T Stands For The History Lessons

 Hi everyone, I'm afraid I'm not spending long on this post. I have started some new medication (and dropped some others) but I'm feeling very tired today - it didn't help that I had to wait in the pharmacists for over 15 Minutes for just one box of medication that hadn't arrived with the rest!

I'm taking you back to France, hubby and I had another day on our own while staying with our friends. 

We were headed to Couhé but as we were so close to Lusignan we decided to stop and explore a little. The town seems to be split into the new and old town and it was the old town we wanted to see.

It has connections with Henry ll (husband of Eleanor of Aquitaine) and the first castle built here is said to be built my Melusine, a water sprite. 

The inhabitants of Lusignan are known as Mélusins or Mélusines

The old marketplace looks as though it is still in use

There was a multiple baptism ceremony in the church so we popped in at the back - we'll save the rest for another visit sometime!

The square was busy when we walked back that way

The story of Sister Jeanne Cherer's bravery can be read here

Blogger once again has decided that my photos don't need to be in order! It was such an interesting town but in order to get some lunch we had to leave.

My SIL had suggested a suitable place for lunch so we set off to find it. She had given us directions so it was quite easy to find.

The Promenade restaurant was quite busy and seemed popular with locals.

It's certainly an excellent place to visit for T Stands for Tuesday over at The Altered Book Lover where our hosts Bleubeard and Elizabeth are there to welcome you with your drink related posts

Hubby got his Cafe Gourmand (expresso coffee and a selection of mini desserts) I didn't have a dessert but did manage to grab a couple of spoonsful of hubby's! We both had water, which you can see came in a jug with ice.

We liked this way of showing what possible allergies there might be connected to the menu

This is what we both chose and it was the most delicious Veggie burger I have ever had.

We moved on to the abbey - up a track quite close to the restaurant.

To celebrate Patrimoine weekend there was a guide to talk about the abbey's history.

Steps down to the pond - a bit overgrown now

The gates must have been huge, judging by the rusty hinge

We stood in front front of the house in blazing sun for around 30 minutes before I and another lady escaped to the shade of the gazebo. The guide was very interestsing but clearly loved the sun.

One of Eleanor's enemies built the abbey (she already had connections with Fontevraud where she was eventually buried)

The guide didn't speak English but I did manage to follow most of the history of Eleanor that he was talking about.

When he started to talk about the architecture I'm afraid hubby and I (along with a few others) went our own way.

The original abbey is fenced off as the ruins could be unsafe. 

It was still a fascinating building

There was an art exhibition in the house but I was so interested I forgot to take photos

Hubby did ..

I did find some conkers and a feather to make my own little piece of art though.......

..........and spotted this little chappie

I'm sure you've had enough history for one day - there's another lesson next week. but for now, time for me to have a rest.

Thanks for looking, Chris

I'll be around tomorrow to visit!