Chateau de Flecheres

Elisabeth had visited the Chateau de Flecheres about 10 years ago when it first opened. I had never been there. We put it on our list of must-do before I had to leave France.

We turned down a tree shaded dirt road until this came into view...

 Then walked through a gate onto a shaded lane.

My guess is that once upon a time there was a big moat here...

The walls are built to allow access to what is now an almost non-existent moat...

 We walked through the opening in this building...

...to view the impressive chateau ahead of us.

 Notice the lighter square on the wall of the building's wing.

Here is a close-up of that lighter square. It is half a sundial!

The other half is on the facing wing of the house.

I noticed this lady coming out from the bushes. I assumed she had been wandering through gardens, but I was wrong.

Later we learned that this is how one reaches the kitchens.

We climbed the steps onto a large stone veranda...

...and sat down to wait for our house-tour guide.

 Other folk were also waiting on the other side of the veranda.

There is the other half of the sundial and a lion, symbol of Lyon, on the roof above.

Above is a closer look at the lion.

Left is a closer look at the sundial.

Our French-speaking guide must have had a sense of humor because people chuckled.

Just as is done at the Chateau de Cormatin, there was a room by room written guide in English...well done with facts, but lacking in humor.

It was interesting to learn that all the frescos on the walls had been covered up by wallpaper and discovered after restoration was begun.

Anne commented that it seemed more livable than the Cormatin chateau which was built by nobility. This chateau was built by a wealthy merchant.

I don't remember the meanings of all the symbolism in the frescos of the various rooms.

A lot of restoration has taken place. When Elisabeth visited about 10 years ago, only a couple of rooms were open to the public.

There were rooms on the first floor and more on the second.

Anne and Elisabeth were waiting for me to catch up. I had taken advantage of being the last one out of the previous room...got a photo without the crowd.

This is the main staircase.

Again the lion figure shows up again.

Another room...

More detail of the central staircase which we passed through a couple of times before climbing the stairs to; reach the upper floor.

These frescos were amazing. Our group was too large to be able to get a clear photograph of the entire room.

My picture of the one fresco that obviously had the face of Henry VIII was taken in a rush and came out too blurry to use.

I think this was called the Hercules room.

This room was so large that the furniture divided it into sections...

Then we moved into the perspectives room...

This would not be my favorite room, but...   

Above are two views, seen from opposite sides of the same picture...a demonstration of perspective.

   There was so much to see that I'd actually recommend doing back to back tours through the house.

    

                                                          The stairs to and from the family bedrooms were simply functional. The master of this home apparently felt no need for ostentation in his private dwelling space.

After descending these stairs we once again found ourselves out on the raised, stone veranda. We had entered through this main door but exited via a side door.

Viewing the kitchen area was a choice and not part of the house tour.

We went behind a hedge to find a long tunnel sloping downward.

Once I reached the bottom, then I turned to take this picture of where I'd been...

...and this picture of where I was headed.

Anne and Elisabeth had arrived in the cellar area before me.


A bit gross to hang the heads of the creatures you have eaten...

It wasn't just one room down there!

At least this room didn't feel like it was in the cellar, but it was right off the kitchen.

More heads to continue the theme of what's for dinner.

And there is the kitchen through the opening...no door for privacy in here.


As we moved  on into other, less decorated rooms, Elisabeth satisfied her curiosity by playing with some of the kitchen gadgets.

There was even a dishwashing corner with a drying rack for the clean dishes.

 Two views of the same pass-through....

 One room was obviously for food storage. This buildt-in cement box had a pulley system for its lid.

 There hangs a "ham" so that alcove was probably for cold storage.

A cellar is a cellar and I was glad to get back outside again. We looked over the wall to find another wall and the same kind of shrubbery shapes that can be found at the Chateau of Cormatin.

This appeared to be the extent of the gardens and so we headed back to the courtyard...

...where I had seen this olive tree in a planter. It would have to be sheltered indoors during winters in this part of France, just north of Lyon.

I went looking for olives and found a few to aim my iPad at, but the sun was in my eyes so I'm not sure I actually got a green olive in my picture.

Let me know if you see one...

It was time to head home. I was in the back seat on the driver's side, finally in the right place to take pictures of roundabouts.... Below is a metal man fishing.