The Loire Valley and especially Blois
The claim to fame of René Moreau (1587-1656), depicted on this monument in Montreuil-Bellay where he was born, and physician of Louis XIII and Louis XIV is to have introduced chocolate into France. La plus grande gloire de René Moreau (1587-1656), représenté sur ce moment à Montreuil-Bellay dont il est natif, médecin de Louis XIII …
Continue reading “The Father of French Chocolat – Le père du chocolat en France”
This little statue of Saint Vincent is io be found in one of the wine cellars at Château d’Ussé. Saint Vincent, the patron saint of wine growers was born in Spain in the 6th century. No one really knows why he is connected with wine. One plausible explanation is that a royal abbey containing Saint …
Continue reading “Saint Vincent, patron saint of wine-growers – Saint-Vincent, patron des vignerons”
After publishing the photos of Ussé, I received an email from Margaret Smith Springwood, an Australian reader, with these two photos: “I was in the little chapel [Chapel of the Immaculate Conception], turned to face the doorway and was startled to see this quite eerie face looking down at me from on high. I’ve not …
My photos of Amboise are usually taken from Le Shaker on Ile d’Or but this one was taken from the levee coming from Vouvray. You can see the water on the footpath. Mes photos d’Amboise proviennent souvent du Shaker sur l’île d’Or mais j’ai pris celle-ci depuis la levée sur le retour de Vouvray. On …
Continue reading “Amboise from the Levee – Amboise depuis la levée”
The second view of Château de Montreuil-Bellay that has remained fixed in my memory is this rose-covered tower. It, too, did not disappoint. You can walk up through the tower and onto the ramparts. La deuxième vue du château de Montreuil-Bellay qui reste gravée dans ma mémoire est cette tourelle recouverte de roses. Je n’ai …
I took this photo of Ussé Castle just before the rain started to pelt down. Ussé is known as “Sleeping Beauty’s castle” because it was one of the châteaux that inspired Walt Disney via Charles Perrault who stayed there on several occasions, The original 11th century castle has been rebuilt several times, which explains its …
Continue reading “Ussé before the Rain – Ussé avant la pluie”
We did not expect to see so much water in front of Château d’Ussé. During the recent floods, the Indre River overflowed its banks into the sunflower fields behind. The Loire is on the other side of the line of trees in the background. We were not able to cycle along the Loire à Vélo …
We visited this wonderful rose garden in Doué la Fontaine today, 11 km south of Saumur. These three trees with their climbing roses were my favourite. Aujourd’hui nous avons visité cette merveilleuse roseraie à Doué la Fontaine, 11 km au sud de Saumur. Ces trois arbres avec leurs roses grimpantes étaient mes favoris.
The first time I came unexpectedly upon this view of Montreuil Bellay castle on our bikes 5 years ago, I thought it was stunning. Today, I was expecting it, but I loved it just as much. Montreuil Bellay is 15 km south of Saumur on the Thouet River and 11 km from where Jean Michel …
We didn’t have cheese at L’Orangerie in Blois last night, but it looked like a very nice platter! Nous n’avons pas pris de fromage à l’Orangeria à Blois hier soir mais le plateau semblait très sympathique.