With an address in the GPS we blindly rocked into the village of Pressagny l'Orgueilleux, admiring the scenery, including a little gypsy van set up as you drive in. The GPS drove us in and told us we were at our destination. Now we were looking for a bloody big castle - this was not it. We drove around the village confused while I tried to get an internet signal so I could link into the booking map. Finally, got the signal and returned from whence we came to where the gypsy van was set up. It was so interesting it distracted us from the bloody big castle.
We drove in through the gate in wonderment . This is quite a big building in large grounds. We parked and walked around trying to find a door to enter. The building is not a pristine, remodeled one and there is no fancy hotel entrance. While Jude, Ken and I were wandering around the perimeter our host sauntered out and met Mike. She is very casual, so casual she is in her slippers. A young lady in her late twenties, Marie is the Lady of the Chateau. She gave us a tour and the history of the place. It had been damaged in the 100 years war with Britain and then again in the 2nd World War when it was a German station and came under heavy fire. Marie's mother in law fell in love with the property, but died before it was ever worked on. Her husband bought it off his father and began restoration. At the time it had no upper floors, plumbing or electricity and the large columns were supported by timber.
Marie explained where we needed to go to get some picnic supplies. There is no restaurant at the Chateau and we didn't' want to waste our time there going somewhere else for dinner . With trepidation we got back in the car, wondering if we could follow the mud map. As it was a Sunday evening she had sent us to a dodgy epicerie near the train station in Vernon. This is not the prettiest town we have been to. As it is only an hours commute from Paris it is a mixture of nice houses along the river and dodgy areas along the train. Anyway, we bought some meager supplies, stopped at a boulangerie for baguettes and eclairs and made our way back - without getting lost.
Back at our chateau another group had arrived and were having a drink on the front terrace. Marie brought ours out to the garden, overlooking the Seine River. Life is pretty good!
Our rooms are massive. We have a mirror lined hallway before we get to our room. Then our bathroom is as large as any bedroom we have had on this trip, with a decked terrace to climb out onto, overlooking the gardens and a beautiful 200 year old sequoia tree. Mike and Jude have the room upstairs, also very large. They have a tin bathtub, and a separate shower . We have a large clawfoot bath with a shower handle but nowhere to put it. I had to get Ken to hold the shower for me. There are no locks on the doors, hopefully the other guests are as nice as us!
It does feel a little "Hotel Califonia", but I'm sure we will make it out alive.
After unpacking we scoped the locations and decided to have our picnic on our terrace. It is large area, sheltered from the wind and it was a beautiful night. It was so nice sitting back, sharing a meal and a champagne in this gorgeous place.
After a great night's sleep we went downstairs to the dining room, with its large windows and antique decorations. Marie's husband, Paul, served us beautiful fruit, bread, croissants, yoghurt, ham, cheese, freshly squeezed orange juice and tea and coffee. It was a delicious spread.
The renovations have been done in a manner that the chateau has heaps of character, It is rustic and charming. The very large marble staircase doesn't have a bannister yet, that is on the list of things to do, a very long and expensive list for this couple.
They have a toddler son, Ulysses, who Marie describes as a monster. He does make a lot of noise! There was screaming into the night, but he seemed much happier in the morning.
We went for a walk into the forest and along the Seine. It was really pretty and we saw a bit of animal life; a couple of squirrels, llamas, goats, fishermen, a frog and assorted insects, including massive mosquitoes. We walked back through the Pressagny village to the chateau where it was time to pack up and leave.