Château de Saint-Fargeau

As if visiting a gorgeous historic castle wasn't enough, our hosts and most wonderful tour guides had a surprise in store, an open carriage ride through the chateau's parkland! I was keeping it together until I looked up at the canopy of trees above my head as I was swayed back and forth by the rumbling wheels of the carriage and felt the past so viscerally that a few happy tears escaped my eyes behind my sunglasses and I hoped my companions didn't notice. Somehow Melody of a Fallen Tree from the Marie Antoinette soundtrack seemed to play in my head. Each path opened up like a forgotten gateway to the past, the trees glowing green around us and the cool spring breeze carrying the whispers of the leaves. Unforgettable indeed.

Saint-Fargeau castle was originally built in 980 as a fortified hunting residence by Héribert, bishop of  nearby Auxerre. Rebuild later in the 15th century, successive holders added to the castle over the centuries. Later the first cousin of Louis XIV, Anne-Marie-Louise d'Orléans, was exiled from court to Saint-Fargeau for a time and decided to renovate. Redesigned by Francois Le Vau, then the King's architect, the internal facades of the castle were altered to a more classical style by 1657. After a large fire in 1752 destroyed nearly everything but the exterior walls, the family who owned Saint-Fargeau at the time restored the castle rather than abandoning it. The castle saw many new owners until it was bought by Michel and Jacques Guyot in 1979 and the giant project to restore the castle began. First the roof had to be replaced, then, most of the rooms being bare brick, each had to be completely restored. Room by room the project is still on going. It's such a shame that fire in the 18th century destroyed so much history, but plenty remains. The pink toned brick and blue tinged roofing give the castle a rather fairy-tale look don't they?

I wore my rayon magnolia print 1940's dress with white accessories for the day of sightseeing. Sadly this fabric wrinkles easily as the weave is quite stiff and seems to be mimicking linen. There was a market going on when we first entered the village next to the castle, and we later ate at a lovely crepes place just outside the castle walls. After a quick look inside the local church (Saint-Ferréol, though I could find little information, it was indeed, quite old) it was time for our ride through the park. After we left Saint Fargeau we stopped by Toucy to have a quick walk around and then ended up stopping by a large garden center to see what a French garden center was like! The center had a pet shop inside the gardening store essentially, so we admired the cute animals and pretty fish before heading back to the village of Moneteau where we were staying with our most wonderful friends. Another full day in France!

Where to next? Stay tuned :)

Dress: Made by me
Belt: Target
Sunglasses: Sunglasses Museum (Etsy)
Handbag, Necklace, & Earrings: Vintage (Etsy)
Shoes & Fishnets: Amazon (shoes here)
Gloves: Amazon