Saturday, September 30, 2017

30/09/2017 It started raining as forecast early this morning, so here is the rest of Thursday's outing.

Maximum temperature 20C,  minimum 12C.  7 km/h NW wind with 21 km/h gusts. Rain not measured as yet.
Cavernous barn style restaurant with a lovely view of the Limousin countryside.

Cattle themed seating area. The Limousin is an area around Limoges reputed for its top quality beef cattle.

Waiting for lunch to get going!

A 1960's record player which was actually in use, but the sound was drowned by the noise of the many patrons in the hangar-like space.

There's that lovely view from the restaurant!

A contour map of the fortress of Chalucet, built and occupied in the 12th and 13th centuries by local titled families in the times of Richard the Lionheart
 ,
An immense operation in the days before mechanical assistance, to drag and lay so many stones on a hilltop!

Two hundred years after the fortress was founded, a troop of bandits took advantage of the fact that the building's owners had moved away and occupied the fortress as a base for their highwaymen's activities.

They were only evicted by the French king's forces after 13 year long battles and payment of an enormous ransom.

Towards the end of the Wars of Religion, in 1594, the Limoges council demolished the fortress to prevent Catholic extremists taking possession, It only took 4 days to achieve this ruinous state...

 The vegetation takes over.

 Entrance to the cellars, too dangerous these days for public access.

And back at home, a grasshopper on the wall!

20 comments:

  1. This looked like a fabulous day out Diane. The cow seats would be fun to sit down in, I enjoyed your reflection in that first shot and the last with the grasshopper on your wall. All lovely photos, thank you :)

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    1. We really enjoyed the day and it was again so interesting to catch up with historic France. Hope you have a good Sunday Diane

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  2. Beautiful photos, Diane, and the restaurant looks like my kind of place! Lovely atmosphere, vintage record player and I bet the food was very good!

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    1. The food Linda was more like home cooking and not all fancy like so many places, and yes it was delicious. It was sad that we could barely hear the music, the place was packed and everyone talking at once! Take care Diane

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  3. I love the decor and well, that view from the restaurant is just fantastic! There's something about open green spaces that give me such a sense of peace and freedom.

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    1. I have to agree wide open spaces are so relaxing and definitely give a sense of freedom. A perfect spot to stop and enjoy a meal.
      Take care Diane

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  4. I still like contour maps, but I guess that with Google Earth they are pretty much redundant these days.

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    1. I struggled to find a map of the chateau at all of both upper level (on the right) and lower level (on the left). Have a good day Diane

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  5. My happiest teen years were spent listening to albums and records on my recorder player! HAHA...I still have my albums and my records (45's). They have recorder players you can hook to your computer, would love to get one of those, to me a record has such better sound than a CD does. Oh the memories. Loving your rock building and structures.

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    1. Wish I still had my records I gave them away when we left South Africa :-(( I had a wind the handle record player with good old 78's. Take care Diane

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  6. The barn style restaurant isn't what I think of when I think of France, more US style.. on the other hand the long table with much discussion is exactly how I imagine a French lunch 😀 Lovely exploration here Diane ✨

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    1. The long table was because we were in a party of 22 but yes that is often how the French do eat anyway. Have a good day Diane

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  7. That restaurant is an interesting-looking place, Diane. It also looks as if everyone sits at an extremely long communal table?

    The fortress is fascinating and I suspect is well-used by wildlife during the hours of darkness.

    I'm extremely impressed by your macro of the grasshopper. A delightful creature.

    Have a great week. With my very best wishes - - Richard

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    1. The long table was because there were 22 of us there. There was another even bigger party at the back of the restaurant, everyone else had smaller tables.

      I would love to be there at night with a night light and a camera, can you imagine :-)

      A very patient grasshopper who waited for me to take as many photos as I wanted.

      Take care and enjoy the week Diane

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  8. I like the cow seat. The crowd shows that the food there must be good! I have not seen anything like that antique record player. The view from the restaurant is very nice, so pleasing for the eyes.

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    1. The cow seat is unusual and I also liked it. Wish I still had my old record player ! Yes a stunning view. Have a good one Diane

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  9. That was a lovely group of you, meeting up for the day!

    Wow, that "Cattle Ambiance" would rival a place in Texas! -grin-

    More amazing History!

    Glad you had this day, before the rains came....

    "Hark, the wind is rising...!"
    Luna Crone

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    1. The restaurant was very Limousin cattle orientated :-)

      So much history around us it goes on and on......

      Think the wind has risen :-)))))
      Take care and enjoy your week Diane

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  10. Old castles are interesting to me. To see the pictures you posted was a great experience.

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    1. France is just so full of these sort of places and I wish I had taken a lot more notice of history when I was a school!!!! Glad you enjoyed. Have a good week Diane

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