Instead of eating petit déjeuner (breakfast) at the restaurant hotel we chose to buy croissants from the patisserie for breakfast. It was France after all, and at €1 a pop, cheaper than the €8 for breakfast charged by the restaurant at the hotel. The croissants were good as you would expect, flaky and buttery, but I’d now left crumbs in the car to add to the odd crisp and brazil nut from yesterday.

Chateau de Pierrefonds

Our first stop of the day was Chateau de Pierrefonds. Considered a national monument and one of the most beautiful castles in France, it is perched high up on the hill.

Originally built for military defense purposes, it found new life through restoration efforts in the 19 Century and was used as the backdrop for a number of films. It overlooks the little village of (surprise, surprise) Pierrefonds. Delightfully, this cozy little village has a tiny high street of about six shops or so, most of which related to food, including a restaurant brasserie. Clearly the French know what is important in life.

The aromas from the rotisserie were overwhelmingly seductive, and the spit roasted chickens on display looked irresistible, so of course we had to lunch from the rotisserie, settling on ham, roast pork, fried mash potatoes and fries, all washed down with beer from the restaurant. Last up were the chocolate eclairs from the patisserie; with airy light pastry and a soft gooey chocolatey centre they were utterly divine. This was truly what life was all about.