Friday, April 22, 2022 - Châteaux & Marché

Our plan for today is to visit two local châteaux and then go to a market. And get some wine for dinner. And we did exactly that. That doesn't normally happen. Here's our itinerary:

We live in Solle, 1 mile to Commarin, 2.5 miles to Châteauneuf, 5 miles from Pouilly to Solle

After breakfast (croissants and scrambled eggs), the Dosch car drove to Commarin while Joann and Larry walked the 1.5 km (1 mile) distance to meet us there. The parking lot has only a few cars, likely due to the earliness of the season and the fact that we arrived just as they opened. The tour is in two parts, both self-guided. The first one walks around the outside of the château, viewing its 14th century towers and its 18th century façade, safely ensconced inside its carp-filled moat. Once back to the main gate, we entered the château where signs described each room visited. 

Château de Commarin-14th century tower

Château de Commarin - the family still lives in the 18th century addition at the end of the U

 Château de Commarin - library

This château has been in the same family for 900 years, has been lived in continuously, and never damaged during the French revolution. That's extremely unusual. It presents a mélange of historical styles from Medieval fortress to 18th century pleasure palace all in the same building. As a working château, it still has all its outbuildings - stables, carriage house, ice house, etc. 

But for me, the amazing factoid is that it has a 3 story laundry tower - first floor laundry, 2nd floor drying, 3rd floor ironing and a small room for sewing repairs. A whole tower?! Now that's luxury. 

The laundry tower

While the others toured the rooms of the château, I sat at a small table facing the entrance and stitched in the warmth of the sun and a clear blue sky.  In the front corner of the grounds, a dozen people sat in lawn chairs watching a falconry show. Two moms with strollers and toddlers appeared to be locals just out for a bit of air. Visitors trickled in to tour the château, but only a few at a time. 

Before leaving, we walked down the street a block, stopping to talk to a man who was emptying supplies out of a van in front of the restaurant we'd patronized two nights before. My French is still not very fluid, but I told the man about our delicious meal the other night and that we are staying in Solle for a month and will patronize his restaurant again. We passed the bakery (open today) and arrived a half block later at the church. That's all there is to this town of only 123 inhabitants. Oh, I forgot. There is a small pottery store across from the château. It's very rural here. No industry, just farming. 

Commarin's war memorial (WWI & WWII

Commarin's church

Commarin's main street

All around us are large fields, planted in some sort of grass or grain (we think wheat) separated from one another by hedgerow "fences". Some fields are recognizable by their bright yellow color. These are colza (rapeseed) which will become canola oil at the end of the season. Other fields hold herds of Charolais cattle, grown for their beef, their solid whitish-tan hides providing another accent of color in the otherwise green landscape. There are no buildings dotting the fields. Farmers live in the hamlets and towns. Their barns, houses, and farm equipment are all clustered together in these small farming communities. 

This is the house we are living in, seen from the back. You can see how rural we are.

hedgerows divide the fields

Charolais cows dot the green landscape

After lunch at home, we headed off to Châteauneuf-en-Auxois, 2.5 miles from here. This "plus beau village" doesn't disappoint. Perched on a rocky spur that rises above the farmlands below it, stone manor homes of rich nobles and bourgeois merchants huddle near the moated fortified castle. 12th century towers and dry moat remain even after 15th century renovations to the castle to make it more "livable" The interior rooms are furnished to give visitors a taste of life in the Middle Ages. 

looking out an arrow slit from inside the castle

Châteauneuf

 

Lynn on drawbridge over  dry-moat

the little garage-looking house on the right would have been a laborer's house

large turreted homes belonged to the rich merchants and nobles

Joann, Larry, Janis, Clark, and Lynn entering Châteauneuf by the north portal

Sunday, April 24, is the run-off election for president of France. Emmanuel Macron is again up against Marine LePen. Macron has become more centrist in his term, leaving left-wing voters dissatisfied. Marine LePen has toned down some of her anti-immigration right-wing rhetoric. The French worry that there could be an upset, as they are likewise facing rising prices due to pandemic and the war in Ukraine. We will see. As in the last election we witnessed, the only posters seen anywhere that would hint at an election are posted at each town's "Mairie" (mayor's office) or "Hotel de Ville" (town hall). After the first voting 3 weeks ago, when anyone who wanted to run could throw his/her hat in the ring, the two highest vote getters squared off with one another (debates, town hall meetings, etc.) to build a winning campaign. 

Macron & LePen face off in Sunday's election for President of France.

 Once finished with exploring the castle, a quick visit to the early 14th century gothic church and a walk down the 3 or 4 streets of the town completed the tour. we arrived back in the parking lot at 3:45, perfect timing to get to the market in Pouilly which began at 4:00 pm.

This market was very small - and so is the town square (triangle, actually) where it is held. We bought eggs from the trunk of a local farmer's car. We bought 77 Euros worth of cheese from the cheese truck. Dave and Clark stopped at a wine vendor to taste and buy a couple of bottles of wine. 

This is what a typical cheese truck would look like. 

One last stop at the Super U grocery store to buy more bottles of wine and then we headed back home for apéros and dinner. Tomorrow promises rain, so we're thinking of finding something indoors for tomorrow.

(edited 4/24/2022)