Curiosities of Bourges, part III !!!

Posted in Europe, Food and Wine, France

Coming was nice and indeed the ambiance tops it off amongs timber houses narrow cobblestones and hilly streets all very nice for our idea of our belle France! This is Bourges, in the Cher dept 18 of the Centre-Val de Loire region, and in my belle France.  I have written before on Bourges; let me update this older post as found me a new pic in my cd rom vault that should be in my blog for you and me, Therefore , this is my take on curiosities of Bourges, part III !!! Hope you enjoy the post as I. 

The hotel we found as I do business runs here and use the Logis de France as company rembursed me . Therefore, I book my personal trip with one of their hotels that I have used before on business trip but now with my family of 5 at the time. We stayed at a great logis de France property ,Le Christina, right next to the Halle au Ble (see post) and nearby free parking! Great comfort, good prices, and wonderful friendly service. It has been completely renovated recently, offering 64 rooms with three comfort categories, the Le Christina Hotel also has family rooms up to 5 people (we took it!). From the hotel you can easily walk to the Jacques Coeur Palace, Saint-Etienne Cathedral, museums (most are free) and also discover the pedestrian streets of Vieux Bourges with in particular the half-timbered houses . It is the ideal place to enjoy, on sunny days, the Bourges Nights and Lights Circuit.

The official Le Christina : https://www.le-christina.com/

The Bourges tourist office on Le Christina Hotel: https://www.bourgesberrytourisme.com/en/hotel/le-christina-hotel__trashed/

And as always we need to eat and find the very best from local recommendations. This time was Italian, ciao!  The winner was lunch at La Scala,(scaleta) 1 place Planchat. All with Italian music as the waiters sang listening to Eros Ramazzotti is tops, will need to go back one weekend. All richly decorated, great food, great service, great prices a must.  The regional chain La Scala has created a large restaurant with Baroque decor in a beautiful house in the city center of Bourges dating from the 15C. Venetian chandeliers stand alongside painted paintings and ceilings. Some will find it all a bit too much, others (like us) will appreciate the effort made to bring us back to the extravagance of Italian theater. If you book, choose a table upstairs to admire the original half-timbering, traditional in Bourges (as we did!) . In summer, prefer the large terrace, located on a very lively square, in the heart of the historic center , place Planchat. Like the surroundings, the cuisine smells of Italy. The pizzas are varied, typically Italian or more local, with French cheeses of the goat or Saint-Nectaire type. Bruschettas,   large sandwiches generously garnished   are also to try to change from pizzas. The dishes may be generous, we did not leave without an ice cream, among the most original too. Pleasant and relaxed service. A restaurant that is suitable for romantics as well as for families. Nice wine list from Italy or the Berry ,Loire regions.

The official La Scaleta restaurant: https://la-scaleta.fr/restaurant-bourges/

The Bourges tourist office on the La Scaleta restaurant : https://www.bourgesberrytourisme.com/restauration/la-scaleta/

The Moulin de la Chappe is a hydraulic mill located on the course of the Auron river, a right-bank tributary of the Cher, at the beginning of the Berry Canal in the City of Bourges, From their official webpage it tells us that the existence of the Moulin de la Chappe is attested in 1241 under the name “Charasse” or “Charosses” because it was located on a Roman road suitable for carriages at a bridge covered with a scree, which no longer exists. Today, only the Moulin de la Chappe is in operation. The mill was rebuilt by the owners following a flood in 1428. In the 17C, a slab-shaped foundation was built, along with a bridge connecting the mill to the town. In 1818 a spillway was built, raised in 1828 and completely rebuilt in concrete in 1873. The wheel is now visible after the destruction of the walls that previously surrounded and hid it; the mechanism that currently turns, however, has remained as it was in the 1900s. The interior of the mill is equipped with cylinder devices for grinding, plansifters used for separating semolina and flour, as well as 6 converters for crushing semolina. You can also discover the cogs driven by the movement of the wheel. Nice !

The official Moulin de la Chappe of Bourges : https://moulin-de-la-chappe.fr/index.php/le-moulin/

The Bourges tourist office on cereals ideas so the Chappe mill : https://www.bourgesberrytourisme.com/2022/08/12/autour-des-cereales-des-idees-a-shopper/

There you go folks, these are a nice combination to visit Bourges any time, Again, hope you enjoy the post on curiosities of Bourges, part III !!! 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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