France 2019: Arras Ride 4

Another glorious day on the horizon. We are starting from the house along The Alley of Tilleuls - or Avenue of the Linden Trees. This 2+ KM path runs between two "castles"; from our castle in Lignereuil to the neighboring one in Givenchy along a tree lined roadway.

What is the difference between a chateau and castle? Thought you would never ask.

Although the French word for ‘château’ is generally translated as castle it is more likely to mean a country house or a manor house. Now you know!

The property was owned by lord Philippe de Gomiécourt from the beginning of the 17th century. It was sold to the family of Coupigny, then acquired by the family of Tramecourt (current owners) in 1780.

Alley Tilleuls is visible in albums Cröy in 1700, says Bérengère de Chabot-Tramecourt (our hostess). It was replanted, particularly in 1850, by two sisters, Louise and Jeanne de Tramecourt, who had inherited each of the two castles from their father Hippolyte de Tramecourt, a great patron and collector of the 19th century. One lived in Lignereuil, the other in Givenchy-le-Noble, and they visited each other by this path. "So we walk in their footsteps ... The two castles are still the property of the descendants of this same family.

You talking to me?

There is no one else here so you must be talking to me?

Hey vache (cow) I am talking to you in English.

An impressive water tower.

The sister town at the other end of the alley way .

We approached the rear of the Givenchy castle with the hope of getting a close up view of the property

Having anticipated a "rear assault" someone thought to build a mote (sans water) between the opening of the gate. Since we were not ready to attempt to vault over we figured that the frontal view would suffice.

Pretty impressive, especially since the left and right wings are not in the photo since there was construction equipment out front which would have spoiled the effect.

Sign reads:

Military Square

Graves of Soldiers

Died for France

Gate was locked so we could not examine grave stones.

The tree lined path with covered canopy was a delight.

Must be bird hunting season as evidenced by rifle clad men in orange vests walking through the fields with their bird dogs in tow.

We encountered a number of hunting parties along the route and heard shots but saw no birds. Not sure what they were shooting at but glad it was not open season on cyclist.

Could not resist the call of the flea market as we cruised through this town.

One person's trash is another's treasures.

We decided to walk on by.

But took notice of the more interesting items.

Looks like ancient ski equipment suitable for the Vail Ski museum.

This bike was all used up but adorned with flowers would make a wonderful lawn ornament.

The most interesting item was not for sale. Could not determine the model but it dated back to the sixties.

The car passed me on a deserted stretch of a narrow back road, tooted, waved, and left me in their dust.

A tree lined field with a soccer (aka football) goal at the other end. Seems weird with only one goal but makes for a pleasant setting.

Watch out for "vache" although the ones we saw were well enclosed in fenced in pastures.

A chapel with Kim's bike, but no Kim.

Ah, there she is. Wonder what she was doing around back.

We need to go "that-a-way" to the coffee stop.

With two GPS's to guide us it still took a bit of this way and that way to find it. But what a find.

Words can not describe this scene so I will let the photo tell the story.

We settled on the many layered Opera with yummy cream between the crunchy cookies. Covered with chocolate made for a perfect confection. And yes, the coffee was good too.

This was a cute little bistro/cafe/bar.

Good thing there was indoor seating since all the outdoor tables were taken. Not a problem since everyone outside (except the six year old girl) was smoking. Although we have not confirmed this we believe that indoor smoking is prohibited, but OK at the outdoor tables. Seems like lots of people smoke, at least in and around the bars we frequent.

Across the way was a pomme frite stand.

Oh so French.

So, what's with the coffee filters.

Since our first location did not have conventional coffee pot we decided to purchase a very inexpensive one to cart around while we are here and just leave it at our last stop.

We are almost out of filters (a crisis in the making) so we decided to take a detour to the E' Leclerc market to get another box. About a mile off course I arrived at 12:38 only to find out that the store closes on Sunday at 12:30. Oh well, guess the workers deserve some time off on the weekend.