Day 6, Bourges-St. Benoit-Chambord

Breakfast in our B&B is delicious and also very pleasant! The breakfast room is in the main building and is served by our elegant hostess. We take our time, then take some pictures and go on our way. An elderly French couple gives us information about B&B's in the Loire valley. They have travelled a lot and the woman comes from Bourges. Talking to her we realise we only got a glimpse of Bourges and have to come back one day. From now on we are mixing abbeys and churches with castles. 

Souvigny-en-Solonge, the church

murals in the church

 The church and the wooden construction of the tower

below, a restaurant opposite the church

First we head for Sully, via Vierzon and the route national to Orleans. We turn off and the minor roads lead us to some interesting towns and churches. The first one is in Souvigny-en-Solonge. Here we find a historic church, characteristic of the area. It has a porch with a tiled roof and the church has been added to throughout the centuries. Fortunately the church is open so we can see the interesting interior, with the spire built in the middle of the nave, an unusual wooden construction. It also has wall paintings. The church stands on a green in the middle of the village and so forms a focal point. The houses around it are also old, with beams and plaster. There are lots of flowers. We buy a crusty loaf and some cheese in a shop opposite the church.

Isdes

Isdes, the next town, is also interesting, but here the church is closed.  It too has a wooden porch with a tiled roof, but smaller than the one in Solonge.

 Sully

 Sully

We drive on to Sully, the first castle for us on the river Loire, a fortified castle built for defence purposes. We have no time to go in, but walk around it. I am very impressed by its architecture.

The porch/tower of Fleury Abbey

Above: the nave and the choir with the double row of pillars

Above left: The organ over the entrance doors. right: St, Caecilia at the right side under the organ

Then it is on to a place my friend is eager to see again, the abbey at St. Benoit, Fleury Abbey, also on the river Loire. Our maps are not very detailed, so we end up on the wrong side of the river opposite the abbey and have to go back to Sully to cross the bridge.  A woman walking her dog told us that was the only way to get there, unless we wanted to swim! I didn't know the French had a sense of humour.

Choir stalls

 

Although it isn't easy to find a cafe where we can have coffee, the detour is worth it. Fleury Abbey at St. Benoit is beautiful and unusual, approached by a wide tree lined avenue which looks very peaceful. The occasional young monk in long black robes crosses quickly on his way towards or from the church. I am surprised to see so many young and attractive men wearing the cloth.

 The marble mosaic floor

  The capitals in the porch

A quote from a guidebook:

"St. Benoit boasts one of the finest Romanesque abbey churches in France, constructed between 1067 and 1108." It was founded by St. Benedict and his relics are in the crypt. "The church belfry porch is graced with carved capitals depicting biblical scenes. The nave is tall and light, and the choir floor is an amazing patchwork of Italian marble. Daily service with Gregorian chant are open to the public."

It is all true. The capitals in the porch which consists of nine arches, are wonderfully detailed. As for the Gregorian chant, I miss the short service while I move the car from the village square to the church to have a picnic on one of the benches under a tree along the avenue. It made me think of Maria and Martha, and I regret having missed it. Even without a service, the church makes one whisper. I feel this is truly a holy place, the house of God.

But it is time to leave for more worldly places, the Chateau de Chambord. The drive isn't very inspiring. Somewhere en route we have a coffee in a cafe next to a church at a crossroads in a small village.  Finally we enter the extensive woods of Chambord. Then, unexpectedly, the castle is revealed to us in all its glory. It is a stunning piece of architecture but reminds me of Disneyland. With its many irregular turrets, chimneys and staircases it looks like a huge ornately decorated cream cake. This obviously is no fortification but a place of pleasure. It also reminds me of a garden in Thunder Bay, Canada, where somebody had built the most imaginative and unlikely bird houses from unusual materials, like a string of fantasy palaces. The castle seems symmetrical, but isn't. Swallows and martins now nestle where the rich once held their sumptuous parties and enjoyed a very luxurious lifestyle. We have drinks on the terrace with a splendid view of the castle. We haven't found a B&B yet, but after making inquiries it turns out that the hotel isn't more expensive than any regular B&B, so we decide to spend the night there. We are lucky as the setting sun illuminates the castle, which we have a view of while enjoying an excellent meal on one of the terraces. 

 All the more striking against the black and threatening sky. Later, when the sun is setting, we walk through the meadows surrounding the castle which is now illuminated from inside as a party is going on there. It is truly magical, Disney world perhaps, but very nice for once. And the place is so peaceful. No roads, no noise, except the high pitched twittering of the martins flying low over the stream.

Photo site of Chambord