Sunday, January 12, 2014

A Day In Drôme Provençale

Wandering Around (Or Far From) The Cottage - January Edition


As most of you know, my cottage is in Brittany, which is France's Far West somehow... This is where I broke a rib last July and spent therefore most of the month reading... Please take the time to have a look at the book, it's important!

Comme vous le savez sûrement maintenant, mon cottage est en Bretagne, le Far West de la France. C'est là que je me suis cassé une côte cet été et que j'ai donc passé une grande partie du mois de juillet à lire. Si ce n'est pas trop vous demander de jeter un oeil au livre, c'est important!


For Christmas, after some adventures, I spent a few days at my grandmother's, in Ardèche. I know this sentence seems to have no relation at all with the previous ones, but it'll all make sense in a moment.

Pour Noël, après quelques mésaventures, j'ai passé quelques jours chez ma grand-mère en Ardèche. Je sais cela a l'air de n'avoir aucun rapport avec ce qui précède, mais cela va s'éclairer dans un moment.

It turns out Mme de Sévigné, whose letters I was reading last summer, spent some time in the town of Grignan, which is located about an hour away from my grandmother's. So I suggested to visit it... And my father drove me and my mom there. It's where the completely unreadable sign is!

Mme de Sévigné, dont je lisais les lettres cet été, a fait quelques séjours dans la ville de Grignan, qui se trouve à une heure de voiture de chez ma grand-mère et j'ai convaincu mon papa de nous y conduire! C'est là, sous le signe illisible.


Now, I'm sure it's even more beautiful in summer and I only spent a short afternoon there, so you won't be able to see the whole village, but I tried to capture for you as much as I could while I was there.


Je suis sûre que c'est plus joli au printemps ou en été, de plus je n'y ai passé qu'un court après-midi et vous ne verrez donc pas tout le village, mais j'ai fait ce que j'ai pu pour vous donner un aperçu.


As you can see above, the village is located on a hill and on top of it is a wonderful castle. Now if you look closely, you'll see that the terrace of the castle goes all the way on the roof of the adjacent church.

Comme vous le voyez, le village, construit sur une colline, est dominé par un magnifique château et vous pouvez remarquer que la terrasse du château s'étend sur le toit de l'église située en contre-bas. Etonnant, non?


Near the town hall is a statue of Mme de Sévigné who made the town famous, even if she only came there three times.


Sur la place de la mairie, une statue de Mme de Sévigné, qui a rendu le village célèbre, alors même qu'elle n'y est venue que trois fois.


Now, we're going up in the village to discover beautiful roof views and the church.


Montons un peu dans le village pour profiter de belles vues sur les toits et gagner l'église.


Just so you're not lost: Mme de Sévigné lived in the 17th century (when Louis XIV was king). She wasn't from Grignan at all. She was a Parisian and she married the marquis de Sévigné, who was from... Brittany (small world, isn't it?). But she lived mostly in Paris, coming only a few times to Brittany.


Juste quelques mots d'histoire. Mme de Sévigné a vécu au XVIIe siècle (le siècle de Louis XIV) et elle n'était pas originaire de Grignan du tout. Elle était parisienne et a épousé le marquis de Sévigné qui était, comme son nom l'indique, breton (le monde est petit, n'est-ce pas?).


Now why is she famous in Grignan then? Her daughter married a governor of Provence who owned the castle of Grignan. So Mme de Sévigné sent many letters to Grignan and came to visit her daughter. She died there during one of her visits, behind the walls you see below.



Pourquoi donc Mme de Sévigné est-elle célèbre à Grignan? Sa fille épousa un gouverneur de Provence qui possédait le château de Grignan. Mme de Sévigné y a donc envoyé de nombreuses lettres et elle y est morte lors d'une de ses visites.


From the castle entrance, you can see lavender fields below, except, of course, there was no flowers at this time of the year.


Now shall we step inside the castle and discover fun facts about Mme de Sévigné and her daughter?

Entrez-vous donc avec moi dans l'enceinte du château pour découvrir plein d'anecdotes sur Mme de Sévigné?

Why! It's so late already... That'll have to wait till next post, then...

Oh, mais il se fait bien tard... Ce sera pour le prochain article, alors!

See you soon,

A bientôt,


I'm playing tour guide for people coming from these wonderful parties:

Travel Photo Monday        Linky Party        Dwellings-The Heart of Your Home            
The Dedicated House          My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia               http://lechateaudesfleurs.blogspot.fr/2014/01/blue-jeans-journal-its-monday-party.html

http://www.adelightsomelife.com/2014/01/a-return-to-loveliness-55.html           Lavender Garden Cottage       Rooted In Thyme

Join me on Fridays and see where we've all been!                                            

43 comments:

  1. Bravo pour tes belles photos ! Mais quand je pense que le guide n'a même pas parlé du chocolat... alors que je n'attendais que ça ! Bises

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  2. Amazing, romantic, beautiful, you are very lucky to discover that book and that place

    Hugs

    Marina

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  3. Et encore une fois le bec dans l'eau..............je reviendrai donc au prochain billet, coquine, tu sais bien fidéliser ton auditoire.
    Mais j'adore ta façon de procéder.
    Bisous ma Belle. Babette

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  4. Fascinating! I'm pinning this onto my Brittany board.

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  5. Beautiful even in the winter. I bet it is stunning in the summer when the lavender is in bloom. Looking forward to the inside tour.

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  6. The white buildings against the blue sky are just lovely - perfect to look at on this Sunday morning :-)

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  7. What a beautiful place and love the cobblestone walkways! Have a nice weekend!

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  8. Magali, I LOVED this post! Not just because I am a travel addict; not just because the pictures were fabulous, but mostly because I like how you connected it to your personal story! I am looking forward to the interior!

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  9. Another wonderful virtual tour. Thanks - can we go back in summer to see the changes?

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  10. I so enjoyed this trip back in time!AriadnefromGreece!

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    1. I'm glad you enjoyed it! More historical fun facts in a future post.

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  11. Such beautiful scenery...your photos so nice!!!
    Blessings,
    Cindy

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  12. what a beautiful place thanks so much for sharing with us

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  13. It looks really beautiful!
    Liz @ Shortbread & Ginger

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  14. Love this - the narration, the photos. Looks beautiful as well. Helped me practice the little French I used to know hehe

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  15. Great tour and narration, loved all the history and details you added to the photos, thanks for sharing this and also joining for Travel Photo Mondays

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  16. Thank you for the wonderful tour. You can just feel the history in all those cobbled street, and the castle is so impressive, looking forward to seeing inside.

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  17. There you go again...stringing us along! What a beautiful place!!!

    -andi

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  18. Wow! Beautiful, and the history behind the village is so fascinating!

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  19. Gorgeous-I love the cobblestone paths and how you have captured the beauty of the castle against the glorious blue sky!
    Delightful story telling too:)
    xx-
    Jemma

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  20. I like the whitish color of all the stone! Very beautiful side trip!

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  21. What a wonderful tour - love the cobblestone streets and beautiful countryside!

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  22. I love all of your tours, it's like getting to be there and enjoy it all. Great pics. Hugs, marty

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  23. This place is idyllic Magali and I love reading about the stories behind small towns and castles! This must look spectacular when the Lavanders are in bloom, you should "take us back"!!! Can't wait for part 2!

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  24. I just love historic novels, I'm going to have to give this one a read.
    Thanks for sharing this beautiful setting and story. Can't wait for the next installation.
    Hugs,
    Patti

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  25. It is so nice to hear about Mme de Sevigne again – I have not heard about her for so long. When I was little I read so many of her books – la collection Rose I think it was. I still have some books here. I really enjoyed the promenade in Grignan

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  26. I had never heard of this lady, so I found it interesting to learn more about her. And I love the stonework in the pathway and walls--amazing patterns--so pretty!

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  27. I love the historic buildings of France. Soooo wonderful trip ! Made me feel like there's magic in the air. Looking forward to your next post, dear Magali.
    Love and hugs from Izabella.

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  28. ... I'm embarrassed to admit I have never heard of Mme de Sevigne. You just made me want to read her book.

    Iza.

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  29. A quaint village full of so much history. Can you imagine how gorgeous that view would be when the Lavender fields are in bloom? I really enjoyed the history and the photos! Thanks for taking us on this grand tour!
    hugs,
    Jann

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  30. It looks beautiful! And... you broke a rib??? WHAT? ~Angela~

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  31. Another beautiful (and famous!) village of France! My goodness, what intrigue you have sparked in me! I am waiting, as patiently as I can, for part 2 of this most fascinating story...and dramatically aesthetic setting!

    Poppy

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  32. What a beautiful tour- so fascinating to visit a place with such a personal story!

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  33. So beautiful! Thanks so much for linking! Isabelle

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  34. I loved the villages and castles of France when we visited way back in 2005. I long to go back one day, so thank you for this little tour. I hope your ribs are now healed. Happy travels and have a great weekend. I am linking up with you through "oh the places I've been"

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    1. You can now come back to see the castle on my newest post! Thanks for stopping by for that first part!

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  35. Oh, the textures and the pale whites and greys of these structures are quite beautiful. I will have to look up the book and find out more. Thank you for the tour.

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  36. Lovely tour! I want that cobblestone street for my driveway!!

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