Frazé and Nogent le Rotrou

A very slow start to the morning, at least we thought so until we saw, or didn't see, some of our French neighbours. It seems to us that Monday mornings are a slow time in France. We did some housework before setting off for the region  of Le Perche, and the day held some surprises. 

Our first surprise was that TomTom decided to play games with us and not take the logical route to Nogent-le-Rotrou. We were a little off the main route before we had realised but little did we know that he had devised a cunning plan which led us to the unheralded but delightful village of Frazé.

As we approached the village we had thoughts of stopping soon for a coffee and as we rounded the corner near the church a whole new vista opened up to us - most unexpected. Truly a beaux detour but not in any of the literature. We quickly pulled over, parked and enjoyed a prolonged coffee break. A compulsory wander around the village ensued.

The remains of the medieval fortifications on the left with the Renaissance Chateau to the fore. 

View of the original fortifications. 

Main moated entrance to the medieval chateau. 

The Château of Frazé is the central feature of this small town and a fine example of military architecture that combines defences and beauty, with  entrance gate flanked by two towers looking down onto the moat. Also, the 11th century church, currently under renovations, had some interesting features to interest the visitor. The rest of the village had maintained its medieval feel with many restored timber-framed houses. Frazé,  very much worth the stop and wander!

Figures on the lintels looking down on you entering the church. 
Other ancient sculptures standing guide on the door frames. 
Fascinated by the different animal sculptures adorning the gable section of  church. 

We continued on through Le Perche region, which is know for its agriculture, and in particular the breeding of a large powerful horse known as the Percherons. An interesting fact in the history of Le Perche is that it had high levels of emmigration,  and in partucular,  to Canada. It is thought that all French Canadians have some ancestors from a village in Le Perche. 

We arrived in Nogent-Le-Rotrou at lunchtime and decided to join the French for lunch - a lovely meal at the local restaurant. We later took a wander - and guess what, another chateau! Yes, we took a few photos if it too - just for you!

Another monster fortification:

The town was quite large and had a great central area. 

Later in the afternoon we traveled a few kilometres north to the village of Bretoncelles for our overnight stop. A lovely spot by the creek with a couple of French vans joining us. 

In our walk around the village this evening we came across many old fashion signs and we thought a little collage of these would be interesting. 

Can you work out the businesses?

And some other bits and pieces from Bretoncelles:

Orléans

Today was our last day along the Loire, and with the visit to Orléans the story of Joan of Arc reached its high point. Orléans  is the city where the  peasant girl from Domremy led the French to resist the English  and thus causing the English to retreat from Orléans, and allowing the French King to be crowned in Reims. 

We made an early start this morning to ensure we would get parking in Orléans for the day - not repeating the problems we had in Tours. Arriving in Orléans early did allow us to park close to the centreville and by the Loire. We enjoyed this location while we had breakfast and planned our day ahead. 

We took a long walk around the town keeping in mind that much has been rebuilt since WWII. The overall impression was of a city with people in mind. The open spaces, pedestrian precincts and architecture together created an environment that encouraged people to want to be there.  

Our wandering took us past Joan of Arc House (where she stayed for 10 days in 1429!), to the Place du Martroi, Hotel Groslot, the Cathedral and the old town. 

The magnificent proportions of Place du Martrois with the enormous statue of Joan of Arc dominating the square. 

Denis Foyatier's statue of Joan of Arc. 
Other elegant classical buildings gracing the Place. 

L'Hôtel Groslot, formerly the Lord Mayor's house, is adorned at the front of the building with an impressive bronze statue of Joan of Arc - now bearing traces of shrapnel due to bombing of the cathedral across the road. 

Inside the building are more depictions of the Maid of Orléans with this painting, and ....

... a different depiction of Joan ...

... and this!

And, that's the end of Joan of Arc!

The tour of the L'Hôtel Groslot highlighted the wealth and opulence Orléans reached under the monarchy. 

 

The cathedral was right across the road, so we took a look but seeing a service was in progress we decided to cut short our visit. 

We were ready now to tackle the old town (most of which has been reconstructed) and this had been  done in an authentic fashion. 

After we arrived back at the van we thought that we had "done" the Loire - again! Now it was time to move on. It is a magnificent place to visit and would recommend it to be placed on any itinerary. 

We are in our fine tuning stage now with our nine-week visit to France coming to an end. We just want to "ease" our way to Calais over the next nine days and visit some interesting places we haven't visited before. 

So, with this in mind, we decided to head to Chateaudun for our overnight, parking up beside the River Loir (not Loire) and under the Cháteau de Cháteaudun towering above us!

Again, we are surprised as to the hidden delights of this village. A walk later in the day gave us a glimpse of the past history of the village. 

Standing high over the Loir River, the chateau of the "Bastard of Orléans, with its mixture of Medieval, Gothic and Renaissance architecture  

Another view of  the very imposing Château de Cháteaudun. 

Part of the medieval village surrounding the chateau. 

The old defensive fortification tower with the later addition of the Renaissance development. 

The Abbey at Châteaudun. 

The beautiful stone lacework on the stairwell at Cháteau de Châteaudun - nearly rivalling the staircase in Blois. 

Lovely floral arrangements make the village very attractive. 

The fountain and Hôtel de Ville in Châteaudun. 

Blois

Another Royal town today - Blois! The Loire was certainly the power centre of France during the 14th- 18th century. Each town has a story to relate it to the machinations of the power elite of France. Blois was no different, being the royal castle during the reigns of Louis XII and Francis I and Henry III. High drama in the royal bedroom saw the turning point in the wars of religion. Henry III had organised for the Duc of Guise, leader of the ultra catholic league,  to be murdered. The castle also saw the Estates General to meet here on a number of occasions. 

We arrived relatively early in Blois with a need to do some 

shopping for the van. We stopped in the suburbs of Blois

 to shop and were interested in the ethnic mix of Blois. The supermarket reflected this mix with the amount of space devoted to a variety of ethnic related products. 

We later were lucky to find parking along the banks of the Loire near the centre of Blois. From here we set out to explore the town, coming across the Saturday market that spread around the lower regions of the Chateau Royal.  

Why did these geezers build their chateaus on the top of the highest peaks!  We poor folk have to climb theses hills on a daily basis to get the great vistas from the heightened elevation. Our fitness levels have greatly increased over the last few weeks. 

The Royal Chateau is at the centre of Blois. Once you have climbed the stairs to the chateau, you get incredible views across the city and the Loire. 

We later walked to the other hill where the cathedral dominated the peak. Again, the views were worth the effort, as were the gardens surrounding the Bishops residence. 

We later wandered back through the town and back to the van on the banks of the Loire. 

A different view of the Royal Chateau. 

An interesting colour display in the middle of Blois. 

An even more unusual feature on the Royal Chateau hill -  the "Maison de la Maggie". 

Later we went to the Resistance Museum with a display showing the history of the Resistance in the area of the Loire. Nothing in English but it is France!  Some interesting displays but we have seen better in other areas. 

Pont Jacqueline Gabriel today and 1944. 

Many of the Allied bombshells hit the Blois whilst trying to hit the bridge. 


We think we have seen this name before - photo in the museum.