My friends Pieter and Susan invited me to spend Christmas and New Year with them in their chateau in the Loire Valley of France. It was the first visit in winter and it it was a very new experience.
With a lot of mist and cold- and almost no sun- one saw another side of the beauty of the French country side. We also realized how difficult life must have been for the inhabitants of these castles in the years before proper heating could be installed ,and fire places were the only form of heat they had.These chateaux were mostly used as summer residences as they were so difficult to heat with their high ceilings. It was very cozy sitting in front of the fire, drinking hot chocolate and eating crepes !
Christmas - 2018.
Beautiful tall Christmas tree in the entrance hall .
Pieter and Susan doing food shopping in Beaugency for the Christmas Evening feast..
Marie Claude - living in the chateau as well- invited us for starters at their home . Three small dishes of delicious starters were served on her family heirloom porcelain .Salmon Gravadlaz was served as well as Pate Foi Grass . Small potions ,but very tasty and concentrated ,it was served with chilled champagne.We then went back to Pieter and Susan's apartment where gifts were exchanged under the beautiful Christmas tree that Pieter decorated a few days before. It lit up the whole area and brought a very festive spirit to the chateau.
For the Christmas Eve dinner goose and a glazed ham were served with many side dishes.
An English trifle had the French guests amazed but they had seconds and even third portions!
To end it all a cheese plate with coffee was enjoyed.
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On Christmas morning we went to the Christmas Mass in the nearby town of Mer.
We listened to the Christmas Mass in French for 90 minutes- luckily the church was heated so we did not freeze! Afterwards we stopped for some hot chocolate before returning home.
Christmas day we spent leisurely in font of the fire and later some guests arrived for a high tea. Lovely sandwiches made from the left over ham of the night before were served with some delicious Earl Grey tea.After all the excitement of Christmas and all the hard work that went into preparing the meal, we took the following days easy -relaxing and enjoying the left overs form the dinner. A soup kept us nourished for a few days.
Beaugency.
The nearby town of Beaugency was the site of numerous military conflicts. It was occupied on four separate occasions by the English .On June 16 1429 it was the site of the Battle of Beaugency when the bridge over the Loire River was freed by Joan of Arc. In 1567 the town was burnt by the Protestants and it suffered extensive damage to the castle walls and the church.
Beaugency bridge over the Loire River that was freed from the English in 1429 by Joan of Arc.
Beaugency castle tower.
Beaugency Church.
Beaugency street scene.
Almost deserted during the week between Christmas and New Year.
On the way back we stopped and a charming little antique store where Pieter discover and beautiful French period desk that he was looking for .I found this statue of a girl fishing -minus her fishing rod and a broken wooden base. The owner was so thrilled about his big sale of the desk that he threw this in for a few euros! Pieter fixed the base in a second when we got back. Now I have a lovely souvenir to remind me of my French trip!
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Chateau Le Lude.
Le Lude is the most northern chateau of the Loire Valley and one of the last historic castles of France still inhibited by the same family for the last 260 years. The original fortress was built between the 10th and 11th centuries on the banks of the river Loire in order to defend Anjou from the attacks by the Normans and then the English during the Hundred Years War. Le Lude has been passed down to the current occupants the Count and Countess Louis-Jean de Nicolaÿ, who have carried on its tradition of restoration and decoration.
The dry moat around the Chateau Le Lude.
Dining room in the Chateau le Lude.
Living Room. Photo of Britain's Queen Mother - Queen Elizabeth when she visited Chateau le Lude in the 1950's
The Angel of Le Lude.
This is a copy .The owner sold the original to the Frick Museum in New York to help fund restorations of the chateau .
A branch of the Loire River and gardens of the Chateau le Lude.
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A misty day at the Chateau d'Avaray.
The Chateau D'Arcy-Le-Rideau.
The Chateau D'Arcy-le-Rideau is located in the town of Azay-le-Rideau in the French department of Indre-et-Loire . Built between 1518 and 1527, this château is considered one of the foremost examples of early French Renaissance architecture. Set on an island in the middle of the Indre river, this picturesque château has become one of the most popular of the chateaux of the Loire Valley.
After our visit to the castle we walked into the peaceful little town through the gates that separated the chateau from the town.As it was the Sunday between Christmas and New Year everything was closed .We ended up in a little restaurant that served the worse omelette that I have ever had. It is a charming little town and really worth a visit but we were there the wrong time of the year.
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New Years Eve 2018-2019.
For New Year Eve the doctor and his wife who live upstairs in the chateau invited us for a get-together that lasted seven hours. They were very gracious. We were served about twelve mini dished that was paired for wines through the evening as well as champagne. Their apartment consisted of the Duke's original library and bedroom.
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One of the other owners in the chateau is a a very sweet lady -a titled woman- Marie-Claude de Vincelles, who invited us for a farewell lunch.She lives in the the oldest tower of the chateau where it is rumored that Joan of Arc stayed over in 1429 on her way to Orleans from Blois.
She went out of her way to entertain us with her best monogrammed porcelain and silver and great food. It was lovely to look around her home and see portraits of ancestors as well as fine furniture and works of art. She was surrounded by treasures that came down to her from her and her husband's families.
Note that the fork is placed upside down to show the monogram of the person using it.The knife rested on a bar to keep it off the table cloth ,as they same knife and fork are used right through the meal.
She used hand embroidered napkins and a table cloth done by her great-grand-mother. There were some chairs and a sofa that was covered in the most delicate "petite point" work. The original embroidery became threadbare so she copied the pattern and re-embroidered the four chairs and a sofa-It took her six years to complete.For me who grew up in the new world this was unbelievable to see. One person that had so much history surrounding her every day.
What was the most amazing thing of all was that we communicated while she spoke French and we spoke English (and a few words of French.) Her husband was the French Ambassador to Portugal, Chile and Brazil so she also spoke Portuguese and Spanish- but no English.
After two weeks it was time for me to leave .Generous friends -old and new -make our lives worth while and I was sad to go .Experiencing the chateau in winter was magical -and I thank Pieter and Susan for inviting me !
