The Loire Valley and especially Blois
We came across this little church with its tall steeple as we were cycling from Muides to Chambord. Many churches in the area are dedicated to Saint Martin, who was born in about 316 and died in 397. The Saint Martin de Crouy church was built in the late 11th century. Above the door you can see a …
Continue reading “Here's the church and here's the steeple – Clocher d'église fait battre le coeur”
You know you’re in Sologne when you see a stag’s head on a house! Vous savez que vous êtes en Sologne lorsque vous voyez une tête de cerf sur une maison!
I love the effect typical of Sologne of brick on stone. And the ironwork is a piece of art on its own! J’adore l’effet typique de la Sologne de la brique sur de la pierre. Et le fer forgé est une oeuvre d’art à lui tout seul.
How’s this for an outsized flowerpot? We found it on the bike path at Candé sur Beuvron. Que dites-vous de ce pot à fleurs géant ? Nous l’avons trouvé sur la piste cyclable à Candé sur Beuvron.
We had a very violent storm last night. Because of their great height, hollyhocks are often the first to suffer. This is what happened next door. The photo below shows our hollyhocks which I had fortunately taken the time to attach during the afternoon. Only a couple had fallen slightly to one side. Hier soir on …
Continue reading “Hollyhocks after the storm – Roses trémières après l'orage”
Hydrangeas in full bloom next to our bread oven at Closerie Falaiseau. Les hortensias dans toute leur splendeur à côté de notre four à pain à Closerie Falaiseau.
We arrived back in Blois today to see that all our hollyhocks were in bloom – and had the pleasant surprise to see that our Pierre de Ronsard roses had bloomed a second time. La première chose que nous avons vu en rentrant à Blois aujourd’hui étaient nos roses trémières. Nous avons eu la bonne …
Continue reading “Hollyhocks & Roses – Roses trémières et Pierre de Ronsard”
Some of the vineyards on the Moselle near Bernkastel are nearly vertical and go right down to the edge of the water. Certains vignobles en Moselle près de Bernkastel sont presque verticaux et descendent jusqu’au bord de l’eau.
Very different from Renaissance architecture in the Loire Valley, so-called Weser Renaissance architecture developed in northern Germany in the 16th and 17th centuries along the Weser River. An excellent example is the town hall in Hann. Münden. Typical features are elaborate decorative façades with front gables adorned with pyramids, scrolls, spheres, obelisks, intricate carvings, friezes with inscriptions …
Now this has to be the most original sundial I’ve seen yet – in the middle of the vineyards overlooking the Moselle River near Bernkastel-Kues. They were built in the 19th century so that the workers knew when to knock off for lunch or go home for the day! Ce cadran solaire doit être le …
Continue reading “Postcard from Germany: Sundial in a VIneyard – Cadran solaire dans un vignoble”