The Loire Valley and especially Blois
We had a very violent storm last night. Because of their great height, hollyhocks are often the first to suffer. This is what happened next door. The photo below shows our hollyhocks which I had fortunately taken the time to attach during the afternoon. Only a couple had fallen slightly to one side. Hier soir on …
Continue reading “Hollyhocks after the storm – Roses trémières après l'orage”
Hydrangeas in full bloom next to our bread oven at Closerie Falaiseau. Les hortensias dans toute leur splendeur à côté de notre four à pain à Closerie Falaiseau.
We arrived back in Blois today to see that all our hollyhocks were in bloom – and had the pleasant surprise to see that our Pierre de Ronsard roses had bloomed a second time. La première chose que nous avons vu en rentrant à Blois aujourd’hui étaient nos roses trémières. Nous avons eu la bonne …
Continue reading “Hollyhocks & Roses – Roses trémières et Pierre de Ronsard”
Some of the vineyards on the Moselle near Bernkastel are nearly vertical and go right down to the edge of the water. Certains vignobles en Moselle près de Bernkastel sont presque verticaux et descendent jusqu’au bord de l’eau.
Very different from Renaissance architecture in the Loire Valley, so-called Weser Renaissance architecture developed in northern Germany in the 16th and 17th centuries along the Weser River. An excellent example is the town hall in Hann. Münden. Typical features are elaborate decorative façades with front gables adorned with pyramids, scrolls, spheres, obelisks, intricate carvings, friezes with inscriptions …
Now this has to be the most original sundial I’ve seen yet – in the middle of the vineyards overlooking the Moselle River near Bernkastel-Kues. They were built in the 19th century so that the workers knew when to knock off for lunch or go home for the day! Ce cadran solaire doit être le …
Continue reading “Postcard from Germany: Sundial in a VIneyard – Cadran solaire dans un vignoble”
I’ve been looking for connections between Blois and Germany since we arrived here three weeks ago on our cycling holiday. Imagine my delight when I discovered, quite by accident, that Blois’ very own Denis Papin, the inventor, built a steam-pump powered paddlewheel boat, probably pedal-driven in 1704, and as a demonstration, used his steam paddlewheeler …
Continue reading “Postcard from Germany: Denis Papin in Hann Münden”
Another kind of windmill in Germany – wind turbines – which are present in large numbers and are often very close to the houses. Below is an early style of wind turbine that I have never seen in France. Un autre type de moulin à vent en Allemagne – l’aéolienne – qui est présent en …
Continue reading “Postcard from Germany: Wind Turbines – Aeoliennes”
This is a typical so-called Dutch windmill found in the north of Germany. This one is in the little town of Norden in Friesland near the North Sea. Voici un moulin à vent dit hollandais typique du nord de l’Allemagne. Celui-ci se trouve dans la petite ville de Norden dans la Friese orientale près de la …
Continue reading “Postcard from Germany: Dutch windmill – Moulin hollandais”
These beautiful painted half-timbered Renaissance houses in Celle in Northern Germany are comtemporary with our stone house in Blois. Ces belles maisons Renaissance peintes à colombages à Celle dans le nord de l’Allemagne sont contemporaines avec notre maison en pierre à Blois.