I was not familiar with the term “degré” for “steps” until I came to Blois but the name is used for several staircases. Note the red and white bars under the name of the steps indicating that it is part of the French national hiking trail or “Grande Randonnée” often abbreviated to GR. Je ne …
Author Archives: avril
Well in Les Grouets – Puits aux Grouets
This recently restored well with its slate roof is at the top of Les Grouets. Ce petit puits récemment restauré avec son toit d’ardoise se trouve en hauts du quartier des Grouets.
Lavoir de Vallières les Grandes
A lavoir is a public place for washing clothes, usually fed by a spring or a river. Many, such as this one, have roofs for shelter. The lavoir in Vallières les Grandes has an interesting fountain with 3 heads. Les lavoirs publics étaient alimentés soit par une source soit par une rivière. Ils étaient souvent …
Chinese Trumpet Vine – Bignone de Chine
Yesterday, I posted a photo of Campsis radicans. Here is Campsis grandiflora, commonly known as the Chinese Trumpet Vine, native to East Asia, China and Japan, which I discovered for the first time in Les Grouets recently. Hier, j’ai publié une photo de campsis radicans. Voici Campsis grandiflora, parfois appelée Bignone de Chine (en raison de son ancien nom Bignonia …
Trumpet Vine – Trompette de Jericho
Campsis radicans has many common names: trumpet vine, trumpet creeper, cow itch vine and hummingbird vine”. It is a species of flowering plant of the family Bignoniaceae, native to the southeastern United States, Japan, China and East Asia. The genus Campsis only has two species: C. radicans and C. grandiflora. When the leaves fall at the beginning of winter, you …
The Mysterious Handle – La poignée mystérieuse
We saw several wrought iron handles like this one in the same street. It’s at the right height to hold onto but there’s already a stair rail so why there is a handle as well is a bit of a mystery. Nous avons vu plusieurs poignées en fer forgé comme celle-ci dans la même rue. …
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Denis Papin's House – Maison de Denis Papin
The construction at 13 rue Pierre de Blois, known as Hôtel de Villebresme, or more recently, and for no justifiable reason, as the house of Denis Papin, in honour of the city’s inventor of the steam engine (hang on, wasn’t that James Watt?) and the pressure cooker, were built in the 15th and perhaps early …
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Saint Jacques Fountain – Fontaine Saint Jacques
It’s very easy to pass by the fountain on Place du Marché au Beurre without seeing it, because it’s on the original street level which has now been raised, and partially hidden by the terrace of the Saint Jacques Restaurant . It was given to the town by Louis XII under the somewhat uninventive name of “Neighbourhood Well …
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Sculptures on the Acrobats' House – Sculptures sur la Maison des acrobates
Here is a close-up of the sculptures on the Acrobats’ House. On the ground floor, not shown here, the subjects are religious, especially angels. On the first floor, a jongler or minstrel can be seen in the middle, with a figure wearing a hat with an upturned brim on the right. The one on the …
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The Acrobats' House – La maison des acrobats
The Acrobats’ House, one of the oldest in Blois, has two jettied upper storeys with brackets and corbelling carved with scenes and characters from mediaeval comic tales or fables. Only half-timbered houses with very rich decoration can be dated. Here, the clothing of the figures on the façade is prior to 1480. This has been …
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