Jean-Philippe Pons our artist in residence for summer 2016

This year we are excited to announce that Jean-Philippe Pons will be displaying some of his artwork here at Chateau Mathias during the summer months. Jean-Philippe is a local artist, who lived and worked in Tokyo from 1987 - 2013, where he presented many exhibitions each year. His work is inspired by architecture and the vibrant colours and light to be found in nature.

Nous sommes heureux de vous annoncer que Jean Philippe Pons fera partie de nos artistes résidents durant l'été 2016. Cet artiste du Sud Ouest a vécu à Tokio de 1987 a 2013 ou il a expose dans de nombreuses galeries réputées et effectué de nombreux projets de  décoration dans le monde. Nous sommes ravis d'être parmi les premiers à vous présenter, depuis son retour dans notre region, ses oeuvres inspirées par l'architecture, le jeu des couleurs et la nature.

Come stay at Chateau Mathias where you will have the exclusive opportunity to see the paintings from this wonderful artist who has returned to his homeland after many years in Japan. You may even catch him working here over the summer.

Réservez votre chambre au Château en cliquant sur le lien www.chateaumathias.com, pour avoir l'opportunité exclusive d'admirer ses peintures et aussi, peut être la chance de le rencontrer durant ses séances de travail au Château. 

Click here www.chateaumathias.com to go to our website and reserve one of our beautiful rooms here at Chateau Mathias. You will find here, time to rest and recharge your batteries in a tranquil  environment away from the stresses of city and town living.

Issigeac and basket weaving in the Dordogne

Here is the wonderful bastide village of Issigeac in the Dordogne. A stunning setting with a superb market with local produce every Sunday just a 40 minute drive from Chateau Mathias.

There you will find also the atelier and shop, Les tresses de Sylvie. Sylvie works with wicker and chestnut creating wonderful objects. Everything from baskets, bowls, and bags.. to jewellery and garden furniture.

The atelier

Beginnings of a basket

Sylvie is a fabulous teacher

Almost finished!

Voila!

Some Sylvie made earlier!

Sylvie also gives courses in weaving techniques usually once every two weeks. Each course is a day long, with of course a midday break for a picnic lunch and a glass of wine or two!
We took a course there and made 2 baskets... very handy to collect all our eggs, as our hens are laying  10 eggs everyday at the moment and we cannot eat them fast enough!

Click here for Sylvie's website

Or contact Sylvie directly at lestressesdesylvie@gmail.com or at 06 88 13 78 77
You can visit her Atelier in Issigeac at 18 rue de cardinal, 24560 Issigeac

The next course is April 29th.


Come stay at Chateau Mathias, the perfect place to base yourselves whilst discovering the wonderful Lot and Garonne and the Dordogne.

Click here to go to our site and make your reservation www.chateaumathias.com

New photos of Chateau Mathias by Edith Valley

The superb photographer Edith Valley was here last week to take new photos of Chateau Mathias. Here a few of the stunning photos that she took

Clicking below will lead you to her page she created about our Chateau, and also to see her other work.

Click here to see the complete page from Edith Valley

Go to our site www.chateaumathias.com to make a reservation to see with your own eyes Chateau Mathias

The Grand Théâtre in Bordeaux

 

One of Europe's oldest opera houses, the magnificent Grand Théâtre de Bordeaux, opened in 1780. Your host at Château Mathias, Thomas Gallus, started his professional career as a dancer with the ballet company in Bordeaux and danced there for two years. Check out the spectacular interior in this short video. 

L'un des plus vieux théâtres de l'Europe, le Grand Théâtre de Bordeaux a ouvert ses portes en 1780.  Votre hôte au Château Mathias, Thomas Gallus, a commencé sa carrière de danseur professionnel dans le Ballet de l'Opéra de Bordeaux et y a dansé pendant deux ans. 
Visitez l'intérieur magnifique dans ce court vidéo.
https://youtu.be/EpMTQhH-qhw

 
Bordeaux is only an hour's drive from Château Mathias. L'Opéra de Bordeaux offers a full season of ballet and Opera from September to early July. 
Bordeaux est à une heure de route du Château Mathias. L'Opéra de Bordeaux offre une saison complete de ballets et opéras de septembre jusqu'au début de juillet.

To find out more about Château Mathias, please click here: www.chateaumathias.com 
Pour avoir plus de renseignements sur le Château Mathias, veuillez cliquer ici: www.chateaumathias.com 

Eymet (Dordogne)

Aujourd'hui découverte du village de Eymet à tout juste 30 minutes du Château Mathias ! Mention très bien pour la boutique Cabinet Pourpre ( fleuriste, bijouterie,mode etc etc) à découvrir absolument !! 2 rue du Tibre 24500 Eymet

Cabinet Pourpre 

 

Pour pouvoir vivre l'expérience de visiter ce beau village et toute la région, il suffit de réserver une chambre au Château Mathias: www.chateaumathias.com

Of coffee, monks, and monkeys

Welcome to our blog! Here you can share with us the day-to-day joys of life at Château Mathias. We'll also share with you the exciting places to visit and things to do in the region.

We and our guests love to start our day with a cappuccino, so for our first blog post we have invited a good friend, Canada's Word Lady, Katherine Barber, to guest blog for us about the fascinating story behind the word "cappuccino". 

Surprising though it may be, your foamy cup of coffee has something to do with an order of monks. In the 1520s, a reformed order of Franciscans adopted a pointed hood as part of their habit (in Italian, a cappuccio, derived from the same Latin word, cappa, as our words "cap" and "cape").

They therefore came to be known as cappuccino (in English, "Capuchin") monks. This word was then applied in Italian to a dark brown colour like that of the Capuchins' habits, and thence to the drink of coffee mixed with milk which is the same colour. 


Coffee isn't the only thing that owes its name to these monks. When Spanish explorers first encountered these monkeys in South America,
 

Capuchin monkey

they saw a resemblance with the cowled monks and therefore called them "Capuchin monkeys". (In case you're wondering, there may be an etymological connection between "monk" and "monkey" but this is far from clear.) 

The spelling of "cappuccino" is a trap for the unwary. Don't forget there are two p's and two c's. The plural in English is "cappuccinos".

If you would like to enjoy a cappuccino and a restful stay in the beautiful surroundings of Chateau Mathias, please check out our website: www.chateaumathias.com

If you are interested in the English language, please visit Katherine Barber's blog at www.katherinebarber.blogspot.com 

If you love ballet, please check out Katherine's ballet trips at www.toursenlair.blogspot.com