Bread Baskets – Paniers à pain

These bread baskets come from a bakery that closed in Les Gouets a few years ago. From left to right, “pain”, “boule” and “baguette”. Ces paniers à pain proviennent d’une boulangerie qui a fermé aux Grouets il y a quelques années. De gauche à droite, pain, boule et baguette.  

Indoor School at Chaumont – Manège à Chaumont

When we first saw the round building in the centre in the 19th century stables at Château de Chaumont, we thought it was a pigeon house, but in fact it’s a small indoor school for poneys made from a converted ceramic furnace. Lorsqu’on a aperçu le bâtiment rond au centre des écuries du 19ème siècle …

The Red Bush – L'Arbuste rouge

It’s marvellous to see bushes in winter with red or yellow flowers like our winter jasmin. I’d like to know the name of this one so we can plant one in our garden. C’est merveilleux de voir des arbustes en hiver avec des fleurs rouges ou jaunes comme notre jasmin d’hiver. J’aimerais bien savoir le …

The Brick Kiln – Le four à briques

The brick kilm from the old Laleu tilery in Cour-Cheverny, located at 12 rue Denet, Carroir, is one of the rare vestiges of one of the Loir et Cher’s flourishing traditional industries. In the early 20th century, every town or village in Sologne had between one and four brick kilns that produced the tiles and …

The Hatching Tank – Le Bassin d'éclosion

The sign says that it’s a fish breeding tank but in fact, it’s a hatching tank. Marquis Paul de Vibraye, who owned Château de Cheverny at the time, invented an ingenious device to oxygenate the water from a nearby spring when it came into contact with the air. Built in the mid-19th century to breed …

Three Generations on the Market – Trois générations au marché

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 …

Photo of the Year to welcome 2014 – Photo de l'année pour accueillir 2014

This is my favourite view of Blois: the Loire from Vienne, with the traditional flat-bottom boats in the foreground, Gabriel Bridge, the Royal Castle of Blois and Saint Nicolas Church in background. Today is theme day in the City Daily Photo community, where City Daily Photo blogs all over the world can post a January …

Ile d'Or in Winter – Ile d'Or en hiver

There is an island opposite the Royal Castle of Amboise called Ile d’Or or the Golden Island. Today it shone under the combined effect of sun and frost. Juste en face du château royal d’Amboise il y a l’île d’Or. Aujourd’hui, l’île brillait sous l’effet du soleil et du givre.