Small Cities of Character #2: Saint-Céneri-le-Gérei, Saint-Léonard-des-Bois, La Perrière and Mortagne-au-Perche
We continue our road trip in Mayenne / Perche. If it isn’t done yet, I invite you to read the first part of this mini road trip here.
Part 1: Travel Diary
Part 2: Practical Tips
Part 1: Travel Diary
Day 2: Saturday
Wheat & Poppy Field
Poppies are becoming rarer, contrary to what we saw in June, but we still manage to spot some flowered places. It is at the edge of a wheat field that we found them. I recovered a few heads, which I will dry and incorporate into my paper flowers. The presence of poppies in a wheat field is apparently a good sign: it means that the farmer has not (too much) used herbicide/pesticide. Compared to June, most of the wheat fields have changed color, and the contrast between the color of the wheat and the red of the poppy is just too beautiful!
It would have been the perfect time to take out my beautiful red silk dress, but the sun is frankly not there. I always have my fleece on me on a July 1st! Sadness.
Saint-Céneri-le-Gérei
A picturesque landscape awaits us in Saint-Céneri-le-Gérei. It is a city of character and also one of the most beautiful villages in France.
This place has attracted and continues to attract many painters. Apart from the stone bridge (very busy because the main road of the village passes through it), one can walk through the small pedestrian streets up to the top: towards its church, classified as a historical monument. Because of my headache, we did not stay there for a long time, but the few things we saw enchanted us.
There seems to be a known hiking trail in the area as we have seen many hikers equipped to the teeth, with walking sticks and everything.
This village is likely to be extremely crowded in summer. We are on Saturday, first day of the July vacations and the parking lot is already 1/3 full in the morning. When we see the number of places available for the cars and campervans, we say to ourselves that there is surely a reason for that. But today, still happy, we are rather quiet.
Belvedere of the Toyeres
On the way, we spot a small sign indicating a belvedere. Neither one nor two, we make a small detour to see what it is.
The view is so satisfying. The access is frankly not complicated, because the carpark is just at 1 minute of this view point. It seems to be the starting point of a hike (or a stage) because there is a sign indicating that we have to turn back and continue the path (to where??).
A question that is on our minds: who mowed the lawn from below? And for what reason? 😀
Saint-Léonard-des-Bois
We continue on our way to Saint-Léonard-des-Bois, another city of character where water is omnipresent. It seems to be a busy place, there is even a large parking lot for camper vans. One can spot groups of motorcyclists from afar, happily picnicking under a hundred-year-old tree. The place is good for geo-caching, there are moreover a lot of crosses scattered all over this small village: the complete list here in case you get bored.
Sunflower field
I’m sleeping in the car when JB slowly wakes me up. Why does he wake me up in a coma?
I don’t even have time to grumble when JB explains to me that we’ve crossed several sunflower fields since earlier, but this one is really the most beautiful, the most impressive.
The weather is cloudy, but thanks to these flowers, you can see where the sun is. They are all turned towards the sun, it’s so cute. Seen from afar, it’s very funny, it looks like an audience watching a movie or a show ahahah 😀 They are huge too, the stems are almost the size of JB. Wonderful! I don’t think I’ve ever seen real sunflower flowers.
La Perrière
I am quiet for another hour and can continue to comatose. The car is super comfortable and allows me to sleep really well. I hope that we will have a car like this for our road trip in France. In any case, JB is driving, it’s a pleasure especially since I’m a public danger at the wheel. Today we have a lot of driving to do because we come back to Rouen to sleep, which makes 5 hours of driving in total. But he assures me that 2 hours of driving per day with a maximum of 2 villages to visit per day this summer, he will be able to keep up the pace for a month without any worries.
We arrive at La Perrière right on time for a snack. Be careful, there are several villages named La Perrière, the one to look for is in Belforêt-en-Perche (61360). In the area, you can’t even get the phone network so I strongly advise you to download the Google Maps offline before coming.
I discover with surprise an “icelandic poppy”. It is the flower you see in all paper flower books, because it is bigger than a normal poppy, and exists in several colors. Although it does not come from Iceland, the name is easy to remember. Its center is particularly beautiful and difficult to make out of paper, so I am very happy to have a specimen to study in real life.
The village is tiny but has this very retro, very charming. We are instantly attracted by La Maison d’Horbé, with its very busy decoration. But it is a tea room / restaurant / antiques. You can buy everything there. And the crockery that is used to serve us, the silver cutlery…. are so fine, that we have the impression to be invited in a castle for a tea time (delicious, by the way). I was served tea in a porcelain cup, so fine and so light, that I was surprised by its weight
In short, if you come here, ask to be placed inside because the small courtyard, although charming, isn’t as incredible as the interior. All this has a cost though: 22€ for a tea time for 2 (two drinks, two desserts).
Even the toilet looks great, with a high-tech, 2-in-1 Dyson faucet that washes and dries hands at the same time, I’ve never seen that before!
Going around the restaurant, you arrive to the garden of the same restaurant, where ceramic flowers of an artist are exposed (the artist is present on the premises if you want to buy her flowers). In the huge cage are two white doves. The place is charming and so romantic. I strongly advise you to spend some time there, the access is free.
Mortagne-au-Perche
Last stop of the day because JB is tired and won’t be able to stand another stop (especially since we planned to go to Ikea right after). Mortagne-au-Perche is a much bigger and more animated city than all the villages we visited since this morning. Its Notre-Dame Church does not go unnoticed. And the interior is really very pretty.
On this, we return to Rouen, without forgetting to make a small efficient detour to Ikea. I have to buy stuffing for my cushions. Cushions to offer to the babies of the friends, who were born these 3 last years. It has become a ritual: one cushion per baby 😀 The novelty of the 2020 vintage: knots made with a sublime ribbon.
For the sewing, I rent a sewing machine by the hour at the Café Couture in Rouenwhich I recommend to you with my eyes closed.
For fabrics, I recommend the Fabric & Moi store in Rouen too, where I was able to find beautiful coupons for cheap.
For the model, I confess to have shamefully copied Zü. If you’re looking for a decorative cushion for children, take a look at his creations.
The 3rd (and last) part of the mini roadtrip, it’s this way
Part 2: Practical Tips
- These villages are part of the +800 tourist places in France that we recommend. To access the Google Maps map of these 800 places for free, click here
- Car rental: we compared the offers and that day, the cheapest was 24€/day with Enterprise. To compare the rental offers, you can look on Rentalcars (link, -4% with the promo code rentalcars4), Lastminute (link) or Expedia(link)
- Taste at La Maison d’Horbé (La Perrière): 22€ for two. Very good, irreproachable service, magnificent decoration.
- Accomodations / hotels near Saint-Ceneri-le-Gerei :
- At the horseshoe (14km away) : 70€ (swimming pool, breakfast included) : link Booking, link hotels.com, link Expedia
- Tree houses La Semondière (20mn by car): 110€/night (swimming pool, farm breakfast included and delivered in a basket) Expedia link. Table d’hôte: 17€/person
