Inside Château de Gudanes’s Renovation
Photo: Joy Felicity Jane1/17I remember clearly the first day the restoration began. It was hot and sunny when a dozen GQ-cover-ready Catalonian men arrived in shorts and T-shirts and began work. The next day, the weather changed and instantly the Château was transformed into a winter wonderland.
Photo: Joy Felicity Jane2/17It continued to snow for several days. The frost-leafed Château park was blanketed in mist; its trees planted centuries earlier have since learned what it is to freeze.
Photo: Courtesy of Château de Gudanes3/17A simple wreath on the Château’s main gates, which we made together as a family. We collected only pieces from the Château, from the green fir tree branches to old wire and cable used to hold it together. In the park, the horses followed us around as we foraged for holly and berries.
Photo: Courtesy of Château de Gudanes4/17We decided to decorate the apple trees in the Château park as well.
Photo: Courtesy of Château de Gudanes5/17This is Rêve. He is a sweet-natured, sure-footed Cheval de Mérens, an indigenous horse to this mountainous region. In summertime, most of the horses run free on the mountains until October, when they return to the lower valleys in the annual transhumance, or seasonal migration. For the first two years we didn’t know who owned the horses that mysteriously moved in when the weather became colder, until we felt bold enough to change the locks on the gates. After that, two local owners knocked on the door demanding to regain access to the Château park for their horses. For now we have continued the tradition of the horses agisting in the park, although we have had to draw the line at them using the inside of the Château as their stable when the front door is left open!
