Ok let me dare take you to a really off the beaten path areas of my former Yvelines dept 78, These towns I visited for shopping with the family and our idea to always get out of the norm usual neighborhood we lived in Versailles, In passing or stopping by we really like the peaceful life around them, and sadly have only mentioned them very briefly in my blog, Therefore, here is my homage to Flins sur Seine and Buchelay ! Hope you enjoy the post as I
The town of Flins-sur-Seine is located in the Yvelines department 78, in the Île-de-France region of my belle France. It is 14 km from Mantes-la-Jolie, and 30 km from Versailles, The town is known especially for the establishment of a large automotive industrial center, the Renault factory in Flins on October 2, 1952, The town borders Aubergenville ,Les Mureaux ,Bouafle, Bazemont , and north of the Seine river separates it from Juziers and Mézy-sur-Seine. The main communication routes are the A13 autoroute de Normandie at sortie or exit 9 , The local roads D113 and D14 towards Les Mureaux, It is on the railroad line Paris-Le Havre.
What we came here the most was to the Carrefour Flins shopping center and the restaurants, our favorite no longer there El Rancho and the Pizza Bianca also now gone. Centre Commerciale Carrefour Flins: https://www.centre-commercial.fr/carrefour-flins/
The things to see here me think are the Church of Saint-Cloud with its first construction probably dates from the 10C; bell tower rebuilt in 1767, Also, a castle late 17C ,that has had different names according to the successive owners: Château de la Pépinière, de la Musardière, de la Minaudière, then Château du Bois Bodin. Château de la Minaudière was owned by Alfred Van Cleef, founder of Van Cleef & Arpels (he died there on June 11, 1938). Restored, it has been transformed into a residence with several apartments, There is another castle that belonged to the de la Motte Mongoubert family, which has become the City/town hall, and also, old houses including farmhouses that can date back to the 18C.
The town of Flins sur Seine on its heritage :https://flinssurseine.fr/fr/rb/510681/histoire-et-patrimoine-24
The town of Buchelay is located in the Yvelines department 78, in the Île-de-France region of my belle France, It is only 4 km from Mantes-la-Jolie, which it borders, and about 45 km from Versailles, The neighboring towns are Mantes-la-Jolie, Mantes-la-Ville, Magnanville, Fontenay-Mauvoisin just about 200 meters away !, Jouy-Mauvoisin and Rosny- sur-Seine, The autoroute de Normandie A13 crosses it in the middle in an east-west direction, with the installations of a major toll barrier as well as a half-interchange. The town is served by the local roads D 110 which connects it to Bréval to the south-west and which connects to the N13 – A13 link which connects the RN 13 to Val Fourré (Mantes-la-Jolie) as well as the RD 983 to Magnanville
At Buchelay we came to eat as was close to the A13 autoroute so when traveling west we either had our road lunch as well as when coming back east, It was an easy exit/sortie 13 , Léon de Bruxelles was our stop, We even won a magnum of Gérard Bertrand !
A bit of history and things to see me think : The town of Buchelay was separated from Rosny-sur-Seine in 1487, It was the property of several lords, then Savalète bought the lordships in 1720, The lordships were brought together in 1735. Everything was sold to Mr. de Boulongne then to Mr. Morel de Vindé until the French revolution, You can see here the Church of Saint Sebastian made of limestone covered with slate, built in the 15C, extensively restored in 1846. Square bell tower with hexagonal spire. Neo-gothic style. The bell was renovated in 2014 and was baptized Irene on April 5, 2014. The 15C church was oriented normally (choir to the east). The one we see is built north south. It is therefore a new construction in the 19C and not just a restoration. The houses of the old center are almost all present on a map from 1732.
The town of Buchelay on its heritage : https://www.buchelay.fr/decouvrir-buchelay.html
There you go folks, simple countryside towns of my nostalgic Yvelines and my belle France, As I said, memories forever in Flins sur Seine and Buchelay, Even now from the Morbihan I passed by there on the A13 take a ride for old time’s sake, Again, hope you have enjoy the post as I
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 
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