Bienvenue a Val Richer

I stayed in Paris for a day and a half before heading off to the family estate Val Richer in Normandy. I've seen pictures and knew that they wouldn't do it justice. I was right. Pierre, Isabelle's father, drove Zac and I there on Thursday morning. It was a drive of about two hours, not too bad. I was sweating the whole time but chalked it up to being spoiled by blasting American air conditioners in cars. I tried not to complain. Once we took our exit, it didn't take too long to get there. We passed old Middle Age farm houses on the way and it blew my mind. We have homes in Dallas that don't last 50 years and then you look at these buildings that are over 400 years old and still going strong.

We drove down beautiful roads and Pierre said that we were on Val Richer property. We passed a wood factory which chopped all the wood for the estate. We went up the windy road which was through forests and with cows grazing nearby. We pull up to the estate and my jaw dropped. It's beautiful. I didn't take pictures of the entrance, but that will come next week when I go back.
The main house is three and a half stories. I stay in the attic which has all sorts of crawl spaces and plenty of beds and two restrooms. The main entrance from the stairsLooking towards the back of the house near the dining area and playroom. This wood was chopped at the estate's wood factory.Looking into the dining room and also where we get on the internet.The view from my attic window
That's just on the "Maurice" wing, who was Basile's grandfather. On the second floor are more rooms and a library which is all through the hallway and adorned with painting of ancestors dating back to the 1600s and sculptures and journals from relatives. The library included many books from family members. The railing of the staircase was hand carved by a family member; she was quite the renaissance woman.
This is looking from the staircase down to the second floor
From the third floor
There is a sitting room that includes another library. I will say that this house is straight from a movie. The next room includes a grand piano and painting of George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, and two relatives that were former Prime Ministers of France. Seriously, the family line is phenomenal. I don't even know the names of all of my great grandparents, much less the ancestors from the 1600s.

Pierre wanted to take me to see Deauville. It's a beach just west of the Val Richer. We had the top down and on the way Zac complained of it being too cold. Pierre stopped the car, went to the trunk and pulled out a trashbag. This confused me. Once I looked back, I had to laugh. This is not a normal response to the compaint of a young kid that's cold. The French are strange.
We arrived in Deauville. I was awestruck by the beauty and colors and history of it all.
We didn't have much time to spend, because we had to be back to the Val Richer by 4:30 for goutee. So we literally walked onto the beach, took a picture, then hopped back into the car and left.
Zac had an urgent matter to take care of. I can't tell you how many times I have seen this view of him. I've lost count. Once he looked back and saw that I took a picture of him, he threatened to not love me anymore. Whatever.
Zac and I had a blast. He knows the place so well, as he is there quite a bit. The cooks love him. We played soccer for hours in the course of two days and tennis a little as well.
Just a glimpse of our soccer field


There is other family staying there from Dublin. It was quite nice have other English speakers. I am convinced I will never be motivated to learn French. One of the Irish is married to a woman from Maryland. She had two friends with her, so there was a crowd of us Americans.

I went through today and took pictures of the flower, fruit, and veggie gardens.
There is a playground for the kiddos adjacent to it, which is also next to an original farmhouse from way back when. There is a large side house, and I haven't found out what is in there yet.
A children's house is on the other side. It is full of toys and little stations for them to play, along with a sandbox outside.
Lovely roses are everywhere
I haven't yet seen half of what's there. I came back to Paris tonight for the weekend. I am very excited to have some time to myself. I have one more week with the family until they leave for Greece for a month, while I stay in Paris for the month of August off. I will be back at the Val Richer on Sunday night, so I will have a few days more to discover all it has. Stay tuned for more pics.