The Knife Grinder – Le rémouleur

You thought that knife grinders had disappeared? Well, here’s proof to the contrary. I loved the “shop front” so went round the other side to see what it was attached to. What a clever set-up! Vous pensiez que le rémouleur avait disparu? Mais pas du tout ! La devanture m’a bien plu alors je suis …

Spring Blossoms and a Turret – Fleurs de printemps et une tourelle

I went for a short walk in the nearby village of Chouzy-sur-Cisse and suddenly came across these beautiful spring blossoms and turret. Je me suis promené hier dans le village voisin de Chouzy-sur-Cisse. Tout d’un coup j’ai vu ces belles fleurs de printemps à côté d’une tourelle.

The Horse Butcher's – La boucherie chevaline

I am not a consumer of horse meat. I was given it once when I arrived in France without being told what it was and have not eaten it since. The writing on the windows also says that the butcher sells veal, porc and lamb. The sign says veal liver, rabbit thighs and beef tongue. We didn’t …

The Two Arched Bridges – Les deux ponts voûtés

Although we have often cycled along this path with the Loire on our right, I had never noticed this little bridge across a small stream on the left with the old railway bridge in the distance. Nous avons souvent faire du vélo sur cette piste avec la Loire sur notre droite mais je n’avais jamais …

My Red Cross Daffodils – Mes jonquilles de la Croix rouge

When we lived in Paris, I used to buy daffodils from a Red Cross stand on Place du Palais Royal every year in spring. After we bought Closerie Falaiseau, I started replanting them in the garden here. This is the result. Lorsque nous habitions à Paris,tous les ans au printemps j’achetais des jonquilles à un stand de …

The Camellia Bush – La camélia

I love camellias but we don’t have any in our garden. This one belongs to a neighbour so I’m going to plant one as well. I just have to find where! J’adore les camélias mais nous n’en avons pas dans notre jardin. Celle-ci appartient à un voisin. Je pourrai donc en planter aussi. Il faut simplement …

Amboise through the Mist – Amboise opaque

We’ve been having some very pleasant spring weather recently, but today it was cold and overcast again. As we drove from Tours to Blois, Amboise Castle loomed out of the mist. On a eu plusieurs belles journées de printemps récemment mais aujourd’hui il faisait froid et le ciel était plombé de nouveau. Sur la route …

The Quarry Office – Le bureau de la carrière

Jean MIchel is going to increase the size of a window at the back of our house so needs a stone lintel. Our other window surrounds are made of Pontijou stone so today we went to the quarry in Pontijou to found out more about prices. The office building is a showroom in itself with different …