Postcard from Germany: Allotments on the Rhine – jardins ouvriers sur le Rhin

The allotments we saw today along the Rhine River reminded me of the frozen allotments we saw last year winter in Amboise. Les jardins ouvriers que nous avons vu aujourd’hui au bord du Rhin m.ont fait pense à ceux que nous avons vu en hiver à Amboise.

Leonardo in Venice – Léonard de Vinci à Venise

Guess who we ran into in Venice today? Our friend Leonardo da Vinci, who arrived here in 1500 and offered his services to the Senate as an engineer with all sorts of ingenious ideas to overcome the Turks which never came to fruition. As we know, he was a great friend of François I and …

The White Façade of Château de Cheverny – La façade blanche du château de Cheverny

The dazzling white of the southern façade of Château de Cheverny is due to the use of Bourré tufa stone which comes from the village of Bourrée in Loire et Cher, and has the particularity of getting white and harder as it gets older. La blancheur éclatante de la façade sud du château de Cheverny est …

Lilac from our steps – Lilas depuis notre perron

Lilac is the next to bloom after wisteria. We don’t have a lavendar lilac bush at Closerie Falaiseau, only a white one, but we can see this one from our front steps. Le lilas fleurit tout de suite après la glycine. Nous n’avons pas de lilas mauve chez nous à Closerie Falaiseau seulement un lilas …

Cherry blossoms on the Loire – Cerisiers en fleurs au bord de la Loire

This photo was taken from Vienne. You can see the cathedral on the right, Blois Castle in the middle, Gabriel Bridge and Saint Nicolas behind. Cette photo est prise depuis Vienne. On voit la cathédrale à droite, le château de Blois au milieu, le pont Gabriel et Saint Nicolas derrière.

Willow in the vineyards – Osier dans les vignes

These willow bushes growing on the edge of vineyards in the cheverny area used to provide ties to bend the vine shoots along the wire after pruning. Ces pieds d’osier aux bord des champs de vignes dans l’appellation cheverny fournissaient autrefois les liens pour le pliage qui suit la taille de la vigne. This photo …

Royal Weather Vanes on triangles – Girouettes royales sur triangles

Royal roof surmonted by magnificent ornamental weather vanes on top of the Louis XII staircase in Blois Castle which date from the early 16th century. At this height, they mustn’t get much maintenance. This post is our contribution to City Daily Photo Theme Day. To see other interpretations of the theme “triangle” from across the …