Chateau de Cande (June 3)

Down the road from where I'm staying is the Chateau de Cande, where Wallis and Edward married in 1937.  I arrived before it was open so I went back to Monts for food, and stopped at this boulangerie.

Seeing a line outside a shop is good.  The baguette I bought was literally warm from the oven.  I also bought a polonaise pastry.  I love how they packed it for me.

So back to Cande, but oops, left my camera at home so had to go and get it.  Third time's the charm, I thought.  Not quite.  I arrived just as they were closing up for lunch.  But I had free access to the grounds, so that is what I explored.  There is a long drive in - it's basically a country estate - with a glimpse of the chateau as you make your way to the entry.

The view is spectacular.

The left side of the chateau dates from the 1500s, and the right wing was added in the mid 1800s.

The tympanum above the entry is lovely.  (Yes, I was standing at the door, pretending I had just arrived and was looking around while waiting to be let in.  A nice little fantasy.)

But if they don't like you, they can pour something nasty on you through this hole.

I peered in a few windows and took some photos of the lichen.

I was the only one around, and it was good walking weather.  I saw the little doggie graveyard, with Wallis' dog Slipper is buried, as well as one called Halfway.

The laundry.  Two dams meant the water was clear, and washing was done with soap and ash.

I saw a real live deer!  You'll have to believe me when I tell you the brown smudge is its head - it's sitting down in the grass.

There's an old golf course and a hunting lodge on the property, and a lawn tennis court too. 

 The stables.