There’s a website called Atlas Obscura. The people behind this fascinating spot on the internet collect images and tales of the most strange and wondrous places and happenings in the world. They distribute a newsletter packed with captivating stories, and they even host intriguing events like this lock-picking party in New York.

When I first discovered Atlas Obscura, one particular memory came crashing forward. At 15, I was very fortunate to spend a month in France. I was studying French in high school, my family was comfortable with me traveling alone, and I had relatives (the sister-in-law of my uncle’s brother-in-law, to be exact) willing to host me. We ate fresh tomatoes and apricots unlike anything I’ve tasted before or since, we sailed on the Mediterranean, and we rented bicycles to tour Porquerolles (as seen above). I have misplaced the journal that I kept during that grand adventure, but what sticks in my head as the most appropriate Atlas Obscura point of interest begins with a clear memory of a hot and sticky July afternoon in the town of my hosting family’s grandparents. We wandered down into the village to an enormous old structure that was one part sculpture and two parts crazy, sitting dustily on the side of the road. The rural area was dominated by orchards and rolling hills, and the walk home was unpleasantly steep, but this bizarre creation was not a sightseeing opportunity to be missed, and I was an out of town guest.

Sitting at a computer 18 years later, and struck with the sudden need to identify this place and flag it in my Atlas Obscura profile, I took to the internet in a passionate searching quest. However, not knowing the name of the town or the spectacle, and unsure if any English speaking source would make note of it, I was at a loss.

Family being what it is, I spent a weekend last summer with the son of the aforementioned brother-in-law of my uncle, and I asked him if he could help. He was a toddler when I visited France, but that odd place in my memory is still a real location in his grandparent’s village. He laughed and said, “Ah, the Idiot’s Palace! Yes, it is famous now, and they actually charge an entrance fee!” He looked it up on the internet right there on the lawn and sent me the link.

I am pleased to report that Postman Cheval’s Ideal Palace is listed on Atlas Obscura, and I have now flagged it as “been here!” in my profile.