Courtyard

I mentioned the Château de Valençay's terrasse/courtyard in yesterday's post. The castle is built on a high point overlooking the valley of the diminutive Nahon River. Its terrasse is open on the river side, making for some dramatic views over the countryside.

A grand stair leads down from the terrace toward the river below. September 2003.

Our mornings are foggy right now, with low temperatures just above freezing. The fog has been burning off late in the morning and we get a nice, sunny afternoon. It's very pleasant, almost like spring. Speaking of which, I think I heard and briefly saw a cuckoo fly though the yard yesterday. It's early for them to be here. Maybe that one's just trying to get a jump on the traffic.

Out building

According to my extensive quick and dirty research, this is the Rendez-vous de chasse de La Garenne in the Parc de Chantemerle. That's a mouthful. In essence, it's a hunting lodge. It sits down in the valley of the Nahon River which flows by Valençay. This view is from the terrace courtyard of the château across the river. The lodge, constructed in the early nineteenth century for Prince Talleyrand (who lived in the château), is on the northwestern end of a rather large forest that I believe is called Garsenland.

Not too shabby. September 2003.

Apparently, the building is privately owned and I find no information about whether or not it's open to the public or whether or not it still serves as a hunting lodge.

Snack bar

On the grounds of the Château de Valençay, not far from the ticket office and gift shop, is a small café where visitors can get a drink or a snack. Nothing fancy, but likely comparatively expensive. I wonder if it's still there?

A lovely spot for a snack. September 2003.

Just a reminder, these photos of Valençay date from 2003 and 2004, a year or so before I started blogging. Ken let me use one of his first digital cameras as I had not yet made the leap. I've posted some of these before, but I'm reprocessing to see if they can be better.

Cherubs in the fountain

I caught these cherubs having a good time playing under the fountain in one of the water features on the grounds of the Château de Valençay. I kept my distance so they wouldn't be frightened and run away.

I think I see two. September 2003.

The mystery of the missing dentist was solved yesterday. He did answer my original call and left me several voice mails in return. But he was using the number of the cell phone that we keep in the car for emergencies. I don't know why we gave him the number (except that he might have insisted on a mobile number). It's not a smart phone and we don't normally check it for messages unless we're expecting one (which is rare). He has our land line number and my email address, but for some reason he didn't try to reach me with either of those. The car phone just happened to be in the house when it rang yesterday morning, so I answered it. It was him. "I didn't hear back so I wanted to be sure you would be here for your appointment at two o'clock." That afternoon.

So, yes, I scrambled and made it to the appointment. I asked him to delete that cell number and gave him my new one. All is well with the logistics.

As for the tooth, there's good news and there's bad news. The good news is that I did not crack a crown as I had thought. The bad news is that I broke the adjacent bicuspid clean in two, a formerly healthy tooth. One of the halves is a little loose and is sensitive to cold. The dentist says the tooth can't be saved and that it needs to be pulled and replaced with an implant. Lovely. He'll refer me to a specialist for that.

Both halves of the broken tooth are still in there. There's no serious pain (unless I put pressure on the tooth), but there is some soreness. The dentist told me to chew on the other side for a while. That's a no-brainer; I've been doing that for a week already.

Still at Valençay

Here's a close-up of one of the round towers of the Château de Valençay. Straight lines, curves, slopes, slate, and stone. It's all about geometry.

Engineering and artisan craftsmanship from the 16th - 18th centuries. Amazing. September 2003.

As we get closer to the work actually happening on the deck, I'm thinking about getting it cleared off. Again. We did that the last time we were expecting the work to be done (more than two, or was it three, years ago now), but the work never started. There's not much to move this time, it's mostly plants and empty pots. There's one huge plant, an aucuba (on wheels, thankfully), that will have to find a temporary home indoors. And then there's the grill. That might have to go downstairs. Ugh.

Our mornings have been cold recently, with lows below freezing. Frost forms in all the usual places, but the days are bright and sunny. They say it will warm up some over the weekend.

Valençay vineyard [2]

Just to follow on from yesterday's post, this is the same vineyard outside the Château de Valençay. This one was taken in September instead of late April. What a difference a couple of seasons makes.

Part of central Valençay and its church in the background. September 2003.

I got an email from the deck contractor this morning. He got the tile specs and is heading over to the building supply store to place the order. Wowee!

Valençay vineyard

Valençay, an AOC (now AOP) wine, is produced in and around the small city of Valençay and its château. As in our area, the primary grape varieties grown there are sauvignon (white) and gamay (red). The vineyard in this view is adjacent to the château, but most of the vineyards are outside of town.

A walled-in vineyard seen from the château's terrace in Valençay. April 2004.

I picked out tile for our deck renovation yesterday. I was surprised that there were very few square tiles to choose from at the building supply center, and I didn't like any of them, so I selected a rectangular tile. I'll send the details on to the contractor this morning.

I'm falling behind in my paperwork. Nothing serious, just bank statements and other little administrative things to do. By the way, I tried again to pay our annual car insurance bill on line with an American credit card. For the past few years, it wouldn't work (but it worked fine in the company's office). I suspect it had something to do with the insurance company's online security. It wasn't my bank. Lo and behold! When I tried again the other day, the payement went right through.