Domaine de la Roussille

So one of my friends is a genious and discovered a place that we could do free wine tasting near Poitiers. Everyone I went with really likes wine, and I was still searching for a type that I liked. The taste has not yet been acquired. It was a small vineyard in the town next to Poiters called Domain de la Roussille. If anyone is ever in this area of France, this is a good place to go. 

Look a sign. Meters are weird, and I cant judge distance in feet, so when they give it to me in meters it could  be any distance really. 

 We had the taxi drop us off in the middle of the town. From there we walked to the vineyard, passing all of the grape vines on the way. It was really cool in the bright sunlight to see the rows and rows of grapes that make one of Frances most popular drinks. There were crows flying all over too, which made the sight all the more picturesque. 

 These are the wines we tried. The blanc is a Sauvignon. The Roses are sec (dry) and a demi-sec (half dry). And the rouges are a Gamay, which I thought was terrible, a Cabernet, and a really old Cabernet. Then to finish it off we had a dessert wine, a sweet Sauvignon. That is and was so far the only wine that I liked. It is pictured below.

They also had flavored grape juice and homemade honey for those who didn't like wine. 

They were very professional and very nice. I highly recommend them.

Notre Dame La Grande de Poitiers

In Poitiers, like in every good French town, there are churches. We visited two, this was the first, Notre Dame La Grande. The churches beautiful façade had all sorts of intricate carvings, and the stained glass windows were shinning wonderfully in the, finally, sunny daylight.

 Built in the later half of the 11th century, the inside is highly Romanesque, with high ceilings and rounded pillars shooting up into it. The ceiling is rounded like a barrel with only arcs action as support. In other more flamboyantly Gothic churches, the ceilings are crisscrossed with supports.

 

Private vaults shoot off from the main chapel, one of which was built by the Grand Seneschal of Poitou Yvon, commonly refered to as "the Insane." He was buried at this church as well. Unfortunately I can't find anymore information about him, so he remains a mystery to me. I feel like there is a very interesting story around anyone given the title "the Insane," but like most of the statues that used to adorn this church, the Revolution destroyed any way of telling who or what he did.

 There were beautiful stained glass at Notre Dame La Grande. The one on the left depicts the Virgin Mary, as she is very highly revered to all Catholics  and especially to this church. It is said that the Virgin Mary appeared to a group of English soldiers that were intending to attack Poitiers, when she appeared the soldiers killed each other and fled, saving the town. 

The one on the right is Joan of Arc (Jeanne d'Arc). It was in Poitiers that Joan was questioned by French priests. Although the record was also destroyed in the Revolution, it is said that the priests agreed that she was speaking with God, and approved her practice.

A huge organ sat in the church and provided it with music. 

Like most Romanesque churches, the columns and walls were painted. The Fresco's have survived a remarkable amount of time, and restoration on them continues to this day. 

Poitiers' Hotel

Im sorry that I didn't have a lot of time last week to write here. Things get busy when I decide to leave my room.

 So this weekend I left my room, and also the city of Nantes. Some friends and I visited the city of Poitiers, it is south of Nantes and more inland. There we stayed in a hotel which is usually used for apartment renting for extended periods of time.

Because of that the hotel was super cool. It had a nice bathroom but the best part was the little kitchette. Not only did it have a mini-fridge, which a lot of other hotels across the pond don't, it also had a microwave, a sink with a soap dispenser, and to my utter delight a stove top.

And hiding in the many cupboards were an assortment of cookware and dishes. I was very pleased. It was the first real time since I got to France that I was able to cook for myself.

I bought pasta, and made a tomato cream sauce to go on it. I tossed in some mushroom ans onions and I was very pleased with my creation.