In the meantime, we'll try to catch up on our travels.
Last Monday, July 18th, we returned to Tain L'Hermitage and the Valhrona Chocolate factory. They no longer offer tours, unfortunately, but they make up for this disappointment by placing bountiful samples of their chocolates all over their store. I don't think I've ever seen children devour so much chocolate before lunch!
After gorging ourselves on chocolate & making our purchases, we drove to the little village of Hauterives for a visit to the historical monument called the "Palais Ideal" - the Ideal Palace of the Postman Ferdinand Cheval. Ferdinand Cheval, who was a rural postman in Hauterives from 1867-1896, devoted his free time to creating this masterpiece, which has been classified as a historical monument as an architectural example of naive art. Postman Cheval spent 33 years (1879-1912) building his Palace; using 4000 bags of lime and cement and various rocks that he picked up along his postal route, and representing 1000 cubic meters of stonework.
Throughout the structure there are inspirational quotes carved into the stonework from the Postman. My favorites:
"Work has been my only glory and honour my only joy."
"I am the faithful companion of the intelligent worker who looks for his little continent each day within his own countryside."
"To a valiant heart, nothing is impossible."
"For good men, all people are our brothers. Our motto is to love everyone."
The palace is quite remarkable...
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| Outside the Valrhona factory |
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| The North Face of Le Palais Ideal |
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| The Three Giants |
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| Looking into The Gallery |
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| Grotto of the Virgin Mary |
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