Maison Bâillon and Sites of Saintes

After breakfast at the Abbaye, Papa and I took a walk by the river front of Saintes.  It was a beautiful, still,  cloudy morning.  We drove an hour north of Saintes to visit Maison Bâillon, a cake factory owned by our neighbors and friends, Claudie and Lionel, from Lectoure.  They were ready for us when we arrived and we did a taste test right away, trying their signature cake, le tourteau, and two flavored cheesecakes, pear and raspberry.  All were delicious!  We suited up in protective gear and Lionel took us on a tour of the factory.  We were very impressed by how efficiently everything runs, from delivery and storage of ingredients to mixing, pouring into pans, cooking, packaging, and preparing for delivery to stores.  Claudie and Lionel are the most adventurous and ambitious French entrepreneurs we can imagine!  We enjoyed lunch with them before driving back to Saintes.  We enjoyed every minute!

On the drive back to Saintes, we stopped at Eglise Saint-Pierre in Aulnay, built between 1120-1140, and with oriental influences in its carvings, including elephants on the column capitals.  It is a UNESCO site.  It was a stunning church with an interesting cemetery in front and back.

We made two stops along the way back to Saintes, at Roman constructed water sources and aqueducts, built in the 1st century, with water flowing over several miles in hand hewn stone pools and levadas, 2000 years later.  Beautiful and interesting!

We arrived back in Saintes by 4 this afternoon and took a walk around the major sites of the city… a Roman arena, Basilica Saint Eutrope and it’s crypt, Saint Peter’s Cathédrale and cloister, Arc of Germanicus, and the Abbaye aux Dames (where we are staying) - all UNESCO sites.  We are enjoying Saintes!