A Visit to Tourouvre and Bresolettes

(Note: Click on the photos for more detail)

September 15, 1998, was a cold, raw, rainy day in northwest France. My wife Françoise and I, along with our friends Carol and Sam Marsella, hired a car and driver to go from the Domaine de Beauvois, in Luynes in the Loire Valley to Tourouvre and Bresolettes in the Perche region.

We were all on a 2-week Tauck tour of Normandy, Brittany, the Loire Valley, and Paris, but decided to leave the tour for one day for a visit to my ancestor Guillaume Pelletier's home in Bresolettes and his wife Michelle (Michèle) Mabille's home town of Tourouvre.

After Christophe, our driver, gave us a harrowing two and half hour drive from Luynes, we arrived in Tourouvre, a town of 1,650, around 11AM. Our first stop was to visit St-Aubin Church where Michelle Mabille was baptized in 1592 and wed Guillaume in 1619.


Click on the picture above for a pictoral visit to St-Aubin Church
We then went across the square to visit the former small museum that housed information and displays relating to the Percheron emigration to New France between 1634 and 1651.


Click on the picture above for a pictoral visit to the former museum
After our visit at the museum, we took a short drive to see "La Grande Trappe", the original trappist monastery in the neighboring village of Soligny.


Click on the picture above for a quick pictoral visit to the Grande Trappe
Upon our return to Tourouvre from La Grande Trappe in Soligny, we stopped at the Hotel de France, across the street from St-Aubin Church, for lunch, where we were graciously received by the owner, Mr. Gilbert Feugueur.


Click on the picture above for a short pictoral visit to the Hotel de France dining room
After lunch, we made our way back into the Perche Forest to Bresolettes, a village of 21 or so people, to meet the mayor, Xavier Van de Walle, at St-Pierre Church.


Click on the picture above for a pictoral visit to St-Pierre Church in Bresolettes
The mayor then accompanied us to "La Cristerie", Guillaume Pelletier's home.


Click on the picture above for a pictoral visit to Guillaume Pelletier's 16th Century home
It was an unforgettable experience.

To visit Bresolette's web-site (under construction), click here.