That's the first time I hear of taxing household windows and the status symbol behind it, like "oh look at my massive full-length window.." Interesting thing to know though and the white-washed stone walls are beautiful.
The phrase " the thorn among the roses" popped in mind when you mentioned the town attracted powerful women, well, perhaps it's just coincidence.
Is that crust of the pancake a bit crunchy? It looks yummy!
I didn't know about the window tax either but thought that it was interesting. The explanation made sense to me when I read it, for that time anyway. Kind of/sort of lol.
The pancake actually wasn't crunchy at all though it looks like it would be. It was more like a thicker and airy crepe.