It was New Year’s Eve.
I had driven Dominic to a friend’s house where he’d spend the night. Sophie had come along with me just to get out of the house and we were on our way back to Châtellerault.
We’d passed it numerous times, but this time, there were just two easily spontaneous people in the car who were in no particular rush. We stopped…
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(Written Jan. 28, 2019)
I’m tempted to say that today’s #3GoodThings may have been a bit in jeopardy for a while as the day had an early start and my two-hour drive seemed to drag on painfully.
(It doesn’t help that, as I get older, driving in the dark and dealing with oncoming headlights is increasingly unpleasant – not to mention the winding country roads and intermittent rain today).
But the direction lightened considerably when I made a gaffe in class and noticed it at the same moment as my students. That’s the first of…
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In my last post, I introduced to to the Chateau de Brissac and showed you the principal rooms on the main floor. Today I want to take you further.
As promised, I’ll take you through a dramatic episode in the history of the French monarchy, we’ll talk about the arts and I’ll reveal how it is that hunting at Brissac is not reserved for men only! I’ll also tell you about how you can spend a night there and live like a Duke or Duchess yourself!
Let’s go!
The road between Châtellerault and Angers takes you through portions of three French departments (la Vienne, l’Indre et Loire, la Maine et Loire) passing by wide swaths of agricultural land and, as you approach Angers, field after field of vineyards. For the past seven months I’ve been making the 130km weekly, with the exception of school holidays, in order to teach English at a business school there.
Each trip makes me a bit more familiar with the general surrounding and from time to time my schedule allows me to explore points of interest along the way. Regular readers will recall that I first stopped in Brissac back in January, but was unable to visit the castle as it was closed for the season. Last week was different… last week I had a guided tour.
Well, you can… sort of.
OK… maybe a whole castle is a bit out of your league… but how about becoming a part-owner? That you definitely can.
My first visit was in 1995 and I’ve probably been there a dozen times since then… but never inside. I’m not sure why exactly. Perhaps is was a lack of enough time to do it justice, perhaps the combined entry price of a family of five scared me off (although they’re not as much castle-goers as I am… “You seen one, you seen ’em all”, while not entirely an accurate summation of their feeling, is not totally inaccurate either), or perhaps it was those who told me that it was rather empty, or unfurnished, compared to other castles. Whatever the reason, I’d never been in… until recently.
It’s been quite a week. North America experienced Charlottesville, then Europe went reeling from Barcelona and Finland.
I don’t get it… but I do.
You’ve already had a LOT to read from us this week, so I’ll keep today’s post relatively short. Continue reading
Two weeks ago was Dominic, last week was Soph, and today it’s my birthday. Not only that but I get to spend it in France… How blessed am I!? Continue reading
If we were having coffee, I’d tell you about the amazing floral designs of France’s Chenonceau Castle. Wait. On second thought, I’d go one better and I’d show you… Continue reading
AIM Long 