The Charming Village of Ceaucé, France

Those of you who are regular followers of my blog know that theTravelsketcher and I live in rural France. We live in a little expat community several miles off a quiet country road, in the middle of nowhere. We even pass through a dairy farm as we turn off the road to get to our house, where the cows lazily graze among lush, green fields, and chickens, ducks, and geese roam freely. Each time we drive through, I always think of that song from the musical Oklahoma, “🎶 chicks and ducks and geese better scurry 🎶”. But I digress; after working in downtown Seattle for over 35 years, I craved the peace and quiet of rural living. And we found just that in this little corner of France.

There are lots of towns close by with amenities, but the closest one to us is Ceaucé. It’s about six km from our home, and although it’s not a Plus Beaux Village de France, or on any tourist map, it is a darling little town.

This town of approximately 1,100 residents has a small grocery store, boulangerie, charcuterie, pharmacy, one restaurant, one bar, two hair salons, and a few other services. I haven’t been able to find out much about its history, but it has multiple half-timbered structures which date to the 18th century.

There are lots of interesting little garden ornaments throughout town, as well as colorful birdhouses and lush planters.

There is a community park that has a large lake with a walking trail, picnic areas, and lots of flowers in the spring and summer.

My dear friend Shirley gave me a delightful book called One More Croissant for the Road by Felicity Cloake, an English food writer. She writes about her bicycle journey around France in search of the best croissant and regional specialities. She rates the croissants on a scale of 1 – 10, with 10 being the best. I have to say the croissants at the boulangerie in Ceaucé are the best I have ever had, and I have enjoyed beaucoup de croissants in my travels around France. These are definitely worthy of a 10! They are flaky, slightly crispy, buttery, perfectly golden, with just a hint of sweetness, yum!! They sell out quickly; one morning we arrived at the boulangerie at 9:30 to find not one morsel left. The early riser gets the croissant in this town!

They also make delicious desserts that are beautifully wrapped.

We try to frequent the businesses in Ceaucé in as often as possible. We have a hair stylist here, and often visit the boulangerie and grocery store. We have found the residents to be very friendly and they always understand our French, which is greatly appreciated.

We’ve been here for six months now and I just noticed earlier this week that a directional sign in the next village reads Céaucé rather than Ceaucé. Most have just the accent on the last letter. Hmm, un petit mystère n’est ce pas? Or perhaps just fodder for a good debate, as the French love.

As always, I would love to hear from you so please leave a message with your comments.

Wishing you grand adventures and the perfect croissant,

Tricia