Saint-Céneri-le-Gérei
This small village is said to be one of the most beautiful villages of France. It’s about an hour from here, so we decided to go see it for ourselves. It had been rainy in the morning, but as we pulled into Saint Céneri we saw people putting down their umbrellas. The weather stayed dry while we were there. This village was visited in 1855 by artist Jean-Baptiste Corot, who is said to have fallen in love with it. More artists followed him and the village has attracted artists ever since. As can be seen from the banner above the street this month will see another meeting of artists here. This view of the stone bridge over the Sarthe is a popular one with artists and photographers. Here is the church in the village. On the wall at the back of the church we found this plaque. Roughly translated it says: “In 898 Charles III, (the Simple) sent his army to resist the Normans who protested against his reign. The soldiers, based not far from St. Céneri, conducted th...