Monday, July 31, 2017

Think Big

 
 
In our ramblings, we stopped at a bakery on the outskirts of Bressuire and came across this hard-working mixer.  I wonder how many breads and croissants and gateaux it mixed and beat and kneaded over the years.  Now it is relegated to be a curiosity in the parking lot, but still giving joy to those who appreciate its value.


 
 
Very artsy!
 

 
 
 
***
 
 
"We will be known forever by the tracks we leave."
 
~  Dakota proverb
 
 

Sunday, July 30, 2017

Where in the World


If you're wondering where we are and I answer "St-Clémentin", you probably still won't know where we are.  I only found out this place existed very recently.

We are of course in France, about 400 km south-west of Paris, or 4.5 hours by car going at 130 kph on the toll highway.  We are not on the Atlantic coast but are within driving distance.




Saint-Clémentin is an old French commune, located in the Department of Deux-Sèvres in the region of Poitou-Charentes.  On January 1, 2013, Saint-Clémentin joined Voultegon to form a new town called Voulmentin.  It seems to have doubled the population overnight since Saint-Clémentin had a population of 516 in 2010 and jumped to 1,096 people in 2013 as the new Voulmentin.  The closest city is Bressuire, about 12 km. away.

Poitou-Charentes comprises four departments: Charente, Charente-Maritime, Deux-Sèvres, and Vienne.  We are in Deux-Sèvres.  The department #79 of Deux-Sèvres is named because of its two river sources: Sèvre Nantaise (Nantes) and Sèvre Niortaise (Niort).  The Capital is Niort.  Residents are known as Picto-Charentais. 

Poitou is a historic region in west central France. Poitiers, the capital of the region, is its chief city, although the port of La Rochelle rivals it in economic importance. Farming is important to the economy; wheat, corn and cattle are farmed. Industries produce machinery, chemicals and dairy products.

***

Many of you have no doubt read the classic "Le Petit Prince", by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.  It is one of my favourite books!  When roaming the back roads of our area, we came across an eccentric artist who has painted his small van with the illustrations from that famous book. 




Like in the book, he told us of his travels and what is important to him.  He had mesmerizing eyes.

 
 
From "Le Petit Prince":  "What place would you advise me to visit now?" he asked.  "The planet Earth," replied the geographer.  "It has a good reputation."  Antoine de Saint-Exupéry


The artist pointed to his "rose", which is a big part of the book. 


His colourful clothes and attitude were original and uplifting.


"And now here is my secret, a very simple secret: it is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.  The most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or touched, they are felt with the heart."  ~  Antoine de St-Exupéry, "Le Petit Prince"
 
 

Saturday, July 29, 2017

Quiet Saturday


I think we take many things for granted in Canada.  For instance, there's a truck that comes round regularly to pick up all our garbage and recycling.    We sort out garden waste, glass, and recyclables from the general garbage, but we don't have to do much more than roll the bins to the curb on the assigned day.

France also recycles, but it demands a wee bit more effort.  There is no truck to pick up our stuff; no specific bins at each household.  We are the ones who must go to the recycling centres.  Only garbage is picked up at the curb.



Each bin is clearly identified, accepting glass, plastic, metal or paper.








 

 Did we really drink that much rosé wine?

 
Paper


Plastic bottles
 

We also did a load of laundry on this lazy Saturday, using the efficient "solar dryer" to make everything smell fresh and clean.  Of course I used my favourite Persil laundry detergent!


 
Thoughts then turned to dinner.  I decided to make a tomato salad with the three varieties of tomatoes I had bought: red, yellow, and brown (sometimes called blood).  In France, tomatoes are called "pomme d'amour", apples of love.  Of course in common discourse, we simply say "tomate rouge, tomate jaune, tomate brune". 


I layered them alternately in a ring then added a vinaigrette made of olive oil (no lemon or vinegar since the tomatoes are acidic on their own), ground pepper and salt, minced garlic (using the new garlic press that the hosts bought for the kitchen), and some fresh basil cut in a chiffonade.  All you need to know about making a chiffonade of basil is to stack the leaves, roll them up like a cigar, then cut them in thin ribbons with a very sharp knife. 



Also made some haddock dipped in a beaten egg and seasoned bread crumbs, then pan fried in butter and olive oil.  Haddock is one of our favourite fish, not available on the Pacific Coast.  Basmati rice, lemon wedges and thick chunks of baguette rounded off the meal.  Of course, a few glasses of very cold rosé.


Karl is hungry!


Bon appétit!
 
 
And that's what a Saturday looks like in France, at least on this Saturday in this household!

 
"Plenty of people miss their share of happiness, not because they never found it,
but because they didn't stop to enjoy it." 
 
 ~ William Feather


Friday, July 28, 2017

Livraison



Olives are available everywhere in France.  Not that there are olive trees growing everywhere, but the wonderful fruit of those trees is available at every market and every supermarché in the country.  It is not unusual to find markets with an array of over 20 kinds of olives on display, many enhanced with herbs and spices.

We particularly like the olives from L'Oulibo, in the Languedoc region, a more southern part of France.  Since we'll be here for 2.5 months, we felt we had lots of time to put in an order.  It arrived today!





The delivery truck actually arrived on Wednesday when we weren't home, so a note was left advising that we could pick up the package in Cholet.  The driver, Martin, was back yesterday to assure us that we wouldn't have to go pick it up and that he'd bring the package from Cholet to St. Clémentin.


True to his word, Martin arrived today with a big friendly smile and our much anticipated package of olives.

 


These guys don't cut corners!  The jars were so well wrapped there's no danger of them breaking.  And they came with their very own little wooden pallet, too!




Feels like Christmas, doesn't it?



Oh, the anticipation!




Four small jars of Picholine, three large jars of Lucques, and 3 little jars of tapenade.


Wonder if there'll be any left to bring back to Canada...


Winners of the gold medal so many years in a row!


Tapenade in three flavours: green olives, black olives, and one with tomatoes and peppers.  We will be feasting for a while!

***

Another thing that arrived today were little visitors in the bathtub.  (We haven't used this tub yet, preferring to use the shower in our ensuite exclusively).  You have to remember that it's been raining for a whole week, so these little guys were looking for some shelter.  By the time I gave them their eviction orders, they had already woven well-established webs.


Maybe they weren't that small after all...


 
 
***


Looking outside the dining room window, I noticed this huge holly plant growing inside a pine.  I'd call that "Christmas in July"!  Very à propos when receiving our gift of olives on this very day.




***
 
"There is an endless net of threads throughout the universe.  The horizontal threads are in space.    The vertical threads are in time.  At every crossing of the threads, there is an individual, and every individual is a crystal bead.  And every crystal bead reflects not only the light from every crystal in the net, but also every other reflection throughout the entire universe."
 
~  Rig Veda
 
 

Thursday, July 27, 2017

Château de Brézé



Remember those delicious Charlotte strawberries we bought yesterday?  They were part of our breakfast this morning to fortify ourselves before heading out to visit a local château.  It was raining and cool, but we felt our first week of R&R (rest and relaxation) had come to an end. 




Castles are not all the same.  A visit to the Château of Brézé provides an opportunity to discover an elegant castle as well as its extraordinary underground fortress.  Hidden beneath the château is one of the undiscovered marvels of the Loire Valley`s castles - a unique ensemble of buildings carved out of the rock!  This troglodyte world of rock opens out onto the deepest dry moats in Europe, which reach a depth of 18 meters.





Me in front of the Château de Brézé.


Karl is in the doorway leading to the courtyard, and to his right and left are the dry moats.











In the tower, a beautiful display of saddles.



What it looks like under the roofs.





Overlooking the vineyards.


Seven League Boots.  Used by the postillon (postman) who travelled seven leagues, or 30 km., between each station.


The entrance to the furnished rooms.



Karl posing to see if  he's got what it takes to become a "bust".


This is the Bishop's Room.  Pierre de Dreux-Brézé was born in the Château in 1811.  In line with tradition, he studied theology in Italy and became a priest in 1834.  In 1850, he was consecrated Bishop of Moulins, in the Allier department, and became one of the youngest bishops in France.  At his death 43 years later, he was the oldest!



A dining set fit for the bishop.


His private little room for his ablutions. 


The very ornate "prie-Dieu", a kneeler specifically made for prayers.  I have often wondered if prayers from a skinny priest are more powerful than the ones from a corpulent priest because the bony knees suffer so much more with hours of kneeling.


The bishop's office.  The walls are adorned with wood patterns and not wall-paper.


The bishop's desk.



The ceiling in the office.



The bishop's bed.   



A guest room.

The fireplace, mantle clock, pitcher and bowl for ablutions in the guest room.



An exquisite armoire for clothes.


These are examples of the clothing worn by the staff.  Very elegant, n'est-ce-pas?


The hallway on our way to the Great Hall is adorned with paintings and sketches of the time period.


The knobs to open the windows in that hallway, with the view of the rest of the château from this vantage point.






A decorative and artistic piece above the fireplace in the Richelieu room.





The tapestries are so beautiful!


Not sure what purpose this tiny room off the Richelieu room serves, but perhaps an opportunity to meditate.  Small desk and chair barely fit in.

A "secrétaire" desk.  When unlocked, the front panel comes down to create a table where finances or letters of importance can be written.


The bathroom was most interesting to me.  Installed in 1860 - 1880, it is one of the most beautiful bathrooms of the 19th century in the Maine-Loire region.  In royal bathrooms, there were 2 baths: one for washing, and one for rinsing off.  This "bath cabinet" had just one bath.  The two swan-neck taps, for hot and cold water, allowed the bath to be refilled quickly, thus providing clean water for rinsing.

The bath is made of zinc.  A sheet is placed in it for sake of comfort and hygiene. 


From the Renaissance to the 18th century, the West believed that dirt warded off disease.  Water was held responsible for spreading diseases by penetrating the pores.  People "dry-cleaned" themselves, by rubbing the visible parts of the body. 

In the 19th century, the great scientific discoveries like those of Louis Pasteur influenced sanitary habits.  The role of bacteria was discovered, and preventive measures recommended: washing hands, cleaning oneself with soap and water daily, vaccination, antiseptics, etc. 






Here you have a taste of the period of optical illusions.  The walls are "painted" to imitate marble.  Furniture is simple and includes a straw seat chair (because of humidity) and a small item of furniture for laying towels on.

The water was heated by a wood or coal-burning stove.  A curiosity: a very rare towel warmer!




One of two huge doors that open up to the Great Hall.







Even the chairs look like they belong in a church.


This bench is authentic and comes with a stern warning not to sit on it.  Very fragile.


Although there are many framed portraits on the wall, I thought you would enjoy this one of "The Master of Ceremonies".  He MUST know all the rules of what to wear and what pomp and circumstance is associated with each event.  Look at the hat he's holding.


Another incredible door at the end of the Great Hall.


Now down in the lower levels of the Château.


Karl considers what it would be like in the "cachot", the dungeon jail.



Me, begging for food.

The Château de Brézé bears the mark of two architectural styles: the Renaissance in the 16th century and the Neo-Gothic in the 19th century.  It is U shaped.























Talk about having the weight of the world on your shoulders!








This is the "douve", the dry moat.


Troglodyte means cave dweller and they lived deep underground.




A very interesting and educational tour.  I must say, however, that the stairs were steep and narrow; not at all suitable for someone with mobility issues. 



"The great use of life is to spend it for something that will outlast it."

~  William james