The Loire Valley and especially Blois
When the north wind blows on the Loire, the mornings are often foggy. The mist remained all morning, followed by bright sunshine. Mittérand Bridge, inaugurated in 1994, is one of three bridges over the Loire in Blois. Lorsque le vent du nord souffle sur la Loire, les matinées sont souvent brumeuses. Ce brouillard est resté toute …
Continue reading “Fog on Mitterand Bridge – Brouillard sur le pont Mitterand”
Fifteen years ago, when I visited Château de Chamont for the first time with Jean Michel, he showed me “his” Loire. At the time, I found it somewhat austere. Today, it has become “my” Loire too. Il y a plus de quinze ans lorsque j’ai visité le château de Chaumont pour la première fois avec …
I always find it amusing to see the remains of a room open to the elements. I’m not sure what this building is at the entrance to the royal fortress of Chinon but it still has its original monumental fireplace. Je trouve amusant de voir les restes d’une pièce ouverte aux intempéries. Je ne sais …
Maybe Joan of Arc passed through this lovely pointed arch on her way up to the royal fortress of Chinon. Jeanne d’Arc est peut-être passée par ce joli arc d’ogive pour gagner la forteresse royale de Chinon.
The roofs in Chambord are full of wonderful details. Here putti and a Pegasus decorate intricate ornemental urns surmounted by the famous slate incrustations in the local tufa stone that are typical of Chambord. Les toits à Chambord recèlent de détails merveilleux. Ici des angelots et un pégase se trouvent au-dessus de vasques richement décorés …
Continue reading “Putti on the roof at Chambord – Angelots sur le toit à Chambord”
There is a golf course along the Loire between Blois and Amboise. From the road, we could see trees where the mistletoe was low enough to pick easily. When we got there, we found three freshly cut branches on the ground. Someone else must have had the same idea as us! In the Middle Ages …
Continue reading “Mistletoe for New Year – Au gui l'an neuf”
We were delighted to discover that we could buy our favourite Italian delicacies on the market in Blois on Thursday and Saturday. The most senior of these three lovely ladies had come to buy goodies from her daughter and grand-daughter. She is the president of the Loir et Cher Franco-Italian cultural association, http://www.acfida41.com. Nous qui aimons …
Continue reading “Three Generations on the Market – Trois générations au marché”
These beautiful painted shutters are to be found in the Arms Room in Château de Cheverny. Just 20 km south-east of Blois, the domain has been in the same family for six centuries and open to the public since 1922. The château as it stands today was built between 1624 and 1640 by Count Henri …
Continue reading “Painted shutters at Cheverny – Volets peints à Cheverny”
I shouldn’t have been surprised to see Molière in Chambord because he was a favourite of Louis XIV. In 1670, the Sun King invited France’s most popular playright of all times to stay in Chambord with his troup where he wrote the ballet comedy, Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme known in English as The Bourgeois Gentleman). Je n’aurais pas …
Chambord, being a hunting lodge, boasts a very large number of antlers! Chambord étant un pavillon de chasse possède un nombre important de bois de cervidés !