Clisson

Clisson is a small town not too far from Nantes. The town and castle were mostly destroyed during the Vendeen struggles in the early 1700s, and a sculptor named Lemot later bought the castle and rebuilt the town according to his plans.
The castle ruins remain:

and this tree grows atop the walls and is apparently somewhat well known:

For the people who live here, it is just part of their world and they work around it. We came to Clisson for the market and it was set up in the shadow of this castle.

These two guys are sitting behind their trailer with the walls of the castle behind them.

This vendor was right in front of an old entrance into the castle.


The market was packed until lunchtime - then everybody disappears. This guy is selling llive poultry: several kinds of chicken, ducks, etc.


This vendor was caning [chairs, not people! ~vsm].

Several booths had prepared foods, like olives, tapenades, etc. We bought several different kinds, including an anchoiade, an anchovy mix. Awesome.

Teresa, Vicki and Gabi near the old castle.

A bridge over the Moine river

Pathway leading up to l'Eglise Notre Dame

The table menu at our lunch stop on the square. Clisson is famous for its Muscadet wines. Three of us had a croque monsieur - basically a grilled ham sandwich with gruyere cheese on top. A croque madame is the same with a fried egg added. Delicieux! [Teresa and Gabi had carpaccio, which is thinly-sliced raw beef. Ummmmm.... not pour moi, but thanks. ]

From Vicki: The day was lovely. It's always so cool to visit medieval sites. In America, we would have torn down the castle to make a shopping center. In Europe, there seems to be a continuing appreciation for conservation (of sites and of resources) that Americans just don't have. There is so much that we could learn.
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