Let me start with a revealing confession. As a child, I was deathly afraid of Israel Gurion. Ask why? It’s all because of the immortal show “Three, Four, Five and a Half,” and more specifically the episode about Sleeping Beauty in which Israel Gurion played the Wicked Witch. He played so well that for years afterward I would run away every time he appeared on television (even if he was just singing along with Benny Amdorsky).
Many years have passed since then and I stopped being afraid of Israel Gurion (in fact, I even really like him). Why did I remember this story? Because last year I had the opportunity to visit the Château d'Ussé, which is associated with this legend and which I want to tell you about today.
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The history of Ussé Castle
The relatively unknown castle was built during the 15th century on the site of an older castle from the 11th century. As you approach the castle, it slowly reveals itself in all its glory with its Gothic towers, dark blue tiled roofs and gardens designed by Le Nôtre, the famous garden designer.
All this beauty is immersed in the Chinon Forest, which surrounds the castle just as you would expect from a fairytale castle. Although the castle looks medieval from the outside, when you enter the courtyard you can see that many parts of it were built in the 17th century and because the castle miraculously remained undamaged during the French Revolution You can find quite a few pieces of furniture and works of art from the 17th and 18th centuries.
About 200 years after Perot lived here, the Duchess of Duras lived there, who was in love with the French poet Chateaubriand (1768-1848 François-René de Chateaubriand) and to this day, two cedars that the poet brought her from Lebanon can be found near the castle church. It is said that when the poet died, the Duchess decided to stop all the clocks in the house, just like in the story of Sleeping Beauty, so that she would no longer hear the clock chime and remember that the poet would never return.
Today the castle belongs to the Duke of Blacas and as a private castle it is slightly more expensive than the state-subsidized castles. However, I highly recommend not missing it on your trip and arriving at dusk so that you can also enjoy the castle's special lighting.
How do you look?
We started with Israel Gurion and we will end with him. Israel is not only a great actor, but also a gifted singer and a top-notch Francophile. I dug around the internet and found a lovely rendition of Aznavour’s song translated into Hebrew as “How Do You Look?” And while you listen to the rendition, try to imagine the prince singing it to Sleeping Beauty. I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty sure that if he had sung it to her, she would have woken up somewhere during the second verse and slapped him….
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