The Loire Valley and especially Blois
For this month’s City Daily Photo theme day, I wanted a typical scene in a French café in a provincial town so we went to Onzain, about 15 kilometers from Blois. It’s Sunday morning, about noon. The café also has a betting licence so people can buy lotto and lottery tickets and back horses, etc. It …
Continue reading “City Daily Photo Theme Day – Coffee House Scene”
I love the way you can see one of the stained glass windows through the open door of the Romanesque church of Saint Denis Amboise. To me, it’s like looking through a keyhole. J’aime bien le fait qu’on voit l’un des vitraux par la porte ouverte de l’église romane de Saint Denis à Amboise. Pour moi, c’est …
Continue reading “Through the Keyhole – Par le trou de la serrure”
This, my friends, is of greater significance that it looks. It’s part of a rampart from the time of the Gauls. Built from 400 to 50 BC, is made of clay, wooden posts and a 10 m deep ditch. The presence of pebbles shows that it was added to at different periods of time to make it …
This photo of civil servants on strike in Blois yesterday comes from fellow Blésois, Jon. The banner is asking for higher salaries for better quality service. I love the colourful flags. Cette photo de fonctionnaires en grève à Blois nous vient d’un autre blésois, Jon. J’aime bien les drapeaux bien colorés.
I found all these arches rather amusing, particularly the cable around the one on the left and the little one in the middle. Je trouve toutes ces voûtes amusantes surtout le câble autour de celle de gauche et la toute petite au milieu.
This impressive mask is a plastic cast of a sculpture on the ceiling of the classical Gaston d’Orléans wing of Blois castle, built in 1635-1638. It’s part of an itinerary for the blind. Can you spot it on the ceiling below? Ce masque imposant est un moulage d’un masque sculpté sur le plafond de l‘aile classique Gaston d’Orléans du château …
I’m not sure how efficient the weathervane can be be at the top of this wall and I wonder what the silver and blue baubles are. Je ne suis pas sûre que la girouette soit très efficace en haut de ce mur et je me demande bien à quoi correspondent les boules argentées et bleues.
In modern day France, l’hôtel de ville is the town hall (the ô indicates that an “s” has disapppeared from the original old French. However, I have never seen a building with Hostel de Ville written on it. This beautiful door is in Orléans but so far I haven’t found any information about its history. …
You may remember the photo of the statue of Diane of the Chase taken in the royal park behind Blois Castle when the weather wasn’t the best. We went back on a sunny day and I was able to take this photo if the Renaissance façade of the castle with its beautiful Italianate galleries. Vous vous rappelez …
Silver wattle or acacia dealbata, called mimosa in France, was imported into Europe in the 18th century from Tasmania in Australia. Its vibrant yellow is very much appreciated from January to March. Le mimosa ou acacia dealbata, appelé Silver Wattle en Australie, fut importer de la Tasmanie au 18ème siècle. Sa couleur jaune vif est …