Eleanor Eleanor Everywhere

 

Biarritz was gorgeous, as it should be -- long stretches of sandy beaches, fancy apartment buildings, ritzy boardwalks, pretty people. We strolled on the sand and watched dozens of chilly-looking surfers waiting for their waves. Then it was back on the trail of Blanche and Eleanor!

Arthous Abbey

Our first stop was Arthous Abbey. We couldn't go in, but we got a good sense of it from the exterior. In The Queen's Granddaughter, it's the site where monks feed the travelers and provide them with the first bath on their journey. It could have really happened...

Chateau la Brede

Then we drove on to La Brede chateau, rebuilt by the Enlightenment philosopher Montesquieu. In the book, Eleanor and Blanche stay in the house of the Templars in La Brede, which no longer exists (though we drove down Rue de Templiers). Blanche and her friend Suna fall in the lake in front of the empty chateau -- to my shock, there is actually a lake there. Life imitates art! Or something. The estate now has gardens and farms and some very pleasing cows.

We stopped at the church of St-Maurille in St. Morillon, where I have Eleanor and Blanche taking sanctuary as they are chased by kidnappers. It is only open once a week for mass, and it's somewhat smaller than I imagined, but you might notice from the photo that it has a small bell and a larger bell. In The Queen's Granddaughter, Eleanor sends the town a new bell as thanks for their hospitality. Did I invent that? Or could it actually have happened?

St.-Maurille Church

There was a short break for winetasting -- and buying, of course -- and then we went on to Bordeaux, with a hair-raising drive through streets filled with bicyclers and trams. Who knew there were two Hotel Particuliers in the city? We got SO lost going to the wrong one. 

The place is almost ridiculously full of Eleanoriana. But more on that next time!