A Tram in Blois – Un tramway dans Blois

Today, thanks to “Blois Insolite et Secret” by Pascal Nourisson and Jean-Paul Sauvage (Editions Sutton 2013), we discovered that there used to be an electric tram between Blois and Amboise that opened in 1913. Unfortunately, due to the many technical difficulties with this type of tram, it was abandoned in 1933. A couple of buildings …

Daffodils for sale – Jonquilles à vendre

As soon as the daffodils come out in the fields, there are lots of people on the market and along the side of the road selling daffodils. Not exactly legal of course. Dès que les jonquilles sont en fleur dans les champs, il y a plein de vendeurs qui apparaissent sur le marché et le long …

The Busy Gate – Le portail habité

Isn’t this the most amazing gate? I think that the birds and beasts are representative of the area – the heron and ducks can  be seen along the Cisse and the Loire, Onzain is a wine-growing area (touraine-mesland), which explains the grapes at the top and the crayfish on the gate on the right comes …

The New Boarder – Le nouveau pensionnaire

We seem to be feeding a lot of birds these days and this morning we saw a new one – a goldfinch. Unfortunately we only had time to get my iPhone and had to stand back from the window so we wouldn’t frighten it  away. The video below has probably captured it better. I like the way it …

On the Right Track – Sur la bonne voie

This blackboard is on a door just down the road from yesterday’s café in Onzain. It says, “You know you’re on the right track when you no longer need to keep looking back”. Well, that’s my interpretation anyway! I wonder how often they change it. Ce tableau noir se trouve sur une porte dans la même rue que le …

City Daily Photo Theme Day – Coffee House Scene

For this month’s City Daily Photo theme day, I wanted a typical scene in a French café in a provincial town so we went to Onzain, about 15 kilometers from Blois. It’s Sunday morning, about noon. The café also has a betting licence so people can buy lotto and lottery tickets and back horses, etc. It …

Through the Keyhole – Par le trou de la serrure

I love the way you can see one of the stained glass windows through the open door of the Romanesque church of Saint Denis Amboise. To me, it’s like looking through a keyhole. J’aime bien le fait qu’on voit l’un des vitraux par la porte ouverte de l’église romane de Saint Denis à Amboise. Pour moi, c’est …