Ma Campagne - Le Périgord in October

A stroll over the country side last Saturday

and a visit to the Chateau de Bourdeilles

Bourdeilles, one of the four Baronies of the old province Périgord,

(see also post about the Périgord  "Périgord Mon Amour")   here

and its Chateau, dating back to the 13th Century

the old bridge over the river Dronne

October's bright blue weather

"O suns and skies and clouds of June,

And flowers of June together,

Ye cannot rival for one hour

October's bright blue weather...."

Helen Hunt Jackson (1830-1885)

This huge tree...

seems to reach the blue sky

...and

...here it looks it likes to decorate...

...the top of this 16th Century Renaissance house, 

one of many in Bourdeilles

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Wisteria embraces the entrance...

of an 18th Century house...

a little peek into the well-kept courtyard...

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Another Renaissance house on the way out of Bourdeilles....

"October - a symphony of permanence and change"

Bonaro W. Overstreet

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Through the woods...
where the little roads are bordered with autumnal ferns...

"Come said the wind to the leaves, one day,

come o're the meadows

and we will play....

...put on your dresses

scarlet and gold,

...for summer is gone...

...and the days grow cold"

(A Children's Song of the 1880's)

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What looks like a somewhat abandoned property hides...

a small Chateau or manor house, not visible from the road.

Ah!  It is not abandoned - its for sale and has been, 

as one can see on the weathered sign, for quite a wile.

 And yes,  another one!

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We don't have all that many autumn-colored trees in our region,

 ...but here and there -  like painted-in  - just one amongst the green...

...which makes it very special for me!

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Every village around here has his own Chateau...

....and interesting country architecture...

...like this late 18th to early 19th Century house 

When nature creates  ART.....

I must say....never before seen something like it....

....so amazingly designed....

  ...like drawings!

and I remembered Albert Camus who said:

"Autumn is a second spring where every leaf is a flower"

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"On such a day each road is planned

To lead to some enchanted land;

Each turning meets expectancy,

The signs I read on every hand.

I know by autumns wizardy

On such a day the world can be

Only a great glad dream for me..."

Eleanor Myers Jewett

Les vaches - Oh, les vaches....

...right next to the farm, their home...

 young Limousin cattle...

...stearing at me..

"what is this two-legged-creature doing with that funny thing in her hand...."

 "Mademoiselle No 2477"

and...

 

"Mademoiselle No 9945"

love her haircut, very neat and tidy !

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A rural country side.....

...with Chateaux, dotted around.....

... on nearly every second corner...

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"Every leaf speaks bliss to me...

...fluttering from autumn tree"

Emily Bronte

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And the Saturday was colorfully rounded off...

...by a lovely sunset...

...at L Pouyette

*****

A visit to the Chateau de Bourdeilles, near Brantome,  (more about Brantome)   here

          one of the former four baronies of the Périgord,  

more about the history of the Périgord   here  

classified as a Historical Monument

The village of Bourdeilles, an attractive village next to the river Dronne

to the south-east of Brantome,

which is dominated by its Chateau - or rather its two Chateaux.

Two Chateaux of different periods built on a fortified bank:

A medieval  Fortresse féodale, dating back to the 12th - 13th Century,

constructed on a rocky spur,

 a machicolated enclosure with gemeled windows,

dominated by an unique 35 meters high octagonal donjon

composed of 4 vaulted storeys with 2,4 meters thick walls,

...and a Renaissance palace, built in the 16th Century,

....with ceremonial rooms sumptuously decorated,

...like the "Salon Doré" ...

...with a beautiful painted ceiling.

There is also a prestigious collection of furniture,

 from the 15th to the 19th Century.

 including the gilt Spanish bed of Charles V.

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Just a bit of History:

The  s  in Bourdeilles was an administrative error until 1974,

the original name of the village and Chateau was known as Bourdeille.

Today, the name Bourdeilles designates the Bourdeille family.

The first source (non-historic) was a legend in the 9th Century

that time Athilda of Bourdeille, wife of the French king Marcomer.

The first written document dates back to 1183 at the site at Bourdeilles.

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Best wishes for a final and colorful week of this October with bright blue weather!

Une tres bonne Semaine a tous!