31 August 2011

Mortagne-au-Perche

Mortagne-au-Perche is one of the three main towns in the Perche region, which at one time was a county ruled over by a count. All three — Mortagne, Bellême, and Nogent-le-Rotrou — claim to be the ancient capital of the county.

Mortagne is known as the center of blood sausage production
in France, and that's one of the reasons why I wanted to go there.

Our gîte was closest to Mortagne, where we went to the tourist office to get Internet access. We also spent a morning in Bellême, which was beautiful. Mortagne has a fine old historic district, and I'll post pictures I took there later.

The white paint job makes the building stand out.

Across the street from the Mortagne tourist office was this old house with a turret. According to the plaque on the side of the building, it was built in the 16th century and was an inn. It's been remodeled and modified over the centuries, like most old buildings, but much of it is still intact.

Un cadran solaire, or sundial

The sundial is a striking feature, along with the turret on the corner. The plaque says the sundial was probably carved into the façade in the mid-1600s.

The "house with a turret" in Mortagne-au-Perche

Mortagne was a prettier, livelier town than I thought it would be. The blood sausage —boudin noir in French — was excellent, by the way.

5 comments:

  1. The French Tourism Bureau should pay you a stipend. You make me want to visit all these places.

    ReplyDelete
  2. What a nice blog post to read first thing in the morning. So glad you guys enjoyed Mortagne. Considering it's only 5000 people, the place bustles. We counted 5 boulangeries and there are even more bars.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I really enjoy boudin noir (called veres hurka in Hungary) and it's not really to be found where I live in Ohio, alas...I agree with Mitch. You should be getting paid by the tourism bureau. In kind if not in cash!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Boudin Noir is not among my favorites, and Robb hates it.burbalks

    ReplyDelete
  5. How's the blood sausage? I still remember that sausage we got when we visited (not blood, but the hand cut type). It was the best I've ever tasted. I want more!

    I'm way behind on your posts, sorry to say. Hope you're having fun. Love the ducks and cows and all the great photos. Enjoy.

    ReplyDelete

What's on your mind? Qu'avez-vous à me dire ?