Terre Nueve
The crypt, the church roof, and the altar
Today we went to two brocantes, street markets. One was in the village of Angles, which was once at the edge of the sea, but is now miles inland. The brocante was of food and household items, more like the “foires” or fairs held in almost every village once a month or so throughout the year. But during the tourist season, there are more. We found two melons, cantaloupes, quite ripe and ready, and two cheeses that we had not tried before. The melons are the light green ones with dark green ribs, not the ones with a rough netting around them that one finds in the US. The latter are not really cantaloupes at all, but have a strikingly similar taste.
The second brocante was in Longeville sur mer, and much more what I was looking for – old furniture, dishes, glassware, linens and records. The sellers of old postcards outnumbered all of that. I’m sure there is a PhD dissertation somewhere on the French fascination with old postcards. We enjoyed looking, but as usual, nothing much appealed, and the things that did would not fit in the overhead compartment.
We decided to take a chance a launch across the countryside to Fontenay-le-Conte, a renaissance town about 45 minutes to the east. It rained a bit during the drive, but then was eased off and was just grey the rest of the day. Our first object on arrival was lunch. We found a Logis de France hotel on the main street which had a restaurant, so we sat outside under an awning. This is just a workaday lunch: gezsier salad (warm, sautéed duck gizzards served over a green salad), lamb chops with green and white beans, and a raspberry crumble (Tom), melon and ham, mussels and fries, and warm chocolate cake (Susan). Add some wine and espresso and you have an ordinary $50 meal.
After lunch we sped off to the church, the big draw in town. I found it dark and unlovely, but Tom was interested in the roof. The church was started in the 15th century, and remodeled only 3 hundred years later. It started out somewhat Romanesque, but ended up with flamboyant gothic touches. The real scene-stealer is a 9th century crypt which was found by accident in the 19th century.
Next to the church is a charming museum, quite modern in architecture, focused on the Vendee region. The ground floor has a room with a variety of 2nd and 3rd century glass and crockery, showing some Greek and Roman influence. The second floor is the most interesting, showing the traditional tools used by wood workers for furniture and wooden shoes and farming, and the costumes and headdresses of the ladies. The top floor was a nice collection of art, topped off with a maquette – a very large model of the city from the 17th century.
Thanks to our late start and the 2 hour lunch (and everything being closed between 12 and 2, it was now well after 3), I proceeded to get us lost on the way to the big draw of the area, Chateau Terre Nueve. It is called that (new ground or earth) because it was land reclaimed from the marsh and sea – now many, many miles inland. For those familiar with the area, it is near the ruins at Maillezais and the restored abbey at Nieul-sur-l’Autise. These two were monasteries whose monks labored for centuries to reclaim land, much to the chagrin of the nobility who had given them unwanted islands for their monasteries. Once the land was reclaimed, the monks owned it, making them quite a bit wealthier and more powerful than the nobility had intended.
Terre Nueve is still occupied as a private home, but a few ground floor rooms are shown on a tour. Our guide spoke the fastest French we have ever heard, but between the bits we caught and a short English brochure, we are pretty sure we got most of it. When we returned to the Gite, Tom discovered in conversation that the owners of Terre Nueve are cousins of the Delaubiers. From the 17th century. But they are no longer in touch, so no tour of the private portions of the house.
The Gite has been full to bursting – daughter Pauline and her son Leon, daughter Pascale and her spousal equivalent Kyra, son Paul and his girlfriend Alana, and this evening arrives daughter Emmanuelle and her husband Sam and two step children, Alienor and Anselm. Alienor has gone camping nearby with friends, and Emmanuelle and Sam are upstairs in the petite gite with us until tomorrow when Paul and Alana leave for Spain, and a room opens up in the main house.
Today we went to two brocantes, street markets. One was in the village of Angles, which was once at the edge of the sea, but is now miles inland. The brocante was of food and household items, more like the “foires” or fairs held in almost every village once a month or so throughout the year. But during the tourist season, there are more. We found two melons, cantaloupes, quite ripe and ready, and two cheeses that we had not tried before. The melons are the light green ones with dark green ribs, not the ones with a rough netting around them that one finds in the US. The latter are not really cantaloupes at all, but have a strikingly similar taste.
The second brocante was in Longeville sur mer, and much more what I was looking for – old furniture, dishes, glassware, linens and records. The sellers of old postcards outnumbered all of that. I’m sure there is a PhD dissertation somewhere on the French fascination with old postcards. We enjoyed looking, but as usual, nothing much appealed, and the things that did would not fit in the overhead compartment.
We decided to take a chance a launch across the countryside to Fontenay-le-Conte, a renaissance town about 45 minutes to the east. It rained a bit during the drive, but then was eased off and was just grey the rest of the day. Our first object on arrival was lunch. We found a Logis de France hotel on the main street which had a restaurant, so we sat outside under an awning. This is just a workaday lunch: gezsier salad (warm, sautéed duck gizzards served over a green salad), lamb chops with green and white beans, and a raspberry crumble (Tom), melon and ham, mussels and fries, and warm chocolate cake (Susan). Add some wine and espresso and you have an ordinary $50 meal.
After lunch we sped off to the church, the big draw in town. I found it dark and unlovely, but Tom was interested in the roof. The church was started in the 15th century, and remodeled only 3 hundred years later. It started out somewhat Romanesque, but ended up with flamboyant gothic touches. The real scene-stealer is a 9th century crypt which was found by accident in the 19th century.
Next to the church is a charming museum, quite modern in architecture, focused on the Vendee region. The ground floor has a room with a variety of 2nd and 3rd century glass and crockery, showing some Greek and Roman influence. The second floor is the most interesting, showing the traditional tools used by wood workers for furniture and wooden shoes and farming, and the costumes and headdresses of the ladies. The top floor was a nice collection of art, topped off with a maquette – a very large model of the city from the 17th century.
Thanks to our late start and the 2 hour lunch (and everything being closed between 12 and 2, it was now well after 3), I proceeded to get us lost on the way to the big draw of the area, Chateau Terre Nueve. It is called that (new ground or earth) because it was land reclaimed from the marsh and sea – now many, many miles inland. For those familiar with the area, it is near the ruins at Maillezais and the restored abbey at Nieul-sur-l’Autise. These two were monasteries whose monks labored for centuries to reclaim land, much to the chagrin of the nobility who had given them unwanted islands for their monasteries. Once the land was reclaimed, the monks owned it, making them quite a bit wealthier and more powerful than the nobility had intended.
Terre Nueve is still occupied as a private home, but a few ground floor rooms are shown on a tour. Our guide spoke the fastest French we have ever heard, but between the bits we caught and a short English brochure, we are pretty sure we got most of it. When we returned to the Gite, Tom discovered in conversation that the owners of Terre Nueve are cousins of the Delaubiers. From the 17th century. But they are no longer in touch, so no tour of the private portions of the house.
The Gite has been full to bursting – daughter Pauline and her son Leon, daughter Pascale and her spousal equivalent Kyra, son Paul and his girlfriend Alana, and this evening arrives daughter Emmanuelle and her husband Sam and two step children, Alienor and Anselm. Alienor has gone camping nearby with friends, and Emmanuelle and Sam are upstairs in the petite gite with us until tomorrow when Paul and Alana leave for Spain, and a room opens up in the main house.
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