The Loire Valley and especially Blois
Azay-le-Rideau has always been one of my favourite châteaux in the Loire Valley because of it’s stunning location on an island in the Indre River, although it doesn’t have the majesty of Chambord, Chaumont or Chenonceau, It was built by a rich financier in the early 16th century during the reign of François I. Le château …
Continue reading “Azay le Rideau in Spring – Azay le Rideau au printemps”
You may remember another caquetoire in Cheverny. The parish church of Saint Michel in Fontevraud-l’Abbaye was built in the 12th century for the large contingent of labourers employed to build the nearby abbey and was financed by Henri II Plantagenet and Alienor d’Aquitaine. It was extended in the 15th and 17th centuries. Vous vous souvenez peut-être …
Numerous windmills of this type existed on the top of the hills overlooking the Loire between Candes Saint Martin and Saumur. The restored hucherolle seen here is in Turquant. The millstones were in cellars hollowed out in the tufa stone below. De nombreux moulins de ce type existaient sur les hauteurs des coteaux entre Candes …
Il ne n’agit ni d’un puits ni d’une cheminée, mais d’une jitte (du verbe jeter) également appelé botte. Il désigne un petit édifice de pierre permettant de déverser le raisin depuis les vignes situées sur le terrain du haut jusque dans les pressoirs qui se trouvaient en dessous, dans les caves. Les jittes étaient placées …
These apprentice stone-cutters are making the most of the sun at the Maison des Compagnons in Saumur which trains the best atisans in France. Ces tailleurs de pierre apprentis profitent d’une journée ensoleillée à la Maison des Compagnons à Saumur qui forme les meilleurs ouvriers de France.
Child surveying Rue Paul Renouard in Blois – on the left of the photo below. Cet enfant surveille la rue Paul Renouard à Blois – sur la gauche de la photo en-dessous.
Seen from the foot of Foix Tower in the grounds of Blois Castle, these lovely sunny terraces seem to be beckoning to us even though you may notice there aren’t any deck chairs at the beginning of March. Vues depuis le pied de la tour du Foix au château de Blois, ces belles terrasses bien …
Continue reading “Sunny terraces overlooking the Loire – Terrasses au soleil avec vue sur la Loire”
I was intrigued to see this bull’s eye outside the Vendôme town hall which used to the the Lycée Ronsard. All I can imagine is that it was possible to monitor the comings and goings of the school boys sitting down. J’étais intriguée de voir cet oeil de boeuf très bas à l’extérieur de l’hôtel …
Continue reading “The Sitting Bull's Eye – L'oeil de boeuf assis”
The system that enables the washerwomen to be level with the water can be seen in this washhouse, built in the 15th century on the Saint Jacques branch of the Loir River in Vendôme. It is one of the rare examples of a two-story washhouse, designed exclusively for a community, in this case the Cordeliers …
Continue reading “Fifteenth Century Wash House – Lavoir du XVème”
The mediaeval town of Vendôme lies at the foot of a hill flanked by the Loir River, 35 km from Blois. This gate, fortified in the 13th to 15th centuries, is also called the Big Meadow Arch after the surrounding countryside. In the Middle Ages, the amount of water from the Loir River was regulated …