Fontenoyle-Chateau

Barge Date:  07-28-2019

Fontenoy-le-Chateau

As I might have said before, you never know what you will be served up in the next stop.  For us, this was Fontenoy-le-Chateau.  The entire mooring is run by the hire boat company, so the regular boaters are in with the weekend warriors. Water available, but after I had washed the boat, I was told of the water emergency so only use was to fill the tanks. But the boat was cleaned first.

The town was setting up for a yard sale and some food vendors, all to be located at the marina.  So some excitement coming and no idea what to expect. Only one place to eat in town and we planned  to go Sunday noon. But what else?

Saturday vendors began setting up at 7am.  For the most part very similar to what you will see in the US. Stuff you would never want being sold by people that obviously have too much. Lots of clothing. A collection of tools, instruments and other odds and ends that will be taken back at the end of the day. Marianne heard of someone that came to buy only old coins, clocks, and a few other "collectibles" hoping for the person that does not know what is on his table.

I found these lamps that I will make hangers for this winter and they will go in the wheelhouse.

 We saw no other food in town so we ate with the towns people. BBQ-ed game of some origin plus the fixings. Not bad.  Behind us as we ate folks were bowling.  Looks like a regular carnival game where you try to knock down 10 pins.  Ball and pins are wood, alley is rolled out rubber that is by no means level so getting a consistent roll is impossible.  If you get all 10 down you win 200 euros.  No winners that I saw.

Sunday came and the restaurant refused us; filled up. Needed a reservation. So we began to walk the town. The first thing you notice are hand painted signs with literary quotes.  Must have been 50 plus tied up all around town. You will see some in the pictures. As we walked by the church we heard organ music but when we entered there was also a flute. Practice for a performance at 5pm.  We sat and enjoyed.  The sound was very good in the church.

The church was small and gave off the feel of what you might have had next to your castle.  It was not overdone with the typical accoutrements you see in the larger churches. Simple with good looking stone work.  A rough stone table at the front, something I don't think I have seen before. A couple of pictures of the pews which are very old.  The church goes back to about 1000 but the current structure is about 1300.

Also in the village was an embroidery and manufacturing museum.  Small but interesting. Don't have any pictures but the examples were interesting. A white christening dress that took 900 hours to do. The village was famous for this and the clients stretched from France to Czarist Russia.