Le Château

Where am I off to tomorrow?
My friends' château is located near Marmande, a one-hour train ride away from Bordeaux. In the garden the gorgeous 17th century wood and stone Halle (top pic.), where markets used to be held, is still standing. Breakfast outdoors, with fresh bread and homemade jams, are a summer ritual everyone loves...
Every August, friends crowd the château, and the many, many rooms are all packed, as little kids run around and grownups chat or read under the ancient trees. Our hostess, who goes by the nickname Fafa unless we teasingly call her Baroness, is known to be a top-notch cook, who buys produce from a nearby farmer, so the kitchen and the entire house are deliciously fragrant...
I met the family in China, where we were all living in the late 1980's. Yves and Fafa, who are very close to my parents', have four boys, all of whom I consider my brothers: Raphaël (32), Etienne (27), Coco (22) and Leopold (15). More on the family and the château in posts to come...