Penny's travels around France - visit to Chateau Montautre, 13-14 October 2009 + Visit to Knights Templar Chapel

Chateau Montautre is set in the middle of the Limousin countryside, not far from Fromental, and about 13 kms from the village where my husband and I live. 

The chateau is more like a manor house and is surrounded by woods and lakes and luscious greenery.  A truly beautiful setting.  We have been living in the neighbourhood for about 6 years and had never heard of it.

The occasion for visiting Chateau Montautre was our friend John's 60th birthday party.  There were about 12 of us in the party.

There are two wrought iron gates at the beginning of the drive up to the Chateau which could easily be missed.  When we got to the end of the drive to park our cars there were sheep grazing nearby.  They seemed very tame as they were not at all concerned about us and carried on regardless.

On arrival, we were shown into the kitchen by a young man who helps out at the chateau.  The kitchen is large and welcoming with baskets of cats warming themselves in front of the fire, along with a friendly sheepdog.

Norma and Rini are the owners.  They have been renovating the chateau over the last 9 years. 

Once we had all introduced ourselves Norma gave us a quick tour of the Chateau and its rooms etc.  We couldn't help ourselves exclaiming delighted Oohs, Ahs and Wows, when we saw each bedroom with its ensuite bathroom.  All the rooms are decorated with antiques and lovely bits n'pieces which Norma has lovingly collected from numerous vide greniers, brocantes etc over the years.  Once we were shown around the chateau we each picked a bedroom.  Dave and I took the one on the ground floor which was decorated in white and dark blue.  It is a large bedroom with a large double bed along with a smaller bed for a child or third adult.  There is a fireplace in the bedroom and easy chairs to relax in should one so wish.  The bathroom was lovely with a (original?) wooden floor, a roll top bath, huge shower, and wooden fireplace along with a washbasin which had been set into a 19th century wardrobe.  Very ingenious.  There are also French windows which give directly onto the back garden (see second photo below).

Once we were settled in we went outside to explore the outbuildings and grounds.  On the opposite side of the main house is another building which houses a museum of sorts.  There is a wall full of glass vitrines which exhibit all the items found in the chateau by Norma and Rini.  In this same room there is a bar.  At the back of this room are some stairs leading upwards and on the first floor there is a large function room with a very long table.  This is for weddings and receptions as well as perhaps business meetings.  At the back of that room, is a small professional kitchen to cope with food preparation etc.  There is also a gite on the estate but we didn't go and see that.

There are other buildings and I noticed a small swimming pool on the way, but we decided to look around the gardens and then walked down a grassy track which led to two lakes.  One is very near the house and the other is perhaps 1/2 mile further down the track.  As we started our walk a big ginger tom cat decided he would accompany us.  He was very friendly.  As it turned out, he went all the way to the lake and back to the house with us.  A very charming companion.   The chateau keeps horses as well as sheep.

At 7.30pm we went down to the dining room where the meal was going to be eaten.  Rini had got a fire going and it was very warm and toasty.  We all sat around the fire while John opened his (collective) present which turned out to be a large telescope, which is what he's always wanted.  Cocktails were served along with some little appetizers. 

We were shown to the table sometime around 8pm.  The table was long and we sat down at the one table along with other people who were staying at the chateau and of course Norma, Rini and their helpers.  It was a great evening with good food.  John and his wife Marilyn are vegetarians and they too were well catered for.  For dessert John was presented with a huge chocolate cake, made by Norma, which turned out to be absolutely delicious.  You certainly don't go hungry at the chateau.  

We finally went to our beds at around 12.00 midnight, feeling very contented and happy with our evening.

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VISIT TO A NEARBY KNIGHTS TEMPLAR CHAPEL

Next morning we got up at a reasonable time for breakfast.  Full continental breakfast with croissants, toast, cereals, homemade jams,and homemade cake along with fruit juices, coffee or tea. 

John had mentioned previously to us that Rini was in the process of restoring a 11th/12th century Knights Templar chapel not far from the Chateau and Rini had said he was would be happy to show it to us.  Once we were all packed and ready we followed them in the car to the small chapel set off the country road.   It is still in a fairly ramshackle condition but Rini has already done loads of work to it and it was extremely interesting.  While clearing the site, they had found 3 ancient gravestones in the orchard and these had now been left outside the chapel.  I presume they were also of c.11th/12th century.

Rini, who is among other things, a gifted carpenter, has already installed a new stairway.   He intends that eventually the chapel will be turned into around a 300 m/2 accommodation.

Penny's Travels around France: Poitiers - September 2009

We've been enjoying exceptional weather this year in the Haute Vienne and although we have just come back from Menton (see previous post) we thought it would be nice, before the autumn weather set in, to spend a couple of nights away in Poitiers.

In 2002 when we were looking for a house to buy in France, Poitiers became our base as we slowly worked our way down from Poitiers to Limoges.  So we have fond memories of Poitiers.  We viewed quite a lot of houses before choosing the one we bought and now live in permanently.

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It takes around 2.5-3 hours to drive to Poitiers from where we live near Limoges and that's not driving fast. We decided to take the route via the A20 then onto the D951 to Poitiers because although the route looks longer than taking the D147 there are an awful lot of trucks and lorries on this latter route, therefore we have found the longer route is faster.

The weather was glorious as we travelled up the A20.  On the way we stopped off at a small town on the D951called Le Blanc for a small break.   I have to say that on the outskirts of the town it didn't look too promising but by the time we got into the centre it looked quite interesting. We found a brasserie and got a coffee. Breakfasts were off by the time we got there but the lady didn't mind us getting a croissant from the nearby boulangerie and eating it there with our coffees, which we did.

Poitiers is a university town and because of this it seems perhaps a lot livelier than other places.  On the Wednesday we got there, the students were free of their classes so they were to be found all over the centre of town adding to the general hubbub and colour of the place. 

We got to Poitiers around 1.00pm.  The hotel was not hard to find but as usual finding a parking space was but we finally found one nearby and went to the hotel to see if we could park the car in their car park.  It was too early to actually book in but the manager was happy to let us use the hotel carpark.  On our previous trips we have stayed at the Hotel Europe in rue Carnot but I could not get a room so in the end opted for hotel that was the nearest to the centre of town, Le Chapon Fin, which is a 2*.  (NB there is a big car park off rue Carnot, which is itself off the main square, M Leclerc).

By this time it was lunchtime and we were beginning to feel hungry so we walked the short way across the main square, Mal. Leclerc, and found a Creperie in the rue des Grandes Ecoles and ate our lunch there.  The crepes I thought were rather tasty and made a good budget type lunch.  We then had a little walk around the pedestrian precinct.  There are loads of shops to visit and a big plus is that they are not all the same as there tends to be in English towns.  On the way down the road we passed the Palais de Justice (XII-XIVth centuries).  This was once the residence of the Counts of Poitou and Dukes of Aquitaine.  A real medieval beauty. 

There's a good little shopping mall called Les Cordaliers and we had a good root around.  There were plenty of coffee shops/snack bars inside for those needing to have a break from shopping.  In Les Cordaliers we found a good hi fi etc store called FNAC (I do not know what the initials stand for).  We have found that it is rather difficult to find good, cheap, interesting electrical shops in our area of France.  FNAC only sells hi fi's, computers, cameras, dvds, cds and books etc but no household electricals.  On the day we visited the kids were trying out the latest WiFi games.

We made our way back to the main square, M Leclerc, and took in the scenery.  It was lovely and warm and the students were out en masse by this time with kids playing the bongos and student midwives dressed in nappies etc collecting for the baby unit at the hospital.  Everthing was sunshiny and good humoured and very enjoyable.  We had an apero at a nearby bar and watched it all unfold before us.

In the evening we went to our favourite Brasserie in Poitiers, La Serrurerie, which is also in the rue des Grandes Ecoles.  We really love the atmosphere there as it tends to be pretty lively with waiters dashing hither and thither.  They do a good brunch on Sundays too. 

Their menu is quite varied so you are sure to find something to suit, even for vegetarians, with the usual omelettes but also some meat free pasta dishes. The brasserie is reasonable price wise and very buzzy.  We have also tried Maitre Kanter in rue Carnot before off the main square, and found this to be an excellent restaurant serving fresh fish and sea food along with other non fishy food.  Their sauerkraut, if you like it, is enormous.

The next day we took a walk around Poitiers.  First we went to the Tourist Information office opposite Notre Dame la Grande (XI-XII centuries) and were given a map of Poitiers and the lady told us about 3 walks you can take.  Yellow, blue and red.  Just follow the coloured lines on the pavements etc.

Before starting our walk however we stopped at a cafe for coffee in the square opposite Notre Dame La Grande and while supping our drinks we admired the medieval buildings around the square in the sunshine.

Our first stop was to visit Notre Dame la Grande which was very colourful and interesting with a very ornate outside and colourful inside.

After spending some time in the Cathedral walking around admiring the stained windows and painted columns etc we came back out into the sunshine and decided to take the Medieval walk which is the yellow route.  As we walked along we noticed the covered market and went in to have a look around.  There were stalls selling mostly fresh food, meat, cheese and pate specialities etc.

We passed many unusual buildings along the Medieval route and  I took a few pictures of some of the interesting places we passed along the way (see below).

We thoroughly enjoyed the walk and looking at all the interesting ancient buildings.  Be warned though that soon after the Place de la Republique there is a very steep hill and although going down is alright, coming up may prove difficult or impossible for some people.  The rest of the route is generally on the level.

We made our way back to the pancake house in rue des Grandes Ecoles off the main square, and sat inside this time.  The staff were very nice and helpful and the pancakes were absolutely delicious.

Next stop, The Mairie, which overlooks the main square and is a very handsome building.  We plucked up courage and went in through the open doors expecting to be stopped and questioned at any moment but we weren't and I managed to take a few photos of the oppulent interior.

That evening we returned to La Serrurerie for our last meal there.  First of all we sat down and had aperitifs, reserved our table with a friendly waiter and then watched the goings on in the restaurant which was in full swing.  The evening was great and we thoroughly enjoyed our food.

We were up bright and early the next morning, had our breakfast, paid our bill and were soon off on our homeward run.  Dave found the route back on the D951 very easy and thoroughly enjoyable.  The weather was fair and we made good progress.  We got home in an easy 2.5 hours or so, feeling refreshed and relaxed.

*****

If you wish to have a short (French) break I can thoroughly recommend Poitiers.  It has its own airport and it is not too far away from the RN A20 and is therefore easy to get to.  There are plenty of 2 and 3* hotels to choose from.  Most of the hotels have a rack of leaflets of places you can visit in and around Poitiers.

Outside of Poitiers is the famous Futuroscope.  We visited this on our first visit to Poitiers and found it to be very interesting for both children and adults.  I believe it has been expanded and improved on since then. 

Hotels:

Le Chapon Fin 2*, 11 rue Lebascles - tel: 0549 88 02 97 - This is a truly a budget style hotel.  I'm afraid it is in dire need of refurbishment.  The carpet in our family sized room was stained.  However, the Manager and his wife are very friendly.  The breakfast room is modern, clean and tidy.  The breakfast was acceptable.

Hotel de l'Europe 2*, 39 rue Carnot - tel. 0549 88 12 00 - Our rooms there have been simple, basic rooms but clean and tidy.  The breakfast room was (the last time we were there) a bit tired but the breakfast was acceptable.  The hotel has a small car park.

Le Grand Hotel 3*, 28 rue Carnot - tel: 0549 60 90 60 - We haven't been to this one but I thought I'd include a 3* for those who prefer more comfort. 

Restaurants:

La Serrurerie, 28 rue des Grandes Ecoles - tel: 0549 41 05 14 - Good food, friendly staff, good atmosphere.  There are some meatless dishes here.  http://www.laserrurerie.com/

In the rue Carnot just off the main square, Mal Leclerc, there are a good choice of restaurants including Maitre Kanter where you can get fresh seafood dishes and huge plates of sauerkraut/choucroute.

Bon appetit!