Thursday, May 02, 2013

Château de Pontivy

Are you ready for an other little trip around my cottage? Please if you have a fan and a sun hat, grap them before we go.


Etes-vous prêt pour une nouvelle petite virée bretonne dans les alentours de mon cottage? Prenez votre éventail et votre chapeau de soleil avant que l'on parte, s'il vous plaît.


Right in the middle of today's Brittany is the valley of the Blavet, a nice river, that sometimes still looks very much just like it must have looked like when God created it.

En plein milieu du territoire actuel de la Bretagne se situe la vallée du Blavet, charmante petite rivière bucolique, qui en certains endroits semble ne pas avoir changée depuis la nuit des temps.


There you can meet the cutest families napping in the afternoon sun.

On y fait de charmantes rencontres...


Around 686, Ivy, a monk, came all the way from England and decided to build a monastery on the Blavet banks. He also threw a bridge on the river; that's why the town is called "Pontivy" ("pont" means "bridge" in French).

Toutes les familles canards vivaient bien tranquillement jusqu'à ce qu'Ivy quitte son Angleterre pour installer un monastère sur les rives du Blavet, ce qui nécessita notamment la création d'un pont, d'où le nom de la ville.


The first castle that was built in Pontivy has been destroyed. But the one that was built in the 15th century is still there.


Le premier château construit à Pontivy a aujourd'hui disparu, mais celui construit au XVème siècle est toujours là.


At that time, castles were built to protect the lord's family and therefore there weren't too many windows looking outside and the tower walls are moe than 3 yard thick (and yes, I did the conversion right).


A l'époque, on construit pour se protéger. Il y a donc peu de grandes fenêtres sur l'extérieur et les murs des tours font plus de 3 mètres de larges. Les douves n'ont par contre jamais été mises en eau.

The castle was the reason I went to Pontivy in the first place. I arrived to late in the morning for the visits, so I chose to hike around the town and it was sunny and hot. In fact I didn't know it before going but the Blavet Valley is famous for being the hottest place in Brittany... If you're from New Mexico, don't laugh, but hot for us is anything above 75°F.


Le château, c'est la raison pour laquelle j'étais allée à Pontivy. J'étais arrivée trop tard le matin pour les visites et j'avais donc commencé par une immense ballade autour de la ville, sous le soleil, puisque la vallée du Blavet est connue pour son micro-climat (si vous êtes du sud de la France, ne rigolez pas, ça veut dire qu'il y fait un peu plus de 25°C l'été).

I came back in the afternoon and our sweet tour guide said it would be so much nicer, given the weather, to explain us the history of the castle outside rather than inside. So here we were basking in the sun, listening to the Rohan family history when I collapsed... Too much sun for me, I just fainted there. 


J'ai donc fait la visite du début d'après-midi et la guide a décidé de nous faire l'historique des lieux dans la cour intérieure pour profiter du soleil. Et là, en plein milieu de l'histoire des Rohan, je me suis écroulée... Trop de soleil pour moi! La guide n'a pas eu l'air rassurée quand je lui ai dit en revenant à moi que je continuais la visite! Du coup, elle m'a fait asseoir dans chacune des salles!!!
The guide was besides herself, especially when I said, after coming back to my senses (I feel like a Jane Austen character writing this sentence), that I wanted to do the tour. I was allowed to sit in each and every room of the castle, sometimes on the floor as there's nearly no furniture left in such an old castle.


Enfin, cette petite anecdote est juste là pour justifier que les photos non marquées ne sont pas de moi, je n'avais plus la tête à prendre des photos. Mais vous pouvez toutes les retrouver sur ce blog: Breizh Blog.

So, anyway, this little story was just to explain why the inside pictures are not mine, but from a great blog about Brittany : Breizh Blog.

Si vous voulez découvrir d'autres lieux médiévaux, allez à Fort-La-Latte ou au Mont-Saint-Michel.

Feel free to stay in the Middle Age by visiting Fort-La-Latte or Mont-Saint-Michel.

Given the recent events at the cottage, the posting schedule might be a little unpredictable in May. I hope you won't be mad at me. I will keep visiting everybody's blogs when exhaustion allows me to!!!

See you soon,

A bientôt,

I'm sharing this day with:

       Dwellings-The Heart of Your Home         My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
       
CLICK TO JOIN LINKY PARTY          Copy of Oh, the places WEB SIZED                            

24 comments:

  1. Wow, did that bring back some memories! Pontivy was the town where we did much of our shopping, hospital visits, opticians etc etc. It's a lovely place only 10 minutes from our old home.
    So sorry you have what the Victorians would call 'a turn', and hope you are better now.

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  2. C'est une très belle ballade... et au moins pendant quelques instants tu as eu l'impression de sortir de tes plâtres, fils et tuyaux divers et variés !

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  3. C'est la chaleur qui t'a fait tourner de l'oeil ??? C
    C'est dingue , enfin non , parce que moi dans le sud & d'ici trois semaines à un mois , je ne sortirai plus après 10h le matin & pas avant 18h l'après-midi , je crains la chaleur .
    En tout cas la double volée d'escalier de ce chateau est somptueuse . C'est splendide .
    Bises . Babette

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    1. Oui, la chaleur et moi, on ne s'entend guère! Je me souviens effectivement que dans le sud, je restée aussi enfermée, persiennes closes dans la journée, mais en Bretagne, on n'a pas cette habitude!
      Merci de ta visite,
      Magali

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  4. What an interesting post and loved the tour! Wishing you great success in your project.

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  5. Oh, Magali! I hope you are feeling better now. I have lived in Georgia in the southern United States all of my life and the heat affects me the same way! I tend to stay inside most of the summer. I am glad that you were able to finish your tour and shared it with us. The castle looks magnificent - you are making me want to visit Brittany more and more! Thank you!!

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  6. I am sorry to hear you fainted, but you certainly picked a beautiful place to recover! They didn't mess around back then when it came to wall thickness, did they? And I love the picture of the duck family :) Thank you for sharing the pictures--it looks to be a beautiful place, and one I'd love to visit someday.

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  7. LOL - Jane Austen...............did you fall into Mr. D'Arcy's arms by any chance?
    Gorgeous photos - gorgeous place - the most perfect place to faint on the planet I would imagine!
    XOX

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  8. My goodness, Magali, I hope you had something to eat and drink before the drive back home, or even stayed overnight in the lovely village. I will just have to go to Normandy to be your travel companion and keep an eye on you! : ) Beautiful photos of an enchanting place. Best wishes, take care of yourself. Patty/BC

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    1. I must say I was very worried about driving back home. But I made it safe and sound!

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  9. I am giving you this link http://wwwcastlescrownscottages.blogspot.com/

    She is having a blog party - a trip through France - I don't give the description justice.

    I don't think the party would be the same without you.

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  10. Sorry to hear you had a fainting spell....hope you are recovered from it! What a lovely place you took us to! the water and ducks are so peaceful. What a sweet spot for a picnic or just to sit and read a good book...:) Thanks for taking us along!

    Blessings, Vicky
    Life On Willie Mae Lane

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  11. What a grand tour! The castle is amazing and I loved the napping ducks.
    hugs,
    Jann

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  12. Oh dear! Hope it didn't take you too long to recover! What a beautiful place, thank you for the tour. :)

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  13. Oh là là! Magali, c'est parfait votre domicile ici! La région est super et je voudrais savoir si vous voudriez participer dans le France Link Party? Je vois que vous avez laissé un joli commentaire. Dites-moi si vous voulez que j'ajoute votre nom sur la liste de blogueuses!

    Merci et bonne journée! Anita

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    1. Oh, oui, merci de me rajouter sur la liste. Je serai ravie de faire partie du France Link Party!
      Magali

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  14. This is what renovation does for one; strengthens you into someone who will get up from a dead faint and go tour a castle. The heroines of a million novels applaud you, and so do I. Be well my blog friend on the other side of the sea.

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  15. Well, bless your heart...what a day for you! Castles and their history are absolutely fascinating. Hope all is well now. Thank you kindly for boot scootin’ on over to the Old Time Party!
    Farmhouse hugs,
    Cindy

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  16. So enjoyed this, thanks for the tour. Fainted...my goodness...it must have been hot! So glad they let you sit a bit for the rest of the tour! Thanks sooo much for being a regular at AMAZE ME MONDAY!!!
    Blessings,
    Cindy

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  17. I'm sorry you fainted but I am glad you shared your trip. Oh how I wish that 75 was what we thought was a hot day. Summer is looming ahead and I just dread that heat.

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  18. Magali, oh, my I'm sorry you had such an experience, but am happy you could carry on with the visit. Thanks for sharing Pontivy with us. Yes, I did smile at the thought of 75 being hot. Yesterday and today our hight was 96. I think we skipped over the rest of May and went straight to July. '-)

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  19. Hi Magali!!!!!

    I'm so sorry to hear of your fainting spell!!! I hope this was the one and only time this has happened........

    The castle is impressive, but, I'm more worried about you!!! Please rest and take it easy!!!!

    Much love and concern

    Pam
    xox

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  20. im swooning now that place is stunning thanks so much for sharing

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