Today was going to be a long drive. Unfortunately it was the only day we could do it on but I wanted to see this location. It was rather cloudy and grey but there wasn't anything we could do about that.
Fontevraud Abbey was founded in 1101 by the hermit Roberts d'Arbrissel for both men and women and was the largest of its kind in France. It is quite large but is only a shadow of it's former self. At its height over 700 people lived at the Abbey with over 200 being nuns. Even the buildings that have been preserved and restored are impressive. I would have liked to see it at its heyday. It was run for nearly 700 years by aristocratic abbesses. Buried here 10 Plantagenets including Henry Plantagenet (Henry II) and his wife Eleanor of Aquitaine, their son King Richard the Lionheart (1157-1199) and Isabelle, wife of his brother King John. Quite impressive really.
As you can see we spent a lot of time driving today. We don't normally do this anymore on holidays.
Remember that during this period half of France was a part of England. That's what the 100 Years War was all about. After the French Revolution it became a prison and was still in use until 1963 when it was closed, which isn't really all that long ago.
I had been looking forward to this trip as I've seen these historical abbeys in the south of France. They tend to be fantastic places to explore and photograph. I took the E-M1 again with the Olympus 12-100 f4 mounted and the E-M5 II with the Panasonic 7-14 f4 as usual. I didn't want to miss anything so the Panasonic TZ101 was in it's usual place, my bags side pocket.
Panasonic TZ101
Olympus E-M1 - Olympus 12-100 f4 Pro
The kitchen. It was actually the first time that the kitchens had been built outside of the main buildings. It was a long time before historians reaslised it was actually the kitchen which housed 8 kitchens in one.
Effigy of Eleanor of Aquitaine
Only a small amount of the frescos can still be seen.
The abbey was originally the site of the graves of King Henry II of England, his wife Eleanor of Aquitaine, their son King Richard I of England.
Also Isabella of Angoulême the wife of Henry and Eleanor's son King John.
However, there is no remaining corporal presence of Henry, Eleanor, Richard, or the others on the site. Their remains were possibly destroyed during the French Revolution.
Olympus E-M5 II - Panasonic 7-14 f4
One of the cloister gelleries.
Just one of the inner courts.
This model shows clearly how large the abbey was in it's heyday. The only part that reamains is the central buildings in the middle of the model, and thy have been largely restored.
The main inner court.
Simply impressive.
This is the entrance to a restaurant outside the abbey and I thought it was a nice scene.
I was a little disappointed by what I saw. I've seen better but...... You could say the restorers did too good of a job restoring the buildings. It looks new, which of course a lot of it is. However, it is impressive what the old builders could achieve.
On our way back we stopped off at a little village for a meal. Of course there was another chateau but we didn't visit. We took a little walk around the town and along the Loire river.
Olympus E-M1 - Olympus 12-100 f4 Pro
Panasonic TZ101
