Guimarães, about 50 k north east of Porto, is where Portugal began with the first king, Alfonso Henriques, in the first half of the 12th century. There is a lovely medieval centre and castle. Guimarães, qui se trouve à une cinquantaine de kilomètres nord-est de Porto, est le berceau du Portugal où naquit Alfonso Henriques, …
Category Archives: Historical buildings
Postcard from Portugal – Aveiro
We took the train to Aveiro today, 80 k south of Porto. We loved the old train station, unfortunately abandoned. The rest of the town was disappointingly dilapidated. Nous avons pris le train aujourd’hui pour aller à Aveiro qui se trouve à 80 kilomètres au sud de Porto. Nous avons beaucoup aimé la vieille gare …
Manoir de la Chevalinière
Today was one of my favourite days of the year – heritage day! We cycled from Vendôme to Troo and back via Sasnières Gardens and came across this charming private home built in the late 15th century and open to visitors just for the weekend. Aujourd’hui était l’une de mes journées préférées de l’année : …
The Old Mill House – Le vieux moulin
I had forgotten how beautiful this 16th century mill house is near Chateau des Grotteaux just outside Huisseau-sur-Cosson. It has unusual detail for a mill house. J’avais oublié que ce moulin du 16e siècle à côté du Château des Grotteaux près de Huisseau-sur-Cosson était si beau. Le détail est inhabituel pour un moulin.
La Locature de Straize
When we were cycling in Sologne on Sunday, I saw a sign saying “locature de Straize”. Neither i nor Jean Michel had even seen the word before so we stopped off to visit. This typical Sologne 16th century cottage was rented out to a farm hand called a “bricolin”, hence the name “locature” from “location” …
Postcard #26 – Miltenberg, Germany
After a six-hour drive from Görlitz yesterday, we were delighted to be cycling along the Main River in the evening but we were not expecting the sheer beauty of the little town of Miltenberg, which is given two lines in one of our guidebooks and not even mentioned in the others! My favourite house is below. This …
Postcard #25 – Baroque & Renaissance Doorways in Görlitz
Görlitz has a surprising number of very beautiful baroque and Renaissance doorways. The first is the most richly sculpted while the second is the most popular among tourists. It was discovered quite fortuitously in the 20th century that someone standing on the left of the arch could hear quite plainly what was being whispered by …
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Postcard #24 – Görlitz
Gorlitz is on the German-Polish border. This is taken from the Polish side looking forwards the German side. The Polish town is called Zgorzelec but is very different. The second picture is my favourite building in Gorlitz, built in 1550, with its two sundials. It used to be the Ratsapoteke or Town Hall Pharmacy, but …
Postcard #20 – The Barbican, Kraków
The photo I would have liked to post today was not possible. We visited Wawel Castle which has the most extraordinary stamped and dyed leather-covered walls but unfortunately no photos are allowed and we were under close surveillance. The barbican above, built in 1498, is just outside what remains of the city walls which were …
Postcard #19 – Krakow
Unlike Warsaw and despite the terrible extermination of 200,000 Jews who were confined to a ghetto, Krakow remained relatively undamaged at the end of World War II, sparing most of the city’s historical and architectural legacy. Above is the Renaissance Cloth Hall in the main Market Square, and below, Wawel Castle, which we intend to …