Fields close to Lonlay l'Abbaye in June
June is always a splendid time to visit France, and Normandy in particular. Having now set up the basics for habitation, we were excited about the prospect of being able to stay in our own place in Lonlay l'Abbaye for the first time ever. So on June 16, we packed up our bags and headed out of Paris on the train just ahead of a predicted "canicule," or heatwave. When we arrived, we found the village awash in flowers.
Some of the floral displays are set up by the village, and others by individuals. What unites the look of the village is the care and pride that is taken in keeping the plants well-watered and maintained. There is a fair amount of variety - petunias, campanule, lavender, impatiens, roses, hydrangeas, hollyhocks, etc.
Even utilitarian corners and parking lots have blooming borders!
This house with the blue door had a spectacular climbing vine with flowers in deep purple. I think they are clematis, but those of you who know your botany should feel free to let me know if I am mistaken. :-)
Now on to the house:
Our tiny stone house was nice and cool inside when we arrived, but we could feel the heat rising by mid-afternoon on our first day, so one of the first things we did was to put up the sets of dark blue drapes we had brought with us in our luggage. In between each set of drapes, we have put up just one sheer panel, as we do not want to have too much fabric blocking our views of the village, but we need the sheers for light and privacy - especially on the ground floor.
Now on to the house:
Our tiny stone house was nice and cool inside when we arrived, but we could feel the heat rising by mid-afternoon on our first day, so one of the first things we did was to put up the sets of dark blue drapes we had brought with us in our luggage. In between each set of drapes, we have put up just one sheer panel, as we do not want to have too much fabric blocking our views of the village, but we need the sheers for light and privacy - especially on the ground floor.
New drapes and sheer panel on front window
Side door with new drapes
We happily unpacked the quilted placemats and matching napkins that our new friend
Denise made for us to go with our navy blue kitchen. Denise is expert at quilting, and the colors are perfect for a comfortable country look. I was amused to see that there was a blue car outside as well when I took the above picture. Good timing!
Denise made for us to go with our navy blue kitchen. Denise is expert at quilting, and the colors are perfect for a comfortable country look. I was amused to see that there was a blue car outside as well when I took the above picture. Good timing!
When closed against direct sunlight, the dark drapes kept the inside of our house at a nice temperature, retaining the cooler air from the early morning when we would first open the windows. Of course, we also had a floor fan delivered on the hottest day from Amazon. What a relief! Temperatures were over 30 celsius (in the 90s Fahrenheit) for a few days. Then heavy rains came and cooled the air again. Marvelous.
Looking out through the sheer curtain on the ground floor. We can see out, but those outside cannot see in. Parfait!
Our house with sheer panels and drapes in the windows upstairs and downstairs.
Aside from putting up drapes and sheer panels, the best thing we did in June was to have our internet line installed. I can't really say whether or not there was ever a phone line in our place, but since it all had to be gutted, we had none.
Aside from putting up drapes and sheer panels, the best thing we did in June was to have our internet line installed. I can't really say whether or not there was ever a phone line in our place, but since it all had to be gutted, we had none.
Windows and curtains as seen from outside. Our new phone/internet line is barely visible alongside the black power line on the granite facade of the house. Finally, after six years, we have an internet router! Up until now, we have had to rely on our iphones, often with poor connections, to do everything.
Joseph assisting the man from Orange in installing our phone/internet line.
The fellow from "Orange" - our main telephone and internet provider - seemed a bit put out at first that he had to connect a line outside the granite walls and drill through our window frame. It was amazing to see him ride up and down in his cherry picker attaching the phone line under the eaves of several adjacent stone village houses. In the end, he was cheerful, efficient and resourceful, and had our internet up and running in less than an hour. The connection seems to be very good and fast, though we have not yet tested it from upstairs.
June evening in Lonlay l'Abbaye - only getting dark after 22h00
What a pleasure it was to spend our first few nights in this village house we had long nurtured and fussed over from afar! Sitting with a glass of chilled wine and looking out at the winding main street of the village with its characterful stone houses, dark tree line and perfect sky above was like living inside a storybook.
We noticed this old photo on display in the empty storefront on rue de Centre. It depicts the same bend in the road that we can see from our living room. I'm not clear on the era here, but my guess is that it was taken in the early 20th century. There seems to be a cafe on the right where the horse and carriage have "parked." This would be in approximately the same location as our present day pharmacy.
Another wonderful old photo made into a postcard. This picture taken looking up the hill. Very excited because this one shows our house in the center right, just beyond what appears to be a flagpole. The postcard identifies the part of Lonlay l'Abbaye that our house fronts as the Grand'Rue (today's rue de Centre) and Place du Marché (place Jules Levée today).
This photo must have been taken before World War I, because there is a gazebo that likely was the center of the market in the middle of the place. Today that is where the imposing war memorial (established after World War I) stands, with the addition of the names of those lost in World War II, including nine Americans who lost their lives when their plane was shot down here on August 8, 1944.
The interesting building on the right in the photo, with an iron facade resembling a movie theater marquee, is still extant. I cannot tell from this photo what business was conducted there, but it was perhaps a Pompes Funèbres, or funeral parlor. I have always thought it would be a good location for a toy store in the present day.
This photo must have been taken before World War I, because there is a gazebo that likely was the center of the market in the middle of the place. Today that is where the imposing war memorial (established after World War I) stands, with the addition of the names of those lost in World War II, including nine Americans who lost their lives when their plane was shot down here on August 8, 1944.
The interesting building on the right in the photo, with an iron facade resembling a movie theater marquee, is still extant. I cannot tell from this photo what business was conducted there, but it was perhaps a Pompes Funèbres, or funeral parlor. I have always thought it would be a good location for a toy store in the present day.
Lonlay l'Abbaye (circa 1930s?)
Completing this set of antique images is this colorized postcard with a photographic image of Lonlay l'Abbaye. (I saw it for sale online for 10 euros.) You can see our house on the top right of the triangular square. I am guessing that this photo was taken sometime in the 1930s or early 1940s because the WWI war memorial appears in the square, and the cars look like they might be from that era.
It would certainly be interesting to know how this aerial photo was taken, and exactly when. Was it taken from a hot air balloon, a dirigible, a crop duster, or possibly a German or American war plane? It bears some similarity to the post-WWII photo below taken by Americans to document some of the damage done to the village during the war.
Back to the present day and the Amazon universe
Starting to feel more like home
Even though I had tried to anticipate and obtain all of our basic household goods when I was last there, it was amazing how many small things we found we still needed, now that we had "moved in." Without a car, Amazon was still our best solution.
Most of our items were delivered by La Poste, and came promptly. On days when we wanted to go together to the Relais for lunch, we left the mail carrier a note, letting her know we were there, and would come right over if she called or texted us. Instead, on two occasions, she was sweet enough to drop off our package right at the restaurant - the owners being likewise kind enough to accept it, and to hand it to us with a smile when we left. A really old-fashioned sort of charming gesture that makes Lonlay l'Abbaye so endearing.
Thus arrived additional drapes and sheer panels for the upstairs windows (once we decided we liked the ones we had downstairs). Then a wooden serving tray to put on a low storage chest, serving collectively for now as our coffee table. Then brackets to hold soap and shampoo in the shower, a soap dish, a toilet paper holder, a toilet brush and a mattress cover, airtight containers for sugar and coffee, dish towels, hand towels, a drying rack for laundry, ice cube trays, a cutting board, a dish drainer, a small kitchen rug, a fire extinguisher, a long broom and dust pan, felt protectors to go under the feet of our furniture, an iron, and hooks to hang up our jackets and Pipkin's leashes. Whew!
Most of our items were delivered by La Poste, and came promptly. On days when we wanted to go together to the Relais for lunch, we left the mail carrier a note, letting her know we were there, and would come right over if she called or texted us. Instead, on two occasions, she was sweet enough to drop off our package right at the restaurant - the owners being likewise kind enough to accept it, and to hand it to us with a smile when we left. A really old-fashioned sort of charming gesture that makes Lonlay l'Abbaye so endearing.
Thus arrived additional drapes and sheer panels for the upstairs windows (once we decided we liked the ones we had downstairs). Then a wooden serving tray to put on a low storage chest, serving collectively for now as our coffee table. Then brackets to hold soap and shampoo in the shower, a soap dish, a toilet paper holder, a toilet brush and a mattress cover, airtight containers for sugar and coffee, dish towels, hand towels, a drying rack for laundry, ice cube trays, a cutting board, a dish drainer, a small kitchen rug, a fire extinguisher, a long broom and dust pan, felt protectors to go under the feet of our furniture, an iron, and hooks to hang up our jackets and Pipkin's leashes. Whew!
Oh yes, and a picture hanging kit! This is a favorite photo of Galerie Vivienne in Paris that Joseph took years ago. It hung in my work office for years while I dreamed of moving to France. Now it's like having an old friend in the kitchen.
Pipkin in clover, over and over
Cow and clothesline
Cows under a magnificent tree
Summer spider web
Field on the other side of the abbey and Mairie
More flowers on the way to market
An old spring
On cooler days, we took Pipkin for long walks out on the green, around the abbey, and ventured out on the small roads around the village. There the very fields and animals seem to transform with the seasons, as if they are putting on new clothes for each time of year. We always come across something new, or new to us, even if it is very old.
Back of the former presbytery attached to the abbey - now the back of the Mairie and doctor's offices
Entrance to the abbey
One day we tried the door to the abbey, finding it closed but not locked. Inside, we saw a sign asking visitors to leave the door open, so we did leave it ajar and saw more visitors coming after us. The interior of the abbey is full of surprises and intriguing statues, as well as being a holy and meditative place.
A gate protects the sacristy, part of the former presbytery that must still be used by the priests.
A closer look
These carved planks fold down to form seats along a sort of choir stall on both sides as you move into the nave. I really don't know if they were meant to be for priests, singers, or VIPs when they were originally put in place. They are kind of far from the altar. Perhaps the carvings have some symbolic meaning.
Now, this was a surprise. In an alcove to our immediate left upon entering the abbey, we found a hearse. Never was there before, and we don't know if it has taken up permanent residence.
Abbey columns and capitals
Beautiful stained glass
Virgin and Infant Jesus
Mysterious small fresco. An angel appears to be trying to wake up a man - possibly the Apostle Peter. I could not connect the image to any bible story I knew, so went searching for a reference. Apparently Acts 12:3-19 tells of an angel who came to free Peter when he was imprisoned by King Herod. The angel strikes Peter to wake him up, and Peter's chains fall from his wrists. Then the angel leads Peter outside to freedom. Never heard that one before, in all my years at Catholic school.
Carved altarpiece
I was going to comment on how it is somewhat bizarre that so many religious paintings and sculptures incorporate "flying baby heads" aka "putti." And when I looked up "flying baby heads," I found this link to a person who was asking herself the same question: www.artdocentprogram.com/favorite-art-history-baby-heads/
I was going to comment on how it is somewhat bizarre that so many religious paintings and sculptures incorporate "flying baby heads" aka "putti." And when I looked up "flying baby heads," I found this link to a person who was asking herself the same question: www.artdocentprogram.com/favorite-art-history-baby-heads/
Don't know if this man is supposed to be a saint, a famous patron, or a pilgrim - but I very much appreciate the sculptor's inclusion of his dog. He stands under the scallop shell that was the symbol for pilgrims who undertook the long overland journey (The Way of Saint James) to Santiago de Compostela in northern Spain (Saint-Jacques-de-Compostelle in French).
A collection of historical photos of the abbey
An engraving showing the abbey and its outbuildings in its prime. The field with the manor house across the stream to the right of the abbey is the location of today's village green.
Whenever time and weather permit, we enjoy having a late afternoon or early evening glass of wine on the terrace of the bar/tabac that ajoins the bakery. The owners are wonderful, the wine is inexpensive, and the view of the landscaped abbey and Mairie is perfection. One day while we were there with one of our super French artisans, the mayor came over to say hello and wound up treating us to a drink. We always appreciate the chance to speak with him, because he knows everything about the village and truly has its best interests at heart. In addition to all of the other renovations and projects he has spearheaded, he let us know that he is now trying to bring in a second doctor for this small village of some 1200 souls!
The war memorial from our bedroom window
On one of our last days this visit, I noticed that a name I had not seen before had been added to the war memorial. The name appears above the plaque dedicated to the American aviators, attached under the names of villagers killed in World War II. The name: Alcime Bouvet. Very curious to ask the mayor about that addition. Who was Monsieur Bouvet, and how was it that he was overlooked until now?
All too soon, it was time to close up our tiny house, but we will be back in no time at all.
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