Cont’d: Chateau Dumas

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Let me begin by saying thank you to my new followers!  I was so thrilled by all of your sweet comments!   Blogging friends are so encouraging and I appreciate all of you! 

Let’s see ….after visiting Cahors market and a couple of good brocantes we then drove to Nadette’s lavender farm.  The air was just tantalizing from the smell of lavender, sounds of  buzzing bee’s and birds singing.  If you can imagine a small stone home with a terracotta tiled roof sitting smack dab in the middle of a lavender farm…  

 lovely wares…...

   

Nadette told us she used to harvest all of the Lavender by herself.  I found her to be a very independent, hard working, beautiful lady and definitely someone to be admired.

Nadette demonstrates how she makes her soaps….

   

after it has cools a bit, just like magic, it turns into this beautiful lavender color as you can see below.

    After her demonstration she served fresh, cold and delicious apple juice along with a local apple pastry and tea.  We enjoyed these tasteful delicacies while taking in the breathtaking view of lavender fields.

  I must admit, when I first saw Nadette’s sweet dog,  I felt my first little, very small, twinge of homesickness.  He reminded me so much of Albert.

The next day we took a day trip to Toulouse.   It was packed full of all kinds of booths.  The local farmers come here to sell their freshly grown produce, which is available every day, (including Sundays). Even though it was somewhat crowded it still seemed very relaxed.

After our day trips we would go back to the Chateau and craft.  We also visited Emmaus.  It’s France's answer to the Goodwill Thrift store…only a lot nicer than the ones we have here. (I forgot my camera in the bus, sorry no pictures.) I found a beautiful embroidered pillowcase for  2 Euro’s. I will do a post later of some of the items I purchased in France.     

The Saturday before we left we had our choice to either ride the bus or take the 4 mile hike to Montpezate.  We opted for the hike!  

I  thought this picture was so sweet…. a French mule in a French country setting!

What about these rolling hills braided with sunflower fields, country roads and terracotta tile roofs just barely peeking out from behind the trees? Heavenly huh?

Have you ever seen such healthy and lovely sunflowers?

It was  sooo tempting to try and sneak one of these in my suitcase but….maybe not.  

I thought this was a pretty purple weed but later found out it’s a flowering artichoke. 

 

After our 4 mile walk, along with the rising temperature,  I wiped the sweat from my brow, I squinted in the hot sun at what seemed to be the most beautiful old church in such a lovely historic setting.    It’s a 14th century church (Saint-Martin collegiate) which contains tapestries from the sixteenth century relating to the life of St. Martin.

After we walked in I was overcome by calmness and the most relevance feeling. 

I relate it to the many old souls that were there before me.

The woodwork and architecture were exquisite! After we toured Saint-Martin collegiate church we took a stroll through the cozy little village of Montpezat. 

Don’t you just love this shutter eye candy?   This little village was packed full of charm and character!  While Lizzie and I were sitting quietly, waiting for our group to finish shopping,  she looked over at me and said, in her  English accent,“would you like to move here?”   I think she must have read my thoughts!  My answer.   No.  Not now, but…..if I were younger I would certainly entertain the thought.  She went on to tell me how quiet and peaceful this little village was and that twice a year they had a village party.  Everyone who lived here brought a homemade dish, tables were set up in the middle of the streets along with local musicians, folks literally danced in the street.  Now tell me!   What’s not to like about this place?

She went on to say she was looking forward to the upcoming one.

Street’s the size of alley ways with colorful flowers and beautiful shutters, well preserved buildings hundreds of years old, and to think, I live in a 90 year old home and I can hardly find anyone I can trust…. let alone experienced, to repair a simple piece of plaster!   

Only if I could see through the eyes of a true artist….I could paint this!  After our little jaunt through the village we were welcomed with this lovely feast…

consisting of smoked duck breast with cashew nuts, salad of courgettes and apricots, pate in pastry casing, red onion tart, market inspired salads, almond and fig tartlets.

This is our view from our picnic area, The Devil’s Bridge.  There’s several old fables that are attached to the history of this bridge.

The streets were lined with well manicured grape vines.

We decided to take a a stroll and check it out.  It reminded me of a fable when I was a child of the Three Billy Goats Gruff.

A friend climbed to the top of one of the side towers.   Of course she had a little encouragement from me.

The legend goes ….the lower bridge was built by the Devil himself.  You can click here  to read the legends.

After this fun filled day…..I was  beginning to feel little twinges of tiredness.   I  do believe I could have ridden these mules back to the Chateau!

For our last evening at the Chateau we had Dumas Salad…..

Quails boned and stuffed foie gras with seasonal vegetables…..the best wine from the local vineyard,

and lastly, Charlotte’s aux framboises (Raspberry Charlotte).

Alise and I made several new friends while we were at the Chateau.  We also had a great last evening with everyone.

Many thanks to Lizzie, Kaari, Molly, Kick and all of the Master Artisans for making this one of the most memorable weeks of my life!

All I can say, “ Auty France you are indeed a treasure!”

~Merci~

Please leave the light on for us!

See you soon with the ending of this final dream trip.  Next up! ~Paris~

xxoo’s

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