Saturday, July 19, 2014

25 years to wait...


7/19/2014

Bonjour mes amis!

25 years in the making!  Yes, that is what today's Post is all about.


Do you remember the other day, when I told you that Dr. J and I were going to visit a Château that is being built in the medieval way?  (After a quick stop at the Brocante, of course)!


Welcome to Guédelon!  This Castle was started in the late 90's, and is scheduled to be completed in 2023!


Impressive right?  All the work is being done by hand, without the help of modern day machinery.  Here is a stone model of the layout for Château Guédelon...


For a short while, we joined a French Tour...


The tour guide was excellent.  She really engaged the audience, young and old.  We stayed with the group for a bit, but then tired a little of comprehending all the spoken French...


The beauty of going to Guédelon is that you can observe all the workers who are building this Château by hand, as it would have been done in the medieval days.

From Blacksmiths...


Notice how they are even dressed in proper Medieval Attire!  One interesting tidbit...We were told by a friend that when they first started this project, the workers were in medieval attire, right down to their feet, but it was soon determined that sandals did not protect well enough, and workers were soon issued work boots instead.  Safety first, right?


There were Stone Cutters...




Horsemen (or women)...


Clay Tile Makers...


Woodcutters...



Rope Makers...



And even Breadmakers...


Everything is being done by hand!


Let's go back and view the Castle now...



This is quite an undertaking...



From what we were told, the two gentlemen who came up with the plan to build this Château are quite crazy!  They are also renovating Châteaux in France that are in disrepair as well.


There are animals on the property...a big draw for the children!


And many of the Public Schools in France take the children to Guédelon for Field Trips!



And now, back to the Château again!




Some Interior photos...



I think it would be cool, in the next 40-50 years to be able to brag that you had cut the stone to build this Fireplace!



Great craftsmanship!


We observed these guys bringing that big stone up to the next level...


With the help of the guy in the Wheel!


Now that's laborious!


The inner courtyard...


It was quite a privilege for us to see this Château!  A fun adventure for a day!



I hope you enjoyed seeing this too.  Only about Nine More Years to wait for its completion!!!  Return visit anyone???

Have a "Jewel" of a Day!
Jan

No comments:

Post a Comment