Today is the change-over day. Our first set of friends, Maureen and Irene, have come and gone to their river cruise, and now we prepare for a weekend away. Tomorrow, Friday, we meet up with Sharon and Dennis in Chartes to see the cathedral. Then from there we travel to Mont St. Michel and return to Bellac on Monday.
Over the past few days with Maureen and Irene, we toured our village and then took a day trip out to the Loire Valley to see the Château de Chenonceau. The château dates back to the 1500's, and was the home of Henri III and his wife Catherine de Médicis. It stretches romantically across the River Cher and is considered by many the loveliest of the Loire châteaux. It is surrounded by formal gardens and wooded grounds, this pure Renaissance building was transformed over the centuries from a modest manor into a palace designed solely for pleasure.
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| Château de Chenonceau |
The self-guided tours allows you entry to many of the rooms including the kitchens and the bedrooms. The Grande Galerie, is the ball room that crosses the river, which started its life as a bridge from the original château to the opposite bank of the river and Catherine de Médicis transformed the bridge to this elegant gallery. One of the outbuildings was transformed into a self-service restaurant for a nice late lunch after the tour. The Château also has its own vineyards, wine, farm, maze and donkeys. We had taken the minor roads through the French countryside on the way to the château, but after the tour, we decided to pick the fastest route home from the GPS. The tolls were worth the 130km/hr speed and quick arrival back home. We did stumble upon a Bastille Day celebration in the small village of Bonnes on our drive up to the Loire Valley. We pulled into town to find their public W/C, and found ourselves in the middle of the band warming up. The one remaining parking spot in the community centre was front and centre. We all piled out of the car, past the band and the villagers waiting for the festivities to start and into the W/C seeking relief. After washing our hands, we were back into the car leaving the villagers to their celebrations.
We were treated to an amazing display of fire works on Bastille Day eve. The fireworks were set off from the park just below us. We had the best view in the village as they exploded just at our eye level. No straining our necks to look way up. Almost 30 minutes of Oohs and Awes! A great way to kick off Bastille Day.
After touring the decadent château, we changed gears yesterday to visit the village of Oradour-sur-Glane. Life for the village ended on Saturday, June 10, 1944 when the soldiers of the Der Führer Regiment of the 2nd Waffen-SS Panzer Division Das Reich, without giving any explanation, killed a total of 642 men, women and children, leaving only a few survivors. They then destroyed the entire village and to this day there is no universally accepted explanation for the massacre. General de Gaulle wanted to preserve the ruins of Oradour, in order to bear witness for the rest of mankind to the consequences of the barbarity of war. It was an eerie feeling walking along the streets with only shells of the buildings and lives left behind after the massacre.
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| Oradour-sur-Glane |
In the memorial, they have on display personal items of the villagers. The most moving were the watches which had the time between 4 and 5 that afternoon when they believed the men were executed. Scattered through the rubble of death were metal items, cars, and sewing machines. Little else survived the fire. We had arrived late in the afternoon, and as we were finishing our tour, we were the last ones left in the village, which intensified the eerie feeling and sense of disbelief that horrors like this can happen. I am sure this is not the only village in Europe that was destroyed by the war, but it was had no military value, and was not a threat to the Germans at the time. It felt strange to leave the village, and head back to life in Bellac for our last meal together at our local pub/cafe.
The lamb burger was even better than the beef burger I had last time, while Steve's pork burger was improved with the caramelized onions which they ran out of last time we were there. Maureen and Irene also enjoyed their lamb burgers. Not very French, but delicious none the less especially since it is all made at the right there in their kitchens. And where else can you enjoy a meal on the banks of a river, looking up at a 13th century church on a hot summer evening.
This morning we were up early for a train station run, and now back home to do laundry and catch up on our pictures and this blog. It is too quiet around here now......but very hot.
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| Château du Chenonceau |
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| Oradour-sur-Glane |
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| Oradour-sur-Glane |
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