Chablis and Auxuerre

We stumbled out of bed to the sound of bird calls. Not too early as the day was grey and a little rainy. We met Zepher for breakfast and planned the day. He was going to see the house again and invited us to go with him. What a treat. I really want to see the place and he was very keen to have us along for another opinion.

So after breakfast we went to the small village markets, bought some soap and a beautiful orange angora neck muff ( like a collar)   

We set off towards Chablis which is a small town almost all rebuilt after the war. Thee are lots of Chablis wine caves and we went to the one recommended by Lionel our host at the castle we are staying in. Lionel appears each morning and chats to the guests about their plans for the day and gives advice and suggestions. 

We stopped in Chablis and planned on seeing some of the Chablis wine houses and get a taste for it. 

I tasted a few  but at 11 am with no food they all tend to taste the same! 

We continued on towards Auxuerre where we were going to spend our last night until we changed our plans and decided to stay in Noyers. I do like the small villages best. 

We walked around, checked out the rather grand gothic style church, a few shops,  walked along the river and had lunch. I had a beautiful Niçoise salad and Steve and a lovely local salad with warm potatoes, bacon and a soft boiled ago. Somewhat like a Caesar salad. 

We had to hurry back to the Noyers to meet Zepher and make our way to the castle he was looking to buy. 

It's so much fun when there is no pressure! 

What a castle. In a small non de script village but so romantic. Big rooms. Lots of rooms, and lots of work to do to get it to a good standard for rental. The bones are great but the layout of rooms to bathrooms need organization and the pool need a complete refurb.

We did enjoy meeting Brigette the agent who had travelled from Paris to conduct the inspection. We walked all over the castle. Three floors of big spaces. Some made sense  some didn't.
Anyway Zeph was all carried away and was discussing all aspectsof the castle. Men arrived to assess the pool and the bad news was that it needed heaps of work. Around $20,000.

It was drizzling so after a cup of tea, lots of chat and some photos we left to drive back to Noyers for a drink. We had Brigitte with us and really enjoyed her company.