Reg and I had a great day out today. We headed off to visit a chateau and an underground village, both very common in this area. Lots of French Kings and the upper classes built chateaus in the Loire and many still remain in good repair. We visited Chateau-de-Brissac, still used as a family home in the village of Brissac Quince. The tour was in French but the guide took pity on us and gave the occasional overview in English. We also had a information sheet that had an English translation included – all helpful. It was interesting to get a feel for the history of the chateau and its owners. The rooms where a little run down but still reflected their former glory and function. You could image the ladies dressed in their beautiful gowns in the ballroom or people sitting around the huge dining table having numerous courses of fine food. It must cost a fortune to maintain a property of this size and you can understand the need to charge entrance fees and find other ways of raising funds. They have their own vineyard and one of the underground rooms is used for tasting and selling their wine. You can also stay in the chateau overnight – many of the bedrooms are used as B&B’s – but a little over our budget!
After Chateau-de-Brissac we ventured on to Troglodytes de Rochemenier, a troglodyte or underground village. Although not lived in for a while the village is very well preserved. It’s quite an experience to wander about and visit what was once people’s homes. Each family in the village had their own area. This usually consisted of several animal shelters, processing plant and implement storage rooms, and a small family home – kitchen and bedrooms. All these rooms were built underground but opened onto a courtyard – this was quite a hive of activity during the day. One advantage of underground living was the ability to expand. If a new baby arrived you just carved another little nook in the wall to fit another bed! There were displays of old equipment used at the time – of special interest was an old wine press and some hand blown bottles. Also some amazing old photos of people working in the fields and life in the open courtyard. The village had communal areas and everything was linked by little tunnels. In the winter months everyone would meet in the village hall in the evenings to socialize. But not so much in the summer months when they all worked long days on nearby farmland. All the animals and farm equipment were taken out to the fields during the day and then returned to the safety of the village at night. These villages weren’t built underground for the very consistent climate they offered – although a bonus – but for protection. Apparently dangerous times!
So our day out was one of extremes. The chateau with its grandeur – although a little faded – and the life of the peasant working in the fields and living in little rooms carved out of the earth. We found both fascinating!
Lots of love
Di and Reg