Journees du Patrimoine 2016 in the Perche

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The heritage weekend is one of our favorite parts of a visit to France in September. What makes it special to us is the warm welcome and enthusiasm of the owners who open their properties to the public and the general conviviality of the visitors. We still haven’t run out of new things to see in the Perche and we’re happy to repeat some of our favorite places as well.

Saturday morning we were in Belleme at 9:45, practically before the town woke up. Since we arrived early we had no trouble parking near the miniature golf course. The Percheron horse, the manoir house, mushrooms, and apples are all emblems of the area.







This beautiful small town is full of shops to tempt all those Parisians who have weekend homes in the Perche. Passing the atelier of Charles Bataille, chocolatier, we paused for a minute in front of the window to watch the experts at work.



Passed the wine shop, passed a clothing shop, passed the pharmacy,



but we cannot just pass the boulangerie! The town has three boulangeries. This one makes award-winning croissants.

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“Metiers d’art” was the theme in Belleme, which in practice means that local artisans set up displays of their services or goods. Each artisan is assigned a passageway to a courtyard, some of which lead to one of the town’s fine old homes. I always tried to peek behind the vendors to see the courtyard or garden, but unfortunately you couldn’t always see anything past the vendor’s display. There were stone workers, leather workers, woodworkers, ecological insulation installers, home renovation specialists, metal workers, and people selling antiques or their own art works.







We walked through the yard of the Presbytere and the elegant garden behind the Hotel de Suhard. The stone urns are in the hotel's garden.

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We talked to some of the crafts people, especially the chanvre insulation guy and a fine woodworker from St Hilaire le Chatel. When our ship comes in, we’ll be calling them. One woman made brightly painted and nicely decorative furniture that you would never guess was made of corrugated paper.

We visited a studio in the Porche where an Australian woman gives painting classes. We could hear music students at their lessons in the music school on the other side of the staircase. We tried to climb the tower of the Porche with its panoramic view, but that turned out to be open Sunday afternoon only and by that time we were patrimoined out.





Visited the chapel of the hospital (it's just the part under the cross).



Climbed the curving exterior steps of the mairie to see the mayor’s office and meeting room.



View from the steps of the mairie.

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Where did I go wrong? I'll try again to show the view from the steps.

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After lunch we made our way to the Moulin de la Pleugere way out in the country, Sorry, no photos because I was too absorbed in the tour, but here is their B&B website.

moulinpleugere.free.fr/spip.php?rubrique2

This energetic couple had restored a house, filled in a bomb crater from World War II, dug out a bief and the mill race, had a new axle and wheel put in, dug out the blocked drain of the mill, and now they are making a gite. The owners showed us their 1926 Model T Ford with little American flags on the front, a Citroen Deesse, a convertible, and a doctor’s horse-drawn carriage with headlights and enough room on the back to carry a patient.

A week or two later we ran into them at Mortagne’s antique car show, he beside the old Ford looking dapper with a bowler hat and cane (“Sharlie Shaplain, Laurel et Hardee,” he said) and she in what I’d call a Carnaby Street cap and appropriate dress and fancy stockings, standing next to the Citroen.

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On to Mortagne, to visit the garden of a house on the old ramparts. The neighbor’s house caught my eye.



Went to the Tribunal where the town council now meets. This building is all that’s left of a long church, and the allee of trees in front of it can be thought to stand in for the columns in the former church.

The next stop was a private home. Another energetic couple had done an ecological renovation of a former factory. The home was spacious, very light, and quiet because of the thick walls. The rooms were nicely proportioned. Warm colors on the walls. The kitchen looked like a good cook enjoys working there. We had a nice talk with the owner.



The couple showed a group of us through every room in the house and workshop. When we got to the last room on the second floor, it was almost completely filled by a yurt.

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On Sunday we started out at the fromagerie in Remalard because the owner was going on vacation that afternoon so we had to stock up. Then we went to our new favorite boulangerie, La Flaveur du Perche in Bretoncelles. Off to the left of my photo there’s a small window that opens right onto the baking area, and before the boulangerie opens you can order and pay for your bread right here. Or you can stand and watch the baker feeding the oven and removing the freshly baked bread that smells fantastic. His pain au levain is the best bread we’ve eaten in France.



The baker was an entrant in the Meilleure Boulangerie TV series this year. Last week we watched the two shows he was in and were glad to see that he won the first round but disappointed that he lost out in the next. He didn’t lose because of his bread, but because the test kitchen oven wouldn't get as hot as he’s used to with his own very hot woodburning oven.

The bakery was very busy that Sunday. Some people carried large cloth bags and bought 6 or 8 loaves, I guess to get them through Monday when the bakery is closed, or maybe those weekenders from Paris have lots of house guests. In spite of the crowd, Madame took time to make us sandwiches to go. Then we were ready for the day. Napoleon’s army is not the only group that travels on its stomach.

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We were the first people to arrive at the Manoir de Bois Joly but soon there was a small crowd.



The son of the household told the history of the property in clear, well-paced French that we could understand. The father explained the renovations but we weren’t quick enough to catch it all. There was a display of photos of the renovations and also older photos of the place from the days when it bred Percheron horses for export to the American market as well as cut wood on a large scale. Everyone enjoyed the ingenious wheeled cart that could sleep one shepherd and three dogs.



Next stop, the mill near Dorceau for lunch and scenery. There’s a picnic area there we occasionally stop at. We ate the good sandwiches and split a pain chocolat and read. We appreciated our books as much as our surroundings.

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A bio garden was next on the list, Moulin de Vaujours north of Remalard. We drove down a long narrow dirt road and hoped we wouldn’t meet another vehicle. There is no longer a mill here but the name remains. The owner gave a tour to four of us and then sold us all honey from their hives. He called this a permaculture garden but that’s not quite how I understand the term. He grows some vegetables in raised beds, uses companion planting, and never leaves the soil without a crop. They have to grow peppers, tomatoes, and eggplants in a plastic greenhouse or they won’t ripen. It always surprises me that France’s climate is much milder than ours in both winter and summer.





Driving through Bizou we were thrilled with a VW sighting, the same color and almost the same vintage as our car that took us from the Sahara to the Arctic Circle!



We’ve visited the gardens at the Manoir de Pontgirard often enough that E felt he could nap while I walked around. He missed the exhibit of clay busts of Normandy notables placed around the garden.

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Our next stop was La Tonneliere, three rooms full of old tools in a barn. Here’s another place where I didn’t take enough photos. The owner took us around and explained some of the tools and the complicated equipment. Some items were labeled, but there were a few things the owner (and her father who collected all this) couldn’t identify. I'd really like to go back here and look at things more closely.

Many of the tools had been invented and made by one handy person in the surrounding countryside. Farmers were pretty self-reliant and they had to be ingenious.

She showed us one scary-looking setup with a clamp that a brave farmer would put over the electric line that ran along the road, which brought power to this transformer, which had a long cable that could be rolled out to plug into a harvesting machine working some distance from the power line. It looked very risky to me, but my dad was an electrician so I am much more cautious with electricity than most people. As children we weren’t allowed to change a lightbulb.



We stopped by the Manoir de la Vove even though we’ve visited it before and had seen the escalier and the chapel, so we just gave them the once over lightly.







We went to Mortagne and saw the garden of the Maison Henri IV. It has nice views.





This household has a well-trained cat.



One last bakery stop for a tartelette cerises and we were ready to go back to the B&B for dinner. Thus endeth the 2016 JduP weekend.

[bixaorellana]

Absolutely fascinating -- you all saw and did so much! It doesn't sound like a rushed tour, either, as your carefully considered and well-provisioned breaks prove. I think anyone reading this report just threw any number of fantasy trips out the window and replaced them with yours.

Out of all the beautiful and informative pictures, the one I keep returning to is the second one in #8, which has some serene and illusive magic to it. The millhouse one is on its heels in that category, though. Anyway, on my next pass through this thread, I'll probably have new favorites.

... our car that took us from the Sahara to the Arctic Circle I love the way you just casually tossed that out! Anytime you want to expound on that, I'm sure I'm not the only one eager to hear about it.

[mossie]

I am very jealous, this is a lovely thread about a very rural, bucolic, corner of France. A great contrast to England, thanks very much for showing us round.