CDP Theme Day – Abandoned

As soon as I saw City Daily Photo’s theme this month, I thought of a recent photo I posted of an abandoned rail bridge just outside Blois after it was bombed by the allied forces in 1944. In the first photo, you see the part of the bridge that is still standing. Above,you can see …

Autumn Crocuses – Crocus d'automne

When we saw these crocuses growing on the side of the road while we were cycling today, we thought they were saffron crocuses, but a closer look shows that the filaments that provide saffron, are not red. Two or three flowers You need 2 or 3 flowers to flavour a dish. Susan from Days on the Claise …

September Cyclamens – Cyclamens en septembre

This is the first September we’ve spent at Closerie Falaiseau – we were away last year – and we’re delighted with the weather and flowers. These little cyclamens have come out in our little wood. Thank you to our previous owners who did such as great job with the vegetation. C’est le premier mois de …

Hazelnut Time – Le temps des noisettes

A colleague of Jean Michel’s gave him a hazelnut tree when we bought our house four years ago. This year is the first year we had a real crop. How delightful to gather and eat our own produce! Un collègue à Jean Michel lui a donnéun noisetier lorsque nous avons acheté notre maison il y a quatre …

Loire Clean-Up – Nettoyage de la Loire

We were surprised as we cycled past Château de Menar to see that many large trees have been felled as part of a clean-up programme. Too many large trees along the river stop the water from flowing freely. Nous étions surpris lorsque nous sommes passés en vélo devant le château de Ménar de voir que …

Back on our Bikes – De nouveau sur nos vélos

The weather was beautiful on Saturday, sunny with a maximum of 25°C so went went on our favourite bike ride from Blois to Chambord via Saint Dyé sur Loire where one of the traditional flat-bottomed boats was reflected perfectly in the water. Il faisait un temps splendide samedi : ensoleillé avec un maxmimum de 25°C. …

Back to the Market – Retour au marché

After our trip to New York and Boston, we were delghted to be back at our fresh produce market in Blois today, starting with our favourite organic stand, La Ferme de la Touche. Jean Michel is in deep discussion with Christelle about soil quality! In the foreground is a custard marrow which I initially thought …

The Blown-Up Bridge – Le pont sauté

This is what remains of the railway bridge over the Loire blown up by the allied air forces on 11 June 1944 during the second world war. The arch on the left is the last one remaining on the south bank. Voici ce qui reste du pont de chemin de fer sur la Loire bombardée par les …

Postcard from New York – The Frick Collection

Henri Frick (1849-1919) made his fortune in coke and devoted his later years to building up an incredible collection of high-quality masterpieces which he housed in a buillding that he built as a museum that would be open to the public after his death. Unfortunately he only lived there for five years. You can only photograph …