We began our cruise of the Seine by sailing overnight from
Paris to the lovely town of Les Andelys in the Normandy region. Our excursion
today was by bus to the village of Lyons la Foret and then on to the Chateau
Fleury.
Lyons la Foret is a village of only 700 people and is apparently
typical of villages in Normandy. The village dates from the 12th
century and is made up of very many old buildings from as far back as the 17th
century. A lot of the buildings are brick or stone for the first level then a
second floor made of timber – a big contrast to the housing in the south of
France. But that was not the only interesting thing about this place. One of the
local houses was the home of the composer Maurice Ravel who whose works
included Bolero. Far more surprising to Phil, the history buff, was that the
village is the site of the grave of King Harold of England who was defeated and
killed by William the Conqueror in the Norman invasion of 1066. Fancy an
English king being buried in a French village.
The Chateau Fleury was very impressive, as the photos show.
It was built in 1595 and is considered a great example of renaissance
architecture. Sadly it was stripped of its art, furniture, fine wood panelling
and other valuable contents by the Germans during the World War Two occupation.
However the restoration work undertaken since then has been remarkable. Of the
62 rooms 55 have been fully restored and much of the lost art and other items
has been replaced so that you would hardly know that the Chateau had been
vandalised. The area is famous for its cider, so of course tasting was
obligatory. It was certainly not our
drink of choice…quite rough around the edges, and with a huge percentage of
alcohol.
Photos 1-3: street scenes in the village.
Photo 4: Ravel's house.
Photo 5: the Chateau.
Photo 6: young child's carousel with dolls. The Chateau has an extensive doll collection.
Photo 7: Tea pots collection. The Chateau also has collections of items like antique watches and china.
Photo 8: Typical hanging flower baskets used to decorate the village square.
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