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Anton’s diary

09.09.2016

Paris

We spent two days in Paris. It is an ancient and beautiful city. We walked through the streets and went to cozy, local cafés. We visited the Louvre and Notre Dame before the fire. We happily witnessed the medieval original.

Nora went there four times in two days; I even started calling her a nun. She said she was drawn there, that she was very calm there.

Indeed, it was a place with an unusual, strong energy. The choir that sang under the arches only enhanced the feeling. It was extremely calm and soulful there, albeit loud.

Nora wandered along the temple, examining the graves and icons. She prayed at a bench as is customary in a Catholic church. She said that she had a feeling that she had been there before and that she wanted to come back there. That’s why we went back there… four times!

We could never have imagined what role France as a whole would play in our lives.

A couple of days later we boarded a train toward the city of Tours. We were on our way to the Loire Valley. It was no less a fabulous place.

Nora’s diary

09.09.2016

The trip took two hours by train. We managed to see the suburbs. Most of all I liked our car journey to the Dupré Castle. After all, outside the car window were the Loire Valley and its castles, which are considered to be among the wonders of the world. The Loire Valley… there is so much romance in those words in my opinion. The beautiful valleys, carefully cultivated by local farmers, were quiet and calm. The sun flooded all the fields with light, and they looked as if they were honey.

I felt that the Middle Ages were sleeping there… a fabulous time of kings, princesses, and knights. That time is not dead; it is just sleeping… and it felt like it might wake up.

On the way to our castle, we stopped at the castles of Langeais and d’Ussé – fabulous places. Langeais is a majestic castle that remembers history: spiral stairs in towers, elegant bedrooms of high-ranking people, and medieval furniture. All this created a certain flair. It was something close to me. It is mine; it is me. I can’t explain the feeling, but it felt like I was at home. Maybe I lived here in my previous life?

Anton’s diary

10.09.2016

Check-in at Dupré Castle

We arrived in the evening, looked around a little, and made plans for the next day.

At the door we were met by the owners of the castle, the Count and Countess Dupré. Their names are Jean and Agnes… the emphasis, of course, on the last syllable. The castle has belonged to their family since ancient times.

They were an ordinary French couple: both were moderately thin. The countess pinned back her short, halfgray hair with a metal clip and smoked Marlboros as if in the good old ’90s. The count was tall; slightly bald; and wore large, round glasses. He had some sort of an acerbic smile. He was dressed in simple, country-style clothes… maybe too simple for a person of his caliber. He seemed to be kind and polite.

They welcomed us cordially; however, they stared a lot at Nora. The countess looked at Nora as if she was a bear and, therefore, did not want to check us in.

The countess repeated twice their rule: do not open the windows at night. I joked that we risked suffocation, but the owners sounded quite serious. Well, in September it is not so difficult to fulfill such a request although it seemed quite an unusual rule.

After they showed us to our room, the count and countess moved aside and began to whisper quite loudly and lively about something.

“Stop it! She doesn’t look at all like …,” the count’s voice trailed off as he tried to reassure his wife.

“She does, and it’s no good!” the countess replied firmly and excitedly.

“Not here!” Dupré abruptly cut off his wife and pulled her by the elbow to their part of the castle.

I wonder why my wife has scared them so much. It is funny because she is the kindest-hearted person I have ever known… and in general I think she is the most beautiful woman in the world.

Here I will add a description of my wife – I think it would be useful: she is of average height, about 170 cm. or about 5’7 “and was 25 years old at the time. She has a beautiful, Russian, round face; big eyes; straight nose; fair hair; and lips larger than average. Recently she got a popular haircut, a stupid bob where there is more hair in the front of the head than at the back. I don’t like that.

At the same time, she has good manners, always asking permission before taking something or disturbing someone. She feels sorry for all the cats, dogs, and children, and cries at every love story at the cinema. How could such a woman frighten anybody? Eh, nonsense!

Nora’s diary

10.09.2016

Evening supper

We bought everything we needed for our first evening at the castle: wine from the beautiful city of Saumur, my favorite brie cheese, and some fruit. The owners allowed us to use the living room for such occasions.

However, the most important thing is that the castle just fascinated me… the medieval windows and doors! This part of the castle had been finished in the 19th century according to the owners… very curious. Of course, the owners have changed a lot of things: electricity and heating were added, and at some time they changed the windows. However, despite all the modern technologies, the castle remained medieval.

Our room was small. It had a fireplace and an ancient, double bed with a sort of ciborium. It was terribly uncomfortable but impressive. A Gothic, dark wardrobe with a mirror stood at the left side of the bed. A huge window overlooked the former stable – now a garage for the owners’ cars – and a small forest surrounding the castle. A 15^th-century table rested below the window.

The side room had been converted into a large bathroom. Previously, it might have been a maid’s room, for example. However, times had changed; and such a room was often outfitted as a bathroom. It had not been a luxurious restoration, which is understandable because improvements to the castle required a lot of money. Therefore, the bathroom was covered with inexpensive wallpaper. There were two sinks and an ordinary small bathtub plus a wooden chair that served as a towel stand.