Sologne

Monday we drove South from St. Jean de Braye through the Sologne towards Bourges. The Sologne is a forested area which is/was known for being excellent hunting grounds. It used to be a swamp, but you would never guess it from driving through. It was dewatered and planted with trees several centuries ago and is now a mature forest. You see this sort of thing all over Europe where land that is seemingly natural has in reality been drastically altered by man so long ago that it looks natural today. It was very interesting driving through the little towns in the Sologne. Over the span of a few kilometers the architecture and building style of the towns changes a lot. Near the loire the buildings are made from stone quarried from cliffs that flank the river. In the Sologne the building style changes to brick as stone was not readily available. It was very interesting to see how quickly the styles changed. Every region has its own distinct architectural character.