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14th Century Penthouse Suite: Château de Duras

Monday, January 13, 2014

I'm not normally a medieval castle kinda girl, I'm more on the renaissance, cinderellaesque side, but Château de Duras is up there on my list. The main difference you'll notice with the two is that the medieval castles are big, bulky stone structures, and the renaissance castles are usually white, blue, and fairytale-like. I still have my mom buy me Disney princess wrapping paper for Christmas so you can figure which kind I prefer. 

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The people of Duras bought this castle in the 1960's and they take really nice care of it. For a 700 year old château it's in pretty damn good shape. You can also walk through the entire place, in which they have so much to see inside. Huge plus.
It seems somewhat simple at first, because unless you have an aerial view you don't generally know how massive it is. The tower to the top left is what you get to go up to, aka the penthouse suite. Sorry I don't own my own jetpack quite yet so instead I took a picture of a picture for you all. Photography at its finest.
Mat and I went our separate ways when he noticed the weapon room. I on the other hand stood in fascination at the clothing section of the castle. For whatever reason I have a heavy urge to wear a lung squeezing corset and oversized gown. Once again thank you Disney, you have brainwashed me.
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Some of the setups are rather creepy. Like this guy for example, whom scared the living crap out of me. He's not the best looking mannequin I've ever seen. Just remember it's people of the village doing this on their own.
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The main hall is beautiful. The royals here partied like absolute rockstars. In the 17th century the château was actually considered a duchy, more or less an independent castle owned by a dutch or duchess. However, once The French Revolution rolled around not all of the castle was left quite as stunning.
The best parts of Château de Duras are by far the first deck and the top. The view, as usual in the south of France, is breathtaking. Getting up the stairs, however, is quite the squeeze so if you're pushing 300 lbs, I'm not here to judge but it might be slightly impossible.
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We had to of course take a #castleselfie while we were up there.
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Right near Château de Duras there is a cafe called Café de La Paix. After living in Italy for 6 months, I never, EVER found a cappuccino this good. France- 1 Italy-0. It also has outdoor seating and is such a quaint little area. A perfect end to a castle tour.


P.S. here is what the top is like. Excuse my obnoxious excitement.

I'm an American girl living in Florida, so why do I write about the South of France? I have my husband, Mathieu to thank for that! (From the name you can assume he is indeed a Frenchman). We've lived in Bordeaux and have also traveled the country together. Our relationship has resulted in more adventures and cultural experiences than I had ever dreamed of. Thus my inspiration for showing others what France and its surrounding countries have to offer.

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2 comments

  1. Den nationTuesday, January 21, 2014

    It's nice to see another Bordeaux blogger around these days.

    So this cappuccino was better than any you ever had in Italy? That is saying a lot, considering how bad the cappuccinos are in France.

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    Replies
    1. UnknownTuesday, January 21, 2014

      Thanks Den nation! It was, no exaggeration whatsoever, because I completely agree..French cappuccinos are not so good. Then again they used really good whipped cream..and I'm a sucker for sweets :)

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