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In this issue - Two Exceptional New Members! Make your reservation at this Featured B&B Our featured Château Rental Coming soon: vacation apartments in a Breton château News from our Members and more! |
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[PLEASE REMEMBER THAT ALL UNDERLINED ITEMS THROUGHOUT THIS TEXT ARE ACTIVE LINKS TO APPROPRIATE WEB SITES. JUST CLICK ON ANY ONE OF THEM!] Please
Welcome
It is a pleasure to welcome Château de Saint-Maclou to our web site. This beautiful château, only fifteen minutes from the seaside village of Honfleur, is in 17th-century French Baroque style ~ constructed in 1606 ~ and offers travelers both bed and breakfast accommodations and the opportunity to rent the entire château on a weekly basis. In addition, it is the perfect venue for a memorable French château wedding and especially convenient from Great Britain and Ireland. The château sits on six hectares of wood and lawns in a peaceful part of Normandy. It offers four elegant en suite bedrooms for bed and breakfast guests, or it can be rented by the week in the summer months with a capacity for ten people in five bedrooms. There are several wood-burning fireplaces in the château, and it also has geothermal central heating.
Common rooms include lovely salons, a formal dining room, the Old Kitchen and, for those who rent the château, a modern fully-equipped kitchen for preparing meals. There are lovely gardens, boules, teak garden furniture and a barbecue for outside dining.
The grounds are superb with a small bridge crossing the grassy 'moat', an ancient dovecote that once housed 5,000 pigeons, and a large expanse of lawns where weddings are frequently held. Ensure happy memories of your time in Normandy with a few nights or more at this exquisite château. Please visit their pages on our web site to learn more about the elegant Château de Saint-Maclou. French Quiz 110 Where are we? This
Breton town becomes everyone's
favorite once they've visited.
The
first person who sends us the correct answer will receive
Send your answer by email to newsletter@au-chateau.com
See the answer to the last issue's Quiz at the end of this newsletter. The answer to this quiz will appear in our Summer 2012 newsletter. [Photo © 20099-2012 Cold Spring Press. All Rights Reserved.] Our
Newest Member in Provence
~ in the superb southern French Alpes ~
Our newest member is the grand Château de Picomtal in Provence whose origins can be traced back more than one thousand years. Located in the southern Alpes, this delightful bed and breakfast has four guest rooms and four suites, all with en suite bathrooms, as well as an apartment in the Annexe which can be a B&B room or rented for longer periods as a self-catering unit. Guest rooms are bright and sunny and have views over Lake Serre-Ponçon, the parkland and gardens, or the mountains.
Your friendly owners are French and American and devoted four long years to completely renovating the château after purchasing it in 1999. Today it is still faithful to its roots but modernized just enough for the comfort of its guests.
Open from the 20th of April until the end of October, guests are welcomed to share in the history and ambiance of this fine castle. Tours are given to the guests and can be organized for groups visiting the area. Your
hosts also organize musical and cultural events (see photo below) as well
as conferences and seminars, and about five times a year cooking courses
are given with a professional chef followed by dinner at the château.
We are
very pleased that Château de Picomtal has
joined our web site. It is a fine addition to our list of esteemed
members and in a unique location of southeastern France. We hope
that you will consider a stay at this château the next time you are
in Provence.
[Photos copyrighted by M. et Mme Peureux, Château de Picomtal. All rights reserved.]
SPONSORING THIS ISSUE Barbara
Babkirk offers ladies the opportunity to escape to France for a Unique
Retreat for Women.
Featured
Bed & Breakfast:
Domaine des Faures in the Dordogne We had the pleasure to visit Domaine des Faures in September and to get to know its cordial owners, Ray and Jacinta Standen. We had a tour of the lovely house; it just sparkles with sunlight and warmth. The rooms are decorated tastefully and are immaculate in every way. Four en suite guest rooms are offered, and breakfast is served in a large, cheerful dining room.
Yes, this is a bed and breakfast ~ in all months except July and August when it is rented as a self-catering holiday home. During our visit we were impressed by the large modern kitchen that those self-catering guests will use to prepare meals. Every modern convenience is provided. All guests can enjoy the recently installed swimming pool, too.
This lovely
home offers a warm welcome, tranquil and comfortable rooms, spacious salons
and dining rooms, and the perfect location. Only minutes from the
bastide town of Monpazier and a few minutes in the opposite direction to
the amazing Château de Biron (open to the public), it is ideal for
visiting all that the Dordogne has to offer.
One of the Domaine's guest rooms Domaine des Faures offers something else! Garden Tours are schedule at several times of the year. Click here to read about the tours in great detail. Those participating become guests of the Standens and will not only enjoy the tours, but breakfast each morning and several lunches and dinners with the group. For prices and schedules please contact inquiry@au-chateau.com and mention Faures Garden Tours in your email. Please do visit the Domaine on this web site to read all about it, visit its for booking information or details about their special cultural events and garden tours. [Photos ©
2011-2012 Cold Spring Press. All Rights Reserved.]
Villes et Villages de France .
. . we hope to tempt you to visit these marvelous places
We fell in love with the village of Saint-Martory which straddles the River Garonne as it flows through the Haute-Garonne département in the Midi-Pyrénées. This French commune is located 70 kilometers southwest of Toulouse and 60 kilometers north of the Spanish border. We stopped here to visit Château de Saint Martory, a member of our web family. The château is currently available for rent by the week in July and August.
The magnificent
river, lined with trees on both banks, is a wide, blue, gentle waterway
that evokes a sense of calm as you stand on the Pont Saint Martory and
watch it pass below. Looking up in an easterly direction as in this
photo, you can see a good part of the village of Saint Martory to your
left.
However, when you stand on that same bridge and look in the opposite direction, there before you is a small glimpse of Château de Saint Martory. It's a wonderful place to stay ~ it looks down over the river and is hidden away behind locked gates to ensure those who stay here privacy and a quiet holiday. We hope
that you will have the opportunity to visit this region of France.
If you need precise directions, just let us know. We'll be happy
to help. In the meantime, visit Château
de Saint Martory on our site.
[Photos © 2011-2012 Cold Spring Press. All Rights Reserved.]
Our Featured Château Rental . . . Château de Servigny, Normandy The opportunity to gather your friends and family for a holiday in France doesn't come along very often. But, if you can coordinate everyone's schedule, what better way to spend a vacation than at a magical château filled with history and splendid in so many ways? The Château de Servigny has eight guest rooms and accommodates a maximum of 14 adults and 2 children under the age of three. As mentioned on our web site, the château offers renters a large, user-friendly kitchen, a spacious dining room with a grand fireplace, a Louis XVI drawing room / library which is especially conducive to relaxation and reading, a smaller Louis XVI games and music room for guests to play the piano or take on an opponent in a game of backgammon, and a billiards room. There is even a recreation room for children in the 17th century outbuilding. Best of all is a delightful swimming pool and tennis court. For those who can't forego their connection to the world of technology while living in an historic residence, the château is equipped with satellite television, and Internet connections can be found in the guest rooms. Day trips to the landing beaches of World War II, lovely towns such as Barfleur, le Mont St-Michel, Bayeux (do see the tapestry), and so many more interesting places are easy. And, if you are coming from the UK by way of Cherbourg, it is only a twenty minute drive to the château. Please visit Château de Servigny on our site to learn more. To obtain further details and booking information, please contact inquiry@au-chateau.com and mention Servigny in the subject line. [Photo credits
© 2012 Arnaud de Pontac. All Rights Reserved.]
News from our Members . . .
Coming Soon . . . We will soon be welcoming the restored 19th-century Château de Locqueran in Brittany's Finistère département ~ it is in a splendid location overlooking the River Goyen and is divided into several apartments that can be rented for holidays.
Look for it on our site in the coming month. Until then, if you are interested in details, prices and availability, contact us at inquiry@au-chateau.com, and we will get information for you. [Photos courtesy
of David Evans, Château de Locqueran. All rights reserved.]
Easy Recipe: Leeks with Tomato & Olive Oil Our favorite French chef is Jacques Pépin, as we mentioned in our last newsletter, so we are going to include one more of his easy recipes in this issue. We love leeks, so this recipe is especially appealing. [Note about leeks from the chef: cook leeks in unsalted water; use most of the green part of the leek, trimming away only the tips of the leaves and any wilted or damaged outer leaves; be sure to open the leeks and wash them thoroughly before using.] You will need 4 medium leeks (about 1-1/4 pounds) trimmed and washed; 1 ripe tomato (about 7 oz.) peeled, seeded, and cut into 1/4 inch pieces; 3 tablespoons virgin olive oil; 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar; 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard; 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper. In a stainless steel saucepan bring 2 cups of water to a boil, add the leeks, bring back to the boil and cook gently (covered) for about 10 minutes or until tender. Drain (reserving the juice for soup, if you wish) and when cool enough to handle, squeeze the leeks to extract and reserve most of the remaining liquid. Cut the leeks into 2-inch pieces and arrange the pieces in a gratin dish, mixing them to combine the white and green parts. Mix together the tomato, oil, vinegar, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper. Spoon the mixture over the leeks. Serve lukewarm or at room temperature. Serves four. Bon appétit! You will enjoy
reading the bestseller, Jacques Pépin's autobiography,
We hope you have enjoyed au Château News. If you have, please forward it to friends and encourage them to subscribe. It's FREE! Answer to Quiz 109 - Where Are We? from our Autumn issue:
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