Sept 26: Norman Farm

On the way north we passed the silhouette of Le Mont Ste Michel. We wrote about it during our 2006 travels. The fact that we could see it from perhaps 15 miles is further testament to its impressive size, even 700 years after it was built! This marks the boundary between Bretagne and Normandy, both claiming the iconic site.

As evening closed in, our search for a room took a tinge of- not desperation, but shall we say, oh... "concern"? I of course have total confidence that not only will we sleep at some time in the night, but that we will do so in a room. I remember Maryvonne, late one evening years ago, finding a place for us with a couple we had stopped to ask directions of. But, not to worry, on only the third try we arrived at an old farm, where after a small wait the proprietress came to the door. Maryvonne flashed the "thumbs up" sign, and I shut off the engine. What a happy surprise we stumbled into!

The property was a typical fortified Norman farm, high stone walls joining together the long, big buildings arranged as a square. This configuration provided protection during the frequent raids conducted by Normans, Gaullic tribes and so on. This one was built in the 15th century. One of the photos is of Maryvonne in front of the spring hose, a natural cooler for dairy and meat products.

It had of course been occupied and maintained all that time, but not rebuilt like some Belgian or English landlords are now doing. The owner had lived there since 4 years after D-Day, so very recently as she said. She and her husband had farmed here with their family, until after his death it became too much for her and she sold part of it off.

The main house was simple, though very large. By pacing it, I estimate 15 X 60 yards! The bottom floor was composed of 5 rooms arranged in a row, with doors joining them. The remarkable thing we first noticed was the floor. It was stone, with deep furrows worn into it by foot traffic over the centuries.

We entered in the first room, the kitchen, where she was putting up jam. It had been adapted with appliances of various ages, none newer than 20 years old. The main feature that drew my eye was the table, about 12 feet long and a full 4 or 5 inches thick, showing its long history as the center of the kitchen. Attached is a photo.

The next room served as a dining room, and had been since the current occupants had been there, though its original use may have been as the kitchen. Its central feature was a big fireplace, with the irons for hanging pots and the mechanism for turning a spit. Also here was a hot table you can see in my photo, a place where coals from the fire were put under a thick tile top with places for pans to sit into it for keeping food warm.

The next rooms were general purpose rooms- salons or parlors. Today one of these serve as the woman's office, complete with computer. She is 83.

The sleeping quarters are up a spiral stone staircase, not at all grand, but functional. Our room was very large. One can only wonder what its original use was. It had wiring and plumbing running along the ceiling and baseboard.

As you can tell, we were quite taken with the place,but the real joy was the conversation we had with our hostess. We talked for hours about her life there, and livestock. Chickens. Rabbits. Chickens. It was a complete course in chickens. Maryvonne was enthralled. For breakfast we had eggs.