We haven’t had much sun since we got back to India, but today dawned bright and sunny and our first tulips came out! Nous n’avons pas eu beaucoup de soleil depuis notre retour de l’Inde, mais aujourd’hui on s’est réveillé à une belle journée et nos premières tulipes sont sorties !
Author Archives: avril
Chouzy Fire Station – Les sapeurs-pompiers de Chouzy
This, surprisingly, is the fire station at Chouzy-sur-Cisse, a lttle village 5 kilometers from Blois, with a population of about 2,000 people. I love the way it fits in with its surroundings! A ma surprise, voici le bâtiment des sapeurs-pompiers à Chouzy-sur-Cisse, petit village de 2 000 âmes à 5 kilomètres de Blois. J’aime bien …
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City Daily Photo Theme Day – The Beauty of Simplicity
This month’s City Daily Photo theme is the beauty of simplicity. I love the simple lines of this little lead light window in my kitchen. The stone in the middle is a cabochon from Chartres Cathedral. When the previous owners heard that the cathedral was selling off cabochons left over during renovation of the cathedral’s …
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A Facelift for the Wine Co-op – La cave coopérative se refait une beauté
You may remember a post back in January 2015 when the Mont Près Chambord wine co-op was being refurbished. It’s now finished so we brightened up a grey day by replenishing our stocks of local cheverny. Vous vous rappelez peut-être un post en janvier 2015 lorsqu’on était en train de rénover la cave coopérative de …
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Wine Tasting – La dégustation
This weekend, we attended an open day at Cyril Sévin’s vineyard in Mont Près Chambord. This organic wine-grower has an excellent selection of sparkling and still wines. We particularly liked his traditional cour-cheverny made with romorantin grapes and his Impromptu cheverny red, which is 65% pinot noir and 35% gamay. It was one of his …
Easter Sunday – Dimanche de Pâques
We happened to be in Cour Cheverny just before Mass came out. Note the number of men as opposed to women. It’s traditional in France for the women to go to church while the men go to the local café! On s’est trouvé par hasard à Cour Cheverny juste avant la sortie de la messe. …
Eurasian Jay – Geai des chênes
While we were away, we had a friend feed the birds at the front of the house but not at the back. On our return, we filled the feeder at the back and were surprised to see this Eurasian jay instead of the tits and nuthaches that used to come before we left. Pendant notre …
Home to Spring – De retour au printemps
We’re back in France after 6 weeks in Australia and India and it’s spring – although the temperatures in Blois are still below 5 at night and only 11 or 12° during the day. Nous voilà de retour en France après 6 semaines en Australie et en Inde et c’est le printemps même si la …
Postcard from India – Marble & Precious Stones
Both the Taj Mahal (above) and the Red Fort in Agra (below) are made of white marble inlaid with precious stones, such as rubies (red), malachite and jade (green), tourmaline (red and orange), lapis lazuli (blue), onyx (black) and, mother-of-pearl which have stood up to the elements for more than 400 years. The same techniques …
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Postcard from India – the Taj Mahal in the Early Morn
The Taj Mahal did not disappoint. Tears came to my eyes as I stood and looked at this mythical palace of love commissioned in 1632 by the Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan (reigned 1628–1658), to house the tomb of his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal who died giving birth to her 14th child. Le Taj Mahal ne nous …
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