This is Thoiry !!

Posted in Food and Wine, France

I like to tell you a bit on a village, small town in my old region in my belle France. You might recall the name, Thoiry. There is a wonderful animal park in the castle grounds there which I have written before in my blog.  Been a small picturesque village and to give it credit, I will update this older post with new text and links for you and me, Therefore, here is my take on this is Thoiry !! Hope you enjoy it as I.

thoiry-city-center-feb11

The town of Thoiry is located in the department of Yvelines 78 , in the Île-de-France region of my belle France. The village is located about 30 km from Versailles (capital of Yvelines) ,and 40 km from Paris. You get here by car as this is backcountry Yvelines, my old department. The main road is D 11 (Route de Versailles) which crosses the village and leads to Villiers-Saint-Frédéric and N 12 road to Septeuil. D 45 road crosses the village, leading to Richebourg and to Maule then Orgeval where you can link up with the A13 autoroute de Normandie. More or less parallel to the D 11, the D 119 road makes it possible to join Beynes towards Hargeville. These roads are marvellous country roads a sublime experience for many years. There is no train station here, the closest are Beynes at 7 km and Montfort-l’Amaury – Méré at 8 km. This is a small town so will give direction to the castle which right in city center, Take the A13 Porte d’Auteuil Directrion Rouen . At the A13 A12 branch union ,take the A12 , then the N12 towards Dreux. Take the Thoiry exit, follow the D76 then the D11 towards Thoiry.

We came here for a quick lunch and drinks as we were leaving the town after a brief visit to the castle animal park (see post).  This is for the tourists on the run as we were lol! We had a quick meal in the Auberge du Vieux Pressoir, 21 rue de la Porte Saint Martin,  nothing fancy simple pizzas and beers express coffee and off we went . The best was the garden where it is good to taste pizzas, its small vine which makes us travel at the time of the musette balls. Prices to match the view, high. I have confirmed this is now closed, here for the memories of always.

thoiry-auberge-du-vieux-pressoir-resto-hotel-feb11

Before you leave Thoiry do pay a visit to the nice church.The Church Saint Martin was erected under the name of Saint Martin, probably around 1100, by the Monks of the Abbey of Clairefontaine, neighbor of Rambouillet. These monks may have belonged to one of the religious orders to which the Lords of Montfort had granted clearing areas in the forest of Yvelines, around the year 1000, areas in which, after deforestation, the monks created villages by gathering scattered populations. The current bell tower, nave and choir seem to have been built at different times. The lower part of the bell tower seems to be the oldest. The pillars which support the construction on the side of the nave seem to be Gothic. The upper part was rebuilt in 1639 ; the nave must date from the end of the 16C; the choir was rebuilt in 1672.  In 1793, the Church Saint Martin was completely emptied during its transformation into a Temple of Reason in the French revolution. Everything disappeared, brought to the district, sold or burned. Only the beautiful polychrome Virgin 14C was saved, which was hidden by the inhabitants of Thoiry and returned to the church after the revolution. Inside ,only the tombstone of the Count of Baussan which is now in the enclosure of the castle has been saved. There is no record of what was inside just some brief mentioned of chapels and statues all gone during the French revolutin ravages.  From the Empire period, important works were done by the village, and by the Count of Machault, then Mayor of Thoiry, for the restoration of the church, and its embellishment. The church was last restored in 1980.

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A bit of history I like tell us that under the monarchy, the lordship of Thoiry first belonged to the family of Thoiry from the 13C. It was Raoul Moreau who had a new Thoiry castle built in the middle of the 16C. The chapel is said to be the work of Philibert Delorme. At the beginning of the 17C the castle was owned by Guillaume Marescot, a powerful state councilor. In 1968, Count Antoine de La Panouse created the animal park in the castle grounds.

The Animal park castle of Thoiry: https://www.thoiry.net/me-rendre-au-parc/

The Yvelines dept 78 tourist office on the animal park castle of Thoiry: https://www.destination-yvelines.fr/parcs-a-theme/thoiry-zoo-safari/

The Île de France region tourist office on the animal park castle of Thoiry : https://www.visitparisregion.com/en/products/thoiry-zoosafari-entry-ticket

There you go folks, another quant off the beaten path trip in my old backyard. Oh yes the animal park is very famous but people tend to overlook the pretty village and it is a pity. Thoiry is nice and walking its main streets is a delight. Again, hope you enjoy the post on this is Thoiry as I.

And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!

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Published by pedmar10

I am a lover of travels to Europe , Americas , Africa and Asia as well ,who like to share my experiences of the last 53 years with the world, visiting so far 81 countries; living in 6, working in 5, and Citizen of 4, speaking fluently 4 languages. I can deal with sports especially football/soccer and love music, arts, wine collector/drinker, and go out to restaurants, and just visit the world. My background comes all the way from Candelaria and Pajara in Tenerife, Spain where my grandparents came from ;not knowing each other then, to Punta Brava, west of Havana, Cuba. There , my parents born in Cuba met and later on I was born there too. 100% guanche (annexed Tenerife to Spain on April 10 ,1496). I left Cuba as many have to Madrid, Spain where I lived for 4 years. Then, move to Perth Amboy ,New Jersey USA (living there 13 yrs) ; where I completed high school, became a US Citizen, learned to drive a car, and learned English. Afterward, went to the university in Florida, ERAU, and upon graduation decided to moved there to Ormond by the Sea, near Daytona Beach, finally moving North Miami, then Hialeah, then another moved to Silver Lakes division in Miramar, Broward county, Florida; in Florida I lived a total of 18 years. Finally , moved to France in 2003 ,Versailles call me for its royalty, and working in Paris was great. It was time to seek frontiers again and moved to Brech near Auray, Morbihan in Brittany , and later move to not too far Pluvigner. Total so far in France has been 20 years, and counting. Moving average a home every 5.5 years hopefully this will be my last. Cheers All rights reserved. No part of this blog may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means or stored in a retrieval system of any nature, without the written permission of the copyright holder, me. No part of this work may be modified, without the written permission of the holder, me.No part of this work may be exposed to public view in any form or by any means, without identifying the holder as the author, and with the before mentioned permission.

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