Ignoring the currency exchange, I think I got my 6 euros worth today. Mat and I decided to go check out Château de Bonaguil. The castle is beyond impressive, I would have hung out with those 13th century royals any day. Not to mention I've had a sick obsession with wanting to be a princess since I was little, but I'm not exactly into redheads..sorry Harry.
When we first arrived we were greeted by our tour guides 'les chats du château,' as the receptionist called them. This mother-daughter duo actually led us through 75% of the castle, all while fighting like mother and daughter. We're weird cat-lovers so we enjoyed it almost as much as the castle itself.
Mat and I have toured several different chateaux in Lot-et-Garonne, but this by far had the coolest things to see. The cave passageway through the château was gorgeous, and pretty morbid if I do say so myself. They call it the 'gallery,' and yet you are welcomed by a giant guillotine ready for decapitation. I'm not sure what their galleries consisted of, but if it were the heads of frenchmen I don't think I'd be a frequent visitor.
As we made our way through the different towers we were able to overlook the entire village of Bonaguil, which in the summer is probably amazing. The season change here gives you an entirely different experience. Between the wildlife, the plants, and the vineyards, I don't think I've ever seen quite anything like the south of France during the summertime.

Each tower has several defense mechanisms and I think if you were to start some beef with anyone it would not be a Lord of Bonaguil because they had that place on lockdown. I, myself would have died at some point just from trying to get my ass up and down those steep staircases everyday.
The main tower is home to 6 different bedrooms. Two of which as you can see are now one.."there's so much room for activities!!" Don't bother screaming this at the château, the French won't get the joke. Awkward. However, I haven't seen many castles in this area with the fireplaces built into the stone walls. I would love to have seen what these bedrooms looked like back then.
So my favorite part of this is going to look extremely lame, but just wait a moment. There is 16th century graffiti on these walls. It has been translated because most of it is in old French, much of which is not even used today. Translation shows that these people had the dirtiest minds ever. There were so many different kinds of graffti: love poems, gossip, sex, death, and sometimes a combination. Here's just a short translation of one: "Here lies an unhappy sergeant who was hanged with a hard d***," I rest my case.
There are obviously several other things to see in the castle, but these by far were my favorite. Artifacts from within the chambers included a knight costume, kitchenware, furniture, and paintings (several things you find in every castle). If I could describe the personality of Château de Bonaguil, it may be along the lines of: I'm a pretty big deal, I've got a sick sense of humor, and don't you dare mess with me. Worth the visit!