Six Hundred Stone (6/7)

Today John suggested we go for a drive to see some of the sights of the valley, especially the fortress of Castlenaud, which I had expressed interest in because of the medieval warfare museum within. Okay, two-track mind: fashion shoots and pointy metal things.

They dropped me off at the visitor’s entrance to the castle; I opted to take the unguided route through the structure. Right from the outset I could tell that these Franks had reached Imperial Age from the presence of a trebuchet on the ramparts. There were several more trebuchets inside, as well as a bombard cannon, showing that they had researched Chemistry at their University; placards on the walls were abundantly clear that they had researched Murder Holes as well, further increasing their defensive capability.

The museum was intense, especially the Crossbow Room. There were over a dozen different models of crossbows on the walls, as well as a giant ballista in the center of the room. The Artillery Room was cool too; they had one cannon that was basically constructed as a musket on a 5x scale. In the Sword Room I met an American couple from Pennsylvania, Emma and Jed. Emma had completed a year in Toulouse, and had gone to high school with my friend Max Reitman! She knew about about Guilford and the Yachting Club! I won’t dwell on exactly how serendipitous it was that I met her, but WOW!

After the castle the Lincolns took me to their favorite restaurant, where I had a superb Maigret de Canard, filets of rare duck meat in sauce. I couldn’t bring myself to try foie gras. Curse you, M. Potts, with your French V unit on social problems and animal rights!

When we got back to the house we had the Lincoln’s neighbor Christian over for wine and cake. We had a very interesting conversation about lots of various topics. He left just as it was beginning to rain. There are violent storms predicted for tomorrow, probably with hail, but the worst of it should pass to the east.