As a French blog, I feel rather challenged by a subject about food. In the end I decided to illustrate a recent tradition in French cuisine – the café gourmand, which is a coffee served at the end of the meal with a selection of mini-desserts according to the chef’s whim. From left to right, we …
Monthly Archives: April 2017
Chaumont in Spring – Chaumont au printemps
Château de Chaumont at 7.30 pm at the end of April. Château de Chaumont à 19h30 fin avril.
Postcard: A Windmill in Gironde – A moulin à vent en Gironde
As you can see, this is a very different windmill from the post mills we have in the Loire. Comme vous pouvez voir, ce moulin est très différent des moulins cavier qu’on trouve partout dans la vallée de la Loire.
A Street in Blois – Une rue blésoise
You can see that spring has arrived in this little street in the old quarter of Puits Chatel in Blois. On voit bien que le printemps est arrivé dans cette petite rue dans le vieux quartier de Puits Chatel à Blois.
Postcard from Gironde – Le carrelet
These square fishing nets, called carrelets in French, are raised and lowered with a winch. Carrelet is also the name given to the little huts built next to the net so that amateur fishermen will not only be kept dry but also also have a place to have a bite to eat and a game of …
Postcard from Soulac-sur-Mer
These delightful houses are in Soulac-sur-Mer, on tip of the estuary of the Garonne River near Bordeaux. They were built during three periods: 1860 to 1890, 1890 to 1920 and 1920 to 1940. Fortunately, this surprising collection of holiday homes – brick and stone with a touch of coulour and decorative enamel – has been …
Postcard from Vensac : Painted Pillars – Piliers peints
We are having a little weekend away in the Médoc area near Bordeaux. These painted pillars are in the Romanesque church of Saint Peter in Vensac below. The apse was built in the 12th century while the nave and polychrome decorations were added in the 17th century along with the spire. Nous passons un petit week-end dans …
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Château de la Bourdaisière
So, after the chapel and Leonardo’s door, here is the château itself. It’s one of those buildings that has been changed considerably over the centuries. The plant and chicken festival in spring is incredibly popular, as is the heirloom tomato festival in autumn. We will go back on our bikes in July or August to …
Leonardo & Judas – Léonard & Judas
This doorway at La Bourdaisière Château, attributed to Leonard da Vinci, is shown to perfection by the beautiful flowering tree on the left, a Cercis silliquastrum, commonly known as the Judas tree because Judas is said to have used this tree commonly found in Israel to hang himself after betraying Jesus. It could also simply be …
Inspired – Suivez la flèche !
Saint Nicolas in Blois has a lot of spires. The building on the right is the Classical part of Blois château with Foix Tower in front of it. Le titre anglais est un jeu de mots car “spire” veut dire “flèche”. J’invite nos lecteurs français à proposer un titre du même type. Je n’ai trouvé …