It is in the Pays d'Auge area of the Calvados and Orne departments of Normandy. This is apple country - that means cider and calvados ,which is apple brandy. There are other apple and pear products too, such as pommeau, a fortified apple juice, with a similar product made from pear juice. Delicious.
There is a Cider Route to drive and visit cider-makers and pretty villages. And of course there is cheese, named after the villages where each was developed - Camembert, Livarot, Pont l'Eveque and I'm sure there are more.
Hosts, Bernadette and Phillipe have a beautiful property complete with gravel paths, sweeping lawns, glorious garden, thriving vegetable patch and orchard. Four modern rooms have been carved out of the roof space and are beautifully fitted and decorated and very comfortable.
We had the largest room which included a sitting area.
We go home in a week after a very long holiday and we are tired and feeling the cold. So it has been great to have a really comfortable bed, gentle and effective heating, a proper shower and fabulous home-made and home-grown breakfasts,for a few days.
Because the rooms are built into the roof space, the windows are dormers (with automatic shutters) and the ceiling slopes sharply at the sides.
Looking out the window. It has been around 14 degrees C while we have been in this Cidre Route area, with plenty of rain. I saw lots of local postcards and snazzy souvenirs that all poked fun at the amount of rain the area receives, the many different varieties of cows, the farmers who drive their tractors everywhere (farm, town and beach) and the sun shining on every other area of France, except on Normandy.
While we stayed here at Le Presbytère, we retraced our steps to Bayeaux to see the one thousand year old Bayeaux Tapestry, an extremely impressive exhibition. We also went to Falaise to see the castle of William the Conquorer, possibly the best castle restoration we've ever seen.
This was the view from the bathroom window in the roof. A newish subdivision opposite but with cropping land still under cultivation. It is a common mix in France - no hard and fast lines between purposes; residential, commercial and agriculture interspersed (providing there are no hazardous products involved).
Our bathroom - very well thought out.
The joining bit .... a table on the landing between the bed-sitting area, the toilet and the bathroom.
Oak beams in the ceiling.
Iron bed with lovely furniture and decorative pieces.
Frames on the garage wall.
Looking across the lawn towards the pool and the pool house - neither in use at this point in Autumn.
Our host, Bernadette says the garden is glorious in Spring and Summer and I can just imagine it.
However, when the bones of a building and a garden are as good as these, they will always look gorgeous no matter the season. Even though I had Paul looking at prospective properties in real estate windows, it's just too cold here for me. I wouldn't survive.
Late addition: See the next blog, post No. 93 Normandy Cheese, for a reference to the superb breakfasts at Le Presbytère.
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