The Loire Valley and especially Blois
We came across this lovely little stone chapel on our walk last Sunday. Built at the beginning of the 16th century, Saint Anthony’s chapel in Tavers. People came to pray here to have eye diseases and scrofula cured, to find lost objects and help women conceive. Nous sommes tombés sur cette jolie petite chapelle en …
Continue reading “16th century wayside chapel – Petite chapelle du 16ème siècle”
I walked past this church on my way from the train station to the centre of Orleans and rather embarrassingly thought it was the back of the cathedral when Jean Michel pointed out that there are no towers. It’s actually the church of Saint Paterne and was destroyed twice by the people of Orléans during …
You may have noticed that I missed a couple of days – I was getting ready for a trip to Istanbul. Here we are and are enthralled. What a wonderful city! Here are just a few photos. The first is taken from the edge of the Bosphorous looking towards Galata Tower, the area we are …
Continue reading “Postcard from Istanbul – First Impressions”
Today while cycling in Sologne, we came across the delightful little village of Souvigny with its 12th century church (Saint Martin’s) and beautifully restored houses (see below). It is located about 70 km from Blois. Aujourd’hui en faisant du vélo en Sologne, nous sommes tombés sur le joli petit village de Souvigny avec son église du …
Today we visited a large number of wooden churches in the Maramures region in the north of Romania, most of which were built in the 16th century entirely of wood, including the roof. They are often hidden among trees up above the village and surrounded by graves of various shapes and sizes. Inside are wall …
Continue reading “Postcard #14 – Wooden Churches, Maramures, Romania”
We arrived at Voronet Monastery in Bucovina at the end of the day which meant very few people and excellent light. Built in 1488 by Stefan cel Mare, the church is known as the Sistine Chapel of the East. It is one of the 11 monasteries in the area listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage …
Transylvania in Romania is known for its fortified churches. That of Biertan was buillt in the 12th century in the form of a hall-church in the late Gothic style. Between 1572 and 1857, it was the seat of Saxon episcopacy. The fortifications consist of 3 rows of exterior fortifications, 7 towers and 2 bastions. It …
Continue reading “Postcard #9 – Biertan Fortified Church – L'église fortifiée de Biertan”
We cycled up to this hilltop church in Slovenia, overlooking Maribor, . Built in the 16th century, it was abandoned between 1784 and 1855. It was restored in 1860. Nous avons grimpé en vélo jusqu’à cette église qui surplombe Maribor en Slovénie. Construite au 16ème siècle, elle fut abandonnée entre 1784 et 1855 avant d’être restaurée …
I rather like the juxtaposition here. The photo is taken from Place Ave Maria in Blois. J’aime bien la juxtaposition ici. La photo est prise sur la place Ave Maria à Blois.
As we cycled in Onzain this evening, we could see about a half a dozen air balloons. These ones seemed really closed. . En arrivant à Onzain en vélo ce soir, nous pouvions voir une demie-douzaine de mongolfières. Celles-ci semblaient vraiment très proches.