We checked out of the of our Amiens hotel and headed out towards our next destination. We tried to stay off the toll routes and much as possible and stay in the countryside. As usual, we saw lots of yellow rape fields…
and often the road took us through a long alley of trees. It will be even more beautiful when the leaves are out more fully.
We saw a couple of old mills along the way.
We stopped at midday in the town of Abbeville for lunch.
We wandered a bit and found a plaza with several restaurants. We randomly selected one and discovered that the owner was Sri Lankan and the menu included Sri Lankan/Indian food. Vegetarian and always nice.
We had hoped to
visit the Saint Vulfran Collegiate Church but it was closed. So, we had to settle for a photo of the
outside.
We had a lot of time to kill so Mary went online and found a château that was near our route. It turned out it was open. And what a find! The Château De Rambures. The original château dates to the 9th century. The current building dates to the 15th century and was built as a military fortress. It was one of the first châteaux built with bricks.
It has been in the same family for 900 years. There was a compound adjacent to the chateau, likely not the home of the owners since the old chateau didn’t seem to be outfitted for modern living (the only bathroom we saw was an old garderobe.
On the grounds they had a number of fun activities including a giant chess board (some folks had a game going)...
and a mini archery range to hit the apple off the head (like in William Tell).
You could also stick your head in a hole and get your photo in period dress.
We picked up a tour brochure and headed into the building. The tour took us through many levels and many grand and furnished rooms. There was a huge dining room,
a Grand Salon,
the library,
the guards room,
the Marquise's bedroom,
and the King’s bedroom (King Henry IV slept here...late 1500's).
There was a grand staircase…
and a few narrow winding ones.
There was a walkway around the towers with holes in the floor where they could drop rocks and hot water onto any enemy trying to take the castle.
The tour ended in the basement/cellars/dungeon where we saw the kitchen,
an eating area,
and what was
set up as a torture chamber.
More photos from the château tour.
The grounds were lovely, but we didn’t spend much time exploring them.
*************************************
More Château De Rambures
*************************************
From there we
drove to Le Tréport, our next stop.
Our boutique
hotel is in a historic building, and our room is quite small but adequate. We have views of the English Channel.
These villages were once simple fishing towns but with the advent of a train from Paris in the late 1800’s Mers-Les-Bains became a fashionable “bathing station” or seaside resort.
The architecture is full blown storybook/fairy tale with a huge mix of architectural styles. Art Nouveau, Art Deco and others. The area is protected as a historical area so not even the colors can be changed.
Its springtime and the tulips are blooming in various planters all along the esplanade.
The pebble beach is a mile long...
with massive cliffs at the far end. The white cliffs at the end really set off the vistas.
They put in some sandboxes for kids who want to play in the sand.
We walked down the esplanade and found a place for dinner, an Italian restaurant. We both had their eggplant lasagna. It was huge. We could have split one and still had plenty each.
Previous
Next
No comments:
Post a Comment