A Royal Weekend and P Acts Like a Prince

Dateline Normandy -- The T's were treated like royalty -- literally -- Sunday after spending the afternoon at the magnifique chateau of the Marquis and Marquise de Bagneux, or Louis and Yolene as they prefer to be called. The de Bagneux's domain is just 2 minutes from Chateau Blanc on a huge working estate that includes thousands of acres of farmland and woods. They were one of the first Limesians to welcome us like family and we've come to know each other quite well through lunches, dinners and through their children with whom we hang around with and who are close to our age. The de Bagneuxs are cousins to the royal family of Monoco and trace their family roots in Limesy to 1600. Louis's wife Yolene also comes from an important royal family (the Polignacs) that owns several huge chateaus in the Burgundy region. As blue-blood as they may be, they couldn't be more down-to-earth or friendlier. They love to talk about the family history and also their links to Eisenhower and WWII (see other entry for details). We couldn't help but feel a bit in awe after seeing all the portraits of their ancestors and the photos of all their connections to the different famous royal families including not-so-distant links to Queen Elizabeth and Co. Anyway, all that to say that whenever we go visit we have a blast and spend hours eating, drinking and talking. This last visit was the first since P has been a full-on walking machine and he had a great time entertaining our hosts by doing tuck and rolls in their enormous salon. The photos above include a pic of Louis beside a portrait of the first de Bagneux in Limesy in 1600 and two of their grandkids , whose company P really enjoyed. Other shots are of the chateau and the grounds including an interesting large hedge trimmed like a house and then of course some shots of P, the Prince-for-a-Day. ~30~