Wednesday, February 24, 2016

First I must apologize for the delay in posts -- my computer just decided to quit working for no apparent reason!  I was finally able to get it to work again so I will catch up on my blog now.  Desole!

We woke up early today . . . excited for the day ahead!  David made us a delicious breakfast of scrambled eggs with cheese and toasted baguette.  We still cannot get used to the eggs not being refrigerated!!!  He used the eggs we bought at the organic market and they were really good.

We met our new friend, Veronique, for coffee and we had a nice visit.  She speaks excellent English and is so patient with our poor French.  She was once married to a Croatian man and lived in Croatia for many years.  They are divorced and she has been back in Saint Aignan for 20 years.  She worked for the town government but is now semi- retired and is a reflexologist.  Her son lives in Paris and her daughter lives in Biarritz.  She is good friends with Nathalie, the La Boulangerie house manager.  She is very interesting and told us many things about the history of Saint Aignan and a little bit about the local politics.  We had a very enjoyable time.

In the afternoon we had plans to go with Phillipe, Claire and Douglas to visit Montpoupon, a small chateau not too far from here in a pretty town called Cere-La-Ronde.  We have met Phillipe a few times when he has been with Douglas and Claire.  It was sad, tho, that it was a very, very cold, rainy day for our adventure!!!  But we bundled up and went anyway. 

It is very beautiful and the setting it is in is breath taking.  Again, not the best weather for pictures.

Families have inhabited the chateau since 1460.  A family still resided there until about 5 years ago!  It was somewhat of a fancy hunting lodge.  They sport hunted with dogs and hunted for animals including wolves, wild boar, rabbits and other small creatures.  You can see by the displays that it was very formal hunting with regulation apparel and when the women hunted, they rode side-saddle.  

The first area we visited was the small chapel and library. 

   

I'm not sure why this dress was on display but I think Rachael should have worn it at her recent wedding! 

We then crossed the courtyard and entered the main home.  Isn't the tile floor lovely? 

The formal dining room was completely furnished with original pieces.  The second picture shows the gorgeous stenciling on the beams. 
 

On the second floor there was a different tile.  There weren't very many informative plaques so I don't know how old these tiles are but I love them. 

The pictures below are obviously the bedrooms.  It is amazing how much of the original furniture is still in this small chateau!

The pictures below are of the room that was kept for the King.  I read that every house had to have a room prepared for the King always.  I guess you never knew when the King would drop by for a sleepover!

More gorgeous stenciled ceiling beams.  

The bedrooms were quite large and had many personal pieces displayed.

This was denoted as the lady's room.  

The kitchen was in another building.  Look at this massive cook stove!  The day we were there, the kitchen was being thoroughly cleaned.  Every surface was being scrubbed and polished including many, many copper pots.  Also the wood surfaces were being cleaned with linseed oil.  The attendant said they do it once per year.

David noticed this print and immediately said it was the Chick-fil-A cow imploring the French people to eat more chicken!!!

The wine cellar was also in a separate building.  The display showed a grape press and wine barrels and a corking machine -- all of the tools of the wine trade.

This chateau/museum is a work in progress.  There are many buildings that are being prepared with displays.  One building is only hunting art.  Beautiful paintings of hunting dogs and hunting experiences.  There is also a stable display with life-size horses in the stalls and a tack room set up.  There was a building of only the garb of hunters displayed.  Hundreds of coats and lots of very cool boots.  We could have spent many more hours there but because the weather was so miserable, we cut our visit a little short.  

We returned home for a short rest and then met up with Claire and Douglas again for dinner.  We invited them to Le 8 because they had not been there yet and because they have been feeding us so many meals!  Le 8 is a very, hip, cool, trendy bar and restaurant up past the cinema on the main street.  

We had asked a few of the local residents about it and most said that it was OK but too expensive.  Many thought it was good for lunch but not for dinner.  

Here are some pictures of the interior.  Claire thinks it is too stark but anyone who knows me knows that I LOVE black and white decor so I want to live there!!!

 

We all loved this wall hanging.

For a starter, Claire and Douglas ordered beef carpaccio and Claire declared it was the best she had ever eaten!  I'm sorry I don't have a picture of it.  For our main courses, David had a vegetarian burger that was made with pesto and he said it was delicious!

I had a regular burger that was perfectly flavored and very savory.  Douglas had what he called plain old steak and frites and Claire had tuna tartare.  She said her dish was only OK.

And, of course, we had to sample dessert.  What kind of a restaurant critic would I be if I didn't???

Douglas was too full for dessert but David ordered a sort of bread pudding with salted caramel ice cream.  Claire and I had a chocolate something which was a cross between the most delicious fudge ever and a gateau.  The desserts were spectacular!!!

We noticed the salt and pepper shakers were hippopotamuses and they were very cute.  I was commenting on them and looked over at Douglas and about spit my wine out!

It was an absolutely fabulous evening!!!