Glorious Autumn in Lonlay l'Abbaye

The ostensible purpose of our visit to Lonlay l'Abbaye near the end of October was to receive a shipment of boxes from our storage unit near Paris to our tiny house. There was vague talk of beginning to sift through the photos and memorabilia the boxes contained, but the quiet magic of the country village redirected us to wander and ponder.

Because our village house still has no furniture, we stayed again at Sarah and Geoff's "Cobbler's House" (AirBnB), which is delightfully situated between the abbey and the commons area, close by the stream that runs through the village. The small commons orchard was full of apples, some still on the trees, and others piling up on the ground.

The owners of the Cobbler's House have collected old reminders of the original occupant's work. Old wooden clogs and shoemaker's tools are used as decorative elements, some inside and some outside the house.

The village commons area has been extended and improved, from what I last recall. There is a sweet new playground area, more picnic tables, and a gravel path that winds all the way up the hill past green lawns and chestnut trees. The people of the village, and their indefatigable mayor, Monsieur Derouet, make the village more attractive with each visit.

The view from the top of the hill is stunning and unspoilt. Makes me so happy! You can see the reddish roof and wooden frame of the old cider press in the center of some of the lawns, with the abbey behind.

This is the approach to the cider press from the other side of the commons.

Inside the cider press is the enormous stone wheel that would have crushed the apples into pulp and juice - much of the juice to be turned into cider - and some eventually used to make Calvados, my favorite digestif.

After a few sunny days, we had some clouds and rain, but the grey skies made the greens even more lush. This is the path that leads around the back of the abbey.

​With the school closed for the "All Saints" holiday period, the village was in repose, but the delicious butcher/charcuterie shop was open, as well as the bar/tabac and the bakery.

Our banker, Monsieur Bouillaux, at Crédit Mutuel, was kind enough to spend nearly an hour with us, sorting out a problem with Électricité de France (EDF). So we were especially pleased that the bakery had a nice selection of eclairs and fruit tarts we could bring back to his office for him and his staff.

Everything we needed was within walking distance, including the general store. Once again, we did not bring a car. The ever-welcoming Monsieur LeBlond of La Bergerie in Sainte Opportune arranged for us to have drivers to and from the train station in Flers. It seems much more restful to us once we are there, to just stay within the village, though I know we will soon want to explore further parts of Normandy and Brittany we have not seen.

Three days in a row we had lunch at the charming village restaurant "Le Relais de l'Abbaye." The tower above is part of a residence that faces one of their windows. The Relais food is quite tasty, and a very good value with a quarter carafe of wine included with your meal. A couple of days we also had a "kir" to start. Kir is an aperitif of dry white wine with a few drops of cassis (blackcurrant liqueur).

​This drink was already known in the Burgundy region of France as a "blanc-cassis" from the 19th century. After World War II, it was renamed the "kir" after Félix Kir, a Catholic priest and Resistance member who became mayor of Dijon. He delighted in serving this cocktail to visiting delegations to promote both Bourgogne Aligoté, the dry white wine of the region, and crème de cassis, also made in Burgundy.

Well, this is not our table at the Relais - just the only free photo of kirs I could easily find. A very pretty drink, and nice aperitif. After our second day of ordering them to start our meal at the Relais, I noticed two other tables that asked for them as well. Such trendsetters we are!

The abbey itself was open and welcoming, so we also made a visit inside.

In existence for many centuries, it has elements from the 11th century to the present - and a fair amount of mystery and dignity.

Joseph had read that the oldest part of the abbey was the transept, which is where I believe these finials atop their columns are located. Most likely they are restorations, but true to the originals.

​The rams on the left remind me a bit of "Shaun the Sheep" from the Wallace & Gromit stop motion clay animation movies. On the right, could that be an image of wind or a fire-breathing lion? Whose tiny head is up in the corner there? Perhaps next summer we will take a guided tour of the abbey and see if there are any answers to these questions.

"Alright, but what about your house?" you ask (or perhaps you don't, but I will tell you anyway). 
​
Électricité de France (EDF) has installed a thicker and more powerful electric source cable to give us the power we need for our appliances, but I did notice some new cracks in the mortar on the face of the house that seemed to emanate from where they drilled to put in the new line. Hmmm.

The dear little swallows have gone, but left behind their mud nests and a spattering of poop to remember them by. We are looking to find someone to clean this up before they return next spring. A tall ladder will be indispensable.

We did succeed in having our stored boxes of mementos, books, and family favorites like old toys moved into the study. The door to the bathroom here still opens, but this takes up much of the room. We will reduce the volume soon, and store the remainder in the attic once our builders have put in a floor up there. They are working on it now.

A few things got unpacked, and we took measurements and photos of the interiors of all the windows, so we can order curtain rods. We'd like to come back for a longer stay next time, perhaps to take delivery of some basic furniture.

We love every season in the village. 

Below are several short videos from this visit that we've loaded to Youtube. We hope you will enjoy these moments too.