Djurdjevic - Personal Photos

January 23, 2011

Personal photos, September 2005

France 2005

Countryside, Chateau de Creancey...

Creancey, France, Sep 20, 2005 - It took longer this morning to leave Paris than it did to travel over 300km (about 200 miles) southeast in the direction of Dijon to this charming French village. The reason for the gridlock in Paris was a mystery to me. And to my taxi driver, as it seemed, too. He tried to veer off into side streets, only to be blocked again and have to back up (in reverse!) to where we had come from. At one point he backed into a delivery van behind us, giving us quite a jolt. Neither driver seemed upset. They got out, waved to each other, and continued driving. Guess they are past road rage in Paris. You just suck it up and go on.

Once I was out of Paris, the drive was easy and enjoyable.. on an excellent freeway (A6) all the way. The Citroen rental car was very roomy and comfortable. It seemed to have every modern techno-gadget. So it took me a while to master it. After that, I felt as if I were in a cockpit traveling on auto-pilot. :-)

A day on the road would not be complete without a good "ruin." So here's a shot of one I took thinking of my darling Karen who loves "ruins." :-)

About two hours after I left Paris, I arrived at the charming little village of Creancey, tucked into the bottom of a pretty hill, the first town off the highway A38 that leads into Dijon from the A6.

I had originally picked this place when Karen was supposed to be with me on this trip, because the hotel was actually one of the romantic chateaus (visible above in the distance). Little did I know just how romantic and how charming...

Here's a view of Chateau de Creancey from its front gate. My room is the top left window on the second floor.

The chateau, built in 1650, even had a moat once which now adds more romantic charm to the place.

And this is what the moat and a little guard house (left) look like from the chateau's lawn.

The approach to the castle along a winding driving through a lovely little forest is from the hill above it. So this is the view of its backside, and the first glimpse of the chateau that I had when I arrived. My car is even visible in front of the entrance.

I was greeted at the door by Bob and Fiona. Bob is the furry fellow above. Very friendly. Fiona is a 40-something chateau matron who speaks English with a British accent. Also friendly.

"How does a lady with a British accent end up at a beautiful place like this in the French countryside?", I asked.

"My husband is French," she said. "We met in Paris 20 years ago. Eleven years ago we decided we wanted to live in the country and bought this place."

It took them seven years to renovate the chateau. Now she runs it for fun and for profit.

...up the wooden stairs and along this long hallway till we reached my room. The chateau only has five guest rooms, all named after the couple's children (my guess).

My room is called Pauline (above). I think Pauline is the one in the pictures all around me, including some from her wedding, with her Dad, whom I've also met by now, giving her away.

When I opened this wooden cupboard behind that little chair, I was surprised to see another single bed, big enough for a child, or even a young adult. I was even more amazed to find out that the chateau has an excellent wireless Internet connection - better than what I had experienced in Paris. It just goes to show us how the web is shrinking and leveling the world.

After I had checked in, I decided to explore the countryside around Creancey while it was still nice and sunny. These sheep and cows did not seem mind me taking pictures of them. They never even raised their heads. :-)

The nearest town is Pouilly-en-Auxois (try pronouncing that if you're not French! J ]. And this is its church...

Fiona had also recommended I visit Chateauneuf, a medieval French village (above) with the mandatory chateau, of course.

This is a view that the local residents could have enjoyed eight centuries ago. But I am afraid they did not build the castle and the village for that reason.

Believe it or not, this is actually an antique store. Its exterior seems older than anything they can sell inside. :-)

The area even has a lake (above left), though I did not detect any water activities around it (above right - close up). Just for show, I suppose?

And last but not least, here is a view from my room's back window (notice the church steeple peaking from behind the last tree?). The structure at the left bottom of the picture is a greenhouse. And that's all she wrote for this report from the French countryside...