Landscape

Looking down on Château Bussy-la-Pesle

Well here I am, back in France and back in the château-repair business. My host family, the Laurenty, welcomed me very warmly, as did the weather. I was last here in the gray of late November, but now the countryside is a dark, thirsty green. Bussy-la-Pesle has never looked so lovely.

During my time here I’ll be continuing the blog I kept throughout my last visit. As before, I’ll be updating it with some news of what I’m up to. But I’ll also be posting a series about unique architectural features of this region and the historical and architectural questions that make restoration such interesting work.

For those of you who didn’t get a chance to follow my blog last time I was over here, all the old stuff is still available for you to check out. Here’s a video tour of the château, and here and here are some examples of the work I was doing.

If you want to send me letters, postcards, gifts, or cash, you can mail them to me at

Chateau
21540 Bussy-la-Pesle
France
 

Hate mail and death threats should be sent via email as usual. Many thanks! Tell me your address and I’d be happy to mail you something as well. And of course, if any of you find yourselves traipsing through France this summer, please please come visit. It’s always a delight to speak English again, so I’d be absolutely delighted to see you – even those of you who I don’t actually like.

Very little has changed on the outside since I left in November of 2012, but my host family has made significant progress on the interior in my absence. Elecricity has been expanded into the Rennaissance wing. The room where Stephane and I installed the flagstone floor is now more or less finished, and rooms that were almost done are now complete. Rooms that had been crumbling, peeling, and collapsing for decades are now in that advanced state of chaos that looks like disaster but is in fact progress in disguise. But as always, there’s lots of work to do here, and the Laurenty family will keep me busy.

Stay tuned…

Chateau