The Loire Valley and especially Blois
This is another detail from Hôtel Grouïn in Tours. Fruit bowls and cornucopia (horn of plenty) are symbols of prosperity, evoking the Golden Age when the earth provided human beings with nourishment in abundance. Pomegranates symbolise peace, apples eternity and grapes wine. Voici un autre détail de l’Hôtel Grouïn à Tours. Les coupes de fruit et …
Continue reading “Fruit Bowls and Cornucopia – Coupes de fruits et cornes d'abondance”
Yesterday I posted a photo of the Renaissance façade of Hôtel de Grouïn in Tours. Here is a close-up of the acanthus ornaments that decorate the façade. The acanthus with its large, luxuriant leaves, is one of the most common plant forms to make foliage ornament and decoration. In about 1500, it replaced the ornamental cabbage leaves that were highly appreciated …
The last time we were in Tours, this beautiful Renaissance façade, sculpted in 1510, was undergoing restauration. I love the fact that the signs on the gate in front explain the symbolism of the sculptures so I’m going to post details in several posts to share it with you. La dernière fois que nous étions à …
Continue reading “A Renaissance Façade in Tours – Une façade renaissance à Tours”
This lovely art deco glass dome is in the Café Univers in Tours, which dates back to 1896. The rest of the café restaurant has unfortunately been decorated in a more modern style, however. Cette belle verrière art déco se trouve dans le Café Univers à Tours, qui date de 1896. Malheureusement, le restaurant a …
I was very taken with this sign on a primary school I saw in the city of Tours today. Very artistic. J’ai bien aimé ce panneau sur une école primaire que j’ai vu à Tours aujourd’hui. Très artistique.
“I prefer to die standing up rather than live on my knees” is the motto currently displayed on the town hall in Tours in honour of Stéphane Charbonnier, alias Charb, French satirical cartoonist and journalist who was one of the victims of the terrorist shootings that took place in the office of the newspaper Charlie Hebdo on 7th …
In an English-speaking country, The White Feather would probably be a pub, wouldn’t it? La plume blanche is in Tours. Dans un pays anglosaxon, La Plume Blanche serait plutôt le nom d’un pub. Ce petit restaurant est à Tours.
The sign on the ground says Help us to restore the paintings in Tours Railway Station. To quote Susan Walter from Days on the Claise, “The station at Tours has a series of 18 painted ceramic panels decorating the walls since 1898. Their purpose is to beautify the station concourse and entice travellers to the …
We were in Tours yesterday but the white Christmas trees seemed a little early with everyone still sitting on the café terraces! Nous étions à Tours hier mais les sapins de noël blancs semblaient là un peu tôt vu le nombre de personnes en terrasse.
These sculpted figures decorate the façade of the Veyssière Sigma bookshop in rue Colbert in the historical quarter of Tours near the cathedral.I don’t have any further information but they would seem to be contemporary with the Acrobats’ House in Blois, that is, late 15th century. Ces personnages sculptés se trouvent dans le quartier historique de …
Continue reading “Two Red Burghers and a Dog – Deux bourgeois et un chien rouges”