Tuesday 12 June

It is now after the wedding which allows Jacqueline and Marc time to show us around the area.  Today they have planned to take us to a village well known for producing wine, Marc likes the wine from this area.  We were to meet them at their home for lunch before we left, so we had the morning free.

Driving into town

 

Clock Tower - drive through to the main street

As we had not looked around Saint Fargeua completely we decided to visit the castle - Château de Saint Fargeau.  It is an imposing and dominant building in the village, steeped in history.

Entry to the Chateau from the main street

View of the Chateau from the gardens

The owner of the Château de Saint Fargeau is Michel Guyot, he also owns Guédelon Castle.  Click on the links to read about Château de Saint Fargeau and its owner.

Views of the Chateau inside the court yard, including an example of the detail on the walls.

Stocks for the disobedient

We started in what appeared to be a basement area, large rooms used for storage and one contained a very large kitchen.

We went upstairs to start looking around the main rooms.  They have been restored and displayed indicated the activity and dress of the period.  We also looked around the many rooms used by the servants, including what looked like offices, bathrooms and kitchens.  The building is like a rabbit warren, with rooms and corridors hidden behind the main rooms.

Restored hallway

Hallway from the other end

Main reception room

Office?

We then crossed over what I would call a formal entrance (because it had the chapel and main rooms opening from it) into the grand hall.  This was very impressive as it contained the trophies of hunts etc. and was the room banquets were held.

One of the many pictures on display - a hunting party ready to leave

We then went up the restored marble staircase to the bedrooms.  Only a couple of rooms were open.  They also contained displays indicting the activities in these rooms.  Restoration work was underway in the corridor and other rooms.

Through the great hall was a set of stairs you can climb (up about 4 story’s) to the attic.  Maria walked through the attic without me, very brave of her as she is not good in confined spaces and where she does not know where she is going.  The attic was fascinating, it is a huge space and the path takes you through the roof space of the whole Chateau, it is quite a walk and most of it is in dim daylight or electric light.  The main reason for the walk through the attic is to view the way the building was constructed and the materials used.  The pictures do not give it justice, as some of the upright beams of timber were at least a metre thick if not more.  It was a bit hard to measure in the dark and I did not have a tape measure but my outstretch arms could just reach from one corner to the next.

The staff or servants lived on the top level within the roof line but below the attic.  Some had displays, but most appeared to be unrestored or used for storage.

Jacqueline put on lunch for us.  Now that Christopher is married we could see the domestic side come out.

Chris helping select the wine for lunch

Ludivine is nursing William, Chris being cuddled by Maria

Feeding the chooks

Collecting the eggs, only one today

The Bernard's and McCarthy's

The drive to Sancerre took us through some really picturesque and wonderful country side of rural France.  Including villages with narrow streets and lane ways which are the main roads used by traffic like us.  Sancerre is about 62 kms from Blandy and it took about  hour.

We parked our car and walked into the central square of  Sancerre.  Marc then took us down to a park area which overlooks the valley below.  Once we took in the views, we headed back to the square, and to la Vigne et le Vin.  We tasted some wine from the area (naturally) and in particular the wine maker Joseph Mellot.  We were also told the the Queen chose their Rose for her Jubilee celebrations. We walked away with a few bottles, some of which we will try to get back to Australia.

View of the country side from Sancerre

Maria trying to keep warm as it was cool, and Chris is helping!

We drove a short distance to Chavignol to a local cheese factory - Doubis Boulay les Crottins de Chavignol (yes it is in French and there is no English translation).  Jacqueline said it was one of the best cheese makers in France.  They only source goats milk from the local area, this is to maintain their authenticity.  They have a large range of cheese available from very young cheese through to aged cheese a several years.  Naturally we bought some to take home, in particular some of the very strong cheese.  Delicious!!

Grapes are grown in very rocky soil

Shop is at the back of the factory

View of Sancerre from next hill, on return from Chavignol

 We returned to Marc and Jacqueline’s for dinner and planning for the next day’s outing.

When driving around you just don't know what you will see