The Loire Valley and especially Blois
No post last night because we got home from Orléans too late after picking up my new electrically-assisted bike (the more you press the pedals, the more assistance you get) and testing it for 3 hours, including a heavy downpour on the way back when we sheltered in the porch of the church you can …
Continue reading “Electrified at last! – Electrifiée enfin !”
The only reason I could take this photo is that the butterfly was obviously on its last legs. I don’t know what sort it is but I hope it shows that our garden is a friendly environment. La seule raison que j’ai pu prendre cette photo est que le papillon était souffrant. Je ne connais …
You may remember my post about the cloud-lined steps recently. Today we went to see the artist’s exhibition “More than 100 skies” at La Fondation du Doute. The outside was interesting though I found it a little infantile. Inside the exhibition, which started with a passageway through some overhanging dead leaves and strangely distorting mirrors, …
This is the stunning rainbow we saw at 7.30 pm today. It was actually double but I needed two more photos to get the entire picture as you can see below. The last time I captured a double rainbow was in the Palais Royal in Paris where we used to live. Voici l’arc en ciel …
The pink and white roses on our half-timbered tower are always the first to bloom. Next come the red roses which are currently taking over the rose of sharon. Last are the roses on our front steps, the most magnificent of all. In another week or so, I’ll post another photo. Les roses blanches et …
Nettle leaf plant food, an excellent organic fertilizer, was taken off the market in France in 2006 because it has not been approved for sale. If you want some, you have to make it. Jean Michel is using his electric hand-held grass clippers to shred the leaves which have to be immersed in water for 3 …
Continue reading “Nettle Leaf Plant Food Forbidden? – Purin d'orties interdit ?”
I took this photo in rue de l’Hôtel-Pasquier in Les Grouëts as we were walking home from Bread-Baking Day yesterday. The house used to belong to the son of Victor-Auguste Poulain who founded one of France’s oldest chocolate brands, Chocolats Poulain. Albert Poulain built Bellevue in 1910 when the first tram line was inaugurated in Blois so that …
Continue reading “The Chocolate Ruin – La Ruine du chocolat”
Today it was Bread Day in Les Grouëts, the area in Blois where we live. Hubert, on the left, fired up his bread oven and baked loaves of bread and pizzas made by locals. And a good time was had by all ! Aujourd’hui c’était la fête du pain aux Grouëts le quartier de Blois …
Continue reading “Bakers for a Day – Boulangers pour la journée”
The new gardens in Chambord are now open but I think they look better from the rooftops. Les nouveaux jardins à Chambord sont désormais ouverts mais je pense qui’ils sont plus beaux depuis les toits.