Abandoned castle - Trapped in the Mansion of Wallpapers

We received photos from a traveler and compiled them into a historical summary.

The "Mansion of Wallpapers" is located in a small town in the Massif Central, a place with a gentle capacity for slight melancholy.

Béné and I had gone there without knowing quite what to expect. It turned out that the only way in was difficult and acrobatic. The visit was postponed. Passing by just a few kilometers away some six months later, I decided to give it another go. The weather was beautiful; everything was pleasant.

The mansion is entirely empty; it has been cleared out from top to bottom. Was it a fire that prompted the move? Or did the fire in a single room happen afterward?

In the midst of this sidereal void, a single remnant of a school notebook tells me that the premises were occupied by Yvette Vion-Dury and likely her son, Daniel Vion-Dury. Of them, I know virtually nothing.

The mansion’s beauty lies in its diversity of decrepit wallpapers. That is all there is. It’s certainly not "worth its weight in gold," yet one can still find a touch of aesthetic charm. I took my time... one might say, majestically...

I was finished... then I heard voices. Oh, goodness... Down by the entrance, two rather burly-looking guys were chatting. They were talking about mowing the lawn, restoring the electricity... I knew nothing but vaguely guessed they were new owners planning a renovation. Getting out of there is acrobatic, slow, and perilous—I was in quite a fix.

After half an hour, the two men left—an invaluable stroke of luck. I slipped out and made a run for it. By a thousand Mimolettes, that was a close call!

I’ll take this opportunity to present another tiny location: a castle's gatehouse.

It seems this house was occupied by Dutch-speaking scouts. The castle’s shutters are closed, and I took my time majestically, once again...

As I was leaving, a dog came up to meet me. "Whoa, who are you?" he seemed to say. He went back to his owner, who was setting up a horse fence just a few dozen meters away from me. Good grief, what a hornet's nest have I stumbled into? I definitely attract them!

I managed to clear out easily, but with full lucidity: it was thanks to the immense kindness of the dog, who didn't say a word. Everything was in place for me to cause a disturbance; luckily, that wasn't the case.

La maison des scouts