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Six days in Paris ~ Part 3

Here are some shots of the castle, and a few of the rooms. It's hard to believe that it was built in the 12th century. They just don't build homes like this anymore. Can you imagine buying a 400 year old house in the United State. Yet the castle was 400 years old when Maréchal de Vauban bought it from his maternal ancestor, in the 16th century. I think about my home in California, which was very comfortable, and we loved it, but 400 years in the future I'm certain it will have become dust long before that time arrives.

The Château de Bazoches is a beautiful castle. Unfortunately my camera battery died just as we were entering it, so I had to rely on Pete's photos. I would have loved to have taken more photos of the interior. It was amazing walk through those historic rooms where Vauban actually spent very little time, as he was always away designing some fortification somewhere in France. I read that there is a museum in Paris with many of the models of fortresses he build. I look forward to visiting that museum the next time we are in Paris.

This is the countryside we drove through on our way to visit the castle, as viewed from the castle grounds

And of course, Pete took a photo of us with his camera held at arms length. He usually aims better than this.
LOL He didn't quite get himself in the photo. He should have had his telescoping arm extender for this shot.

This was the old carriage entrance. In the time of Louis the XIV, guests would drive down this driveway in horse
drawn carriages from Paris. I can see them clearly, in their powdered wigs and frilly clothes. No planes or autos
then. Life was simpler, and with a much slower pace. I can't help but wonder just were we went wrong. Technology?

Believe it or not, the castle was originally surrounded by a deep water mote, which was pretty effective against the
armies of the day bent on attacking it in the 1200s. You can still see the water line on the near tower and along the
front and side walls. Now-a-days we'd just use a bunker buster, dropped from a drone controlled by someone who
thousands of miles away, in the U. S., using very sophisticated technology, with an onboard video camera and
satellites , and the party would be over.

The inner courtyard was huge, and there were lots of windows to provide light to the interior.
The castle also housed soldiers, as it was also a garrison.

Bruce bought a country home in Burgundy, about 2 to 3 hours by car a little east of Paris. He chose the East rather than the South because of the lesser amount of traffic on weekends and holidays. He wanted a place where his kids could get the flavor of, and the peace and quiet of a country life, and afford them a break from the hustle and bustle of the big city life in Paris. He wanted to take us there to see it, and we were looking forward to the trip.

Once we got out of Paris, the country side was very beautiful, the same sort of countryside we saw on our way to see the Château de Bazoches the day before.

This is Bruce in his very large kitchen. I know his mum would be proud of the way Bruce has gathered all the essentials.

If I were ever to own a dog again, I would want it to be exactly like Ness. You couldn't find a sweeter animal.

A shot of the side yard and the steps leading to the entry. The yard is green and lush.

This is Bruce's work shop. I'd like to be here when he was at work. I'm sure I'd learn a lot about wood working.

Bruce explaining to Pete the uses for the various machines in his work shop.

And of course this wouldn't be a French country home without a decent wine rack.
It looks rather well stocked as well, with a nice selection of good French wines.

I've reached nearly 5 MB, so this will continue in Part 4