desserts were a highlight. Kevin’s was a raspberry sorbet with a VERY healthy dose of “eau d’vie” which, we
Josselin Castle
The top left photo I have called 'Please let me in, I have brought my own lunch' We were lucky to turn up at Josselin when they were having a Festival Medieval. found out later, was 70%!a(MISSING)lcohol brandy. One doesn’t see his eyes water very often. It was a good laugh, and, he says, very enjoyable, but we kept an eye on him driving home.
Tuesday, August 14, 2007 - After Ed and Kevin went to pick up the Ackman car rental, we bid them adieu and watched them drive off into the rain. It was sad to say goodbye, but Wendy and I had our TXTing fingers up and running within the hour, much to our husbands’ consternation, I am sure. As it was such a crappy day, Kevin and I decided to take it easy and lay low. We are slowly finishing up what is left in the frig but I SWEAR the pate keeps increasing….
Wednesday, August 15, 2007 - (Happy Birthday Marybeth!) Up and at ‘em bright and early, we headed off to Josselin, which has a three-turreted castle that was restored in the 1800s (I love that). Beautiful décor but unfortunately I couldn’t take pictures of the tile work. They were having a Fete Medieval on so we went to that, and I ended up speaking to an English woman who was a spinner.
The house in Brittany
This is Jenni and Gary's house in Brittany. The little car outside is the one that we are travelling around in. She and her husband had moved to France because it was cheaper to live on their retirement. It is amazing how many British people are here. We can hardly turn around and we run into them. Since we had to come home and pack, we came back after finding lunch in a nearby town. On our way back, we stopped at Port Louis, which has a medieval (everything is Medieval here) fort that we went through. The weather seemed to be packing up again and was really blowing. White caps on the moat!
Thursday, August 16, 2007 - Got the car loaded and on the road for our leisurely drive down to Miradoux, in Gers, a part of Aquitaine, and the general area for bastides. We were planning on Tiki-touring but soon realized how long it was going to take us. So, with pedal to the metal, we hopped on the motorway and made it to St Jean d’Angely, about halfway to our next destination, but not before stopping at Rochemenier to see the Troglodyte Villages. Now, some of you will appreciate that this is sort of like driving from Eastern to Western Pennsylvania to see Falling Water.
The Troggs, I think
Troglodyte dwellings that we went to see. It's well worth the visit 'Wild Thing'. But it was well worth it. The troglodyte houses are cave dwellings of a sort that people would dig and build whole farms to live in. The one we visited consisted of two farms that were finally abandoned in the early 1900s. A picture is worth 1,000 words so I will let Kevin elaborate. Tonight we found a wonderful hotel to stay in, The Hotel La Goule Beneze, owned and run by Catherine and Dominique Podechard, who had lived in Wellington, New Zealand for a couple of years. Dominique had been a chef for Helen Clark (she liked his soups) and Catherine was delightful. Now, a place has to be pretty special for Kevin and me to give an honorable mention, but we feel this place is worth it, if one gets the chance. www.lagoule-beneze.com
Friday, August 17, 2007 - After stopping at Remy Martin in Cognac to learn a little about the distilling process of their cognac, and also for Kevin to sample their wares, we beat it like bats outta hell to Miradoux. We were on the toll Motorway the whole time, so we could go 130 KPH, instead of the usual 110. It still took 4
hours. We were met at the house by the sister of the owner and her husband, Claudette and Jean-Noel, and were taken on a quick tour of the area before the owners, Jean-Clement and Chrystele, got home from work. We are staying in the house with them here which is really neat as it is actually living with a local family. The good news is that they speak wonderful English, and aren’t worried about using it. Their house is a renovated townhouse dating from approximately the 13th Century in a Bastide, which is a fortified market town on a hill. These, along with chateuax, were built approximately every 5 km, by both the French AND the English, in readiness for the 100 Years War. We had a quiet family dinner on the patio before going to bed.
Saturday, August 18,2007 - (Happy Birthday Tori!) At the end of today, I feel that my body is the shape of a car seat! The family were off to a wedding today so Kevin and I drove all over the area looking at bastides, chateaux and cathedrals, with lots of sunflowers and corn thrown in. The weather is definitely warmer down here
and is similar to Central California where I was raised. We had a great lunch in a restaurant recommended to us by Jean-Noel, called “Florida” in Castera-Verduzan. Kevin and I both love this part of the country and can’t get enough of the scenery and history. We were constantly finding ourselves with noses pressed to Real Estate Office windows.
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Vicky Swan Takahashi
non-member comment
Yummy!
Hi! Sounds like you had lots of fun and of course vous avez manger tres tres bien!!!