- see story below -
In August, 1999, my wife, Angela, and I accepted an invitation to visit friends in Provence, France for about eight days. We were blessed with incredibly fine but hot weather as well as excellent food and wine for the entire trip.
Towards the end of our stay, the ladies allowed as how they would like to see a couple of chateaus, so we piled into the car and drove from the small mountain village we were staying in to the city of Montlimar where the castle was straight forward with a great vantage point and very strong stone work and details.
After a nice lunch, we drove to the town of Suze la Russe to see the Chateau there. In this case, we were forced to take a tour given by a French speaking guide who knew very little English. Midpoint in the tour, as we were looking from the ramparts over the many vineyards that stretched as far as the eye could see, the guide said "jeu de paume" and "quarante l'oeuf" and I suddenly woke up. The words translate as tennis and forty-love. As soon as I could, I asked her where the court was and she pointed it out to me.
The only thing still standing were the walls. According to a very rough English translation, the local vassal was sitting there, when he receives a messenger with a message from the king. The king announced his arrival in about three days and mentioned that he hoped for a game of tennis with this vassal. The vassal rounded up the local serfs and these men proceeded to create a fully functioning court IN THREE DAYS. It is made out of the local stone as are almost all of the local buildings. Apparently, it was built in the 14th or 15th century and all of the penthouses and wooden roofs have been lost. The tambour is still there but somewhat shorter than what we are used to. I hope that you will find the accompanying pictures of interest.
|