Category Archives: France

Blogging, Closerie Falaiseau, Cycling, France, Germany

Happy New Year for 2021

January 11, 2021 Rosemary Kneipp 5 Comments

“The best laid plans of mice and men …” John Burns never said a truer word!

We started the year with lots of travel plans and the first was a trip to Crete in March to break the winter blues. Covid 19 at that time was still a minor issue, although we did wear masks in the airport. After three most enjoyable days at a home exchange in Chania, we moved to Agios Nikolaos, by which time bars, restaurants and cultural venues had closed. Even though we were in an apartment, it wasn’t much fun. After visiting a 3500-year-old olive tree, there wasn’t much left to do and lockdown was about to start in France.

We took the next flight out of Heraklion, getting up at 4 am to do so! We wore masks for the whole trip and arrived back in Blois just two hours after lockdown, did some food shopping and holed up for the next 55 days! Lockdown eased on 11^th May and we were no longer restricted to essential shopping and physical activity for one hour within a 1 km radius of our home. We also no longer needed to fill out a form when we did go out. After two weeks, on the 15^th June, all restrictions were lifted and we started making holiday plans!

In the meantime, my daughter and her Dutch fiancé, who live in New York, had had to cancel their wedding plans in northern Italy in May while my son and his American girlfriend decided to get married on a ski slope in Vermont in the presence of only two other people! We watched the wedding on Skype but unfortunately there was no sound. We then had a virtual aperitif drinking the same champagne that my son bought on his last trip to France in November when we met his fiancé. We are delighted to welcome her into the family. Since then, the newlyweds have bought a house in Boston while my daughter and her fiancé have tentatively set September 2021 as a wedding date.

Holiday-wise, Germany seemed the safest as their Covid figures were very low (compared with France, Italy and Spain!) and we knew that we could count on outdoor eating venues and strict observance of hygiene protocols. We chose to avoid hotels and B&Bs and only stay in holiday flats with balconies or gardens, having breakfast and dinner at home. Our top priority was cycling and enjoying Germany’s many beautiful towns and villages. On June 26^th, we started our 3-week journey in the Jura mountains in the east of France, discovering an area we didn’t know and which has an impressive number of bike paths.

Next stop was Austria, from which we were able to visit Gallen with its famous baroque library over the border in Switzerland and cycle along Lake Constance. We followed the good weather as we always do and went back to the beautiful Bavarian mediaeval town of Bamberg, then Nuremberg, before spending four absolutely perfect days on the Forggensee. We had been there before, in our pre-e-bike days. This time we were able to appreciate the absolutely stunning scenery without straining our knees.

We started heading back to France via the Neckar with some wonderful rides along the Kocher-Jagst Radweg near Heilbronn. Our last stop was the Black Forest. The scenery is beautiful and we had a breath-taking view from our balcony, but the cycling is a disaster! We arrived home on 17^th July after driving 3380 K and cycling 773 K!

After we got back, we had a visit from my son who needed a new working US visa for his new job. The story is a bit complicated, but the upshot was that he left Boston wearing a mask (after getting a negative Covid test) and did not take it off until he got in his hire car at Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris. He then came straight to Blois, only doing a same-day return trip to Paris to go to his Embassy appointment. He needed another test in Blois before returning to Boston. It was lovely to see him for a few days.

Otherwise, we have kept ourselves occupied and feel grateful every day for having a large house and garden that we love. While we could, we cycled as much as possible exploring many new areas and making the most of our annual pass to Château de Chaumont.

Our back garden view when dining outdoors

I have continued to work part-time, mainly as a sworn translator (I only just broke even on my holiday rental studio in Blois, which was supposed to supplement my terrible retirement pension), and my husband Jean Michel has completed various projects including two cold frames, two raised vegetable beds and two staircases for the garage and wood shed. There is still another one to go in the barn. We gardened extensively during the warmer months, growing a lot of plants from seed and increasing our collection of drought-resistant perennials. It made up for being so restricted in our movements. I also blogged every day on www.loiredailyphoto.com, especially during the different lockdown periods. It has helped me to stay connected with the outside world.

We did manage another 5-day cycling holiday in September in the Nièvre, based in La Charité-sur-Loire (near Sancerre). The Covid figures were low at the time and we could still count on outdoor eating at lunchtime. It was a welcome break. When we got home, we bought a garden heater so we could continue to enjoy eating outside throughout October. We went back into lockdown on 30^th October for a month, followed by a 2-week easing period when non-essential shops opened again under extreme pressure from the public in the warm-up to Christmas.

What I have missed and continue to miss most are my children and friends. I haven’t seen my daughter since November 2019 when we shopped for her wedding dress. I occasionally go walking with a friend and we briefly met up with other friends in December in a park. During Christmas and New Year, which we naturally spent alone, eating home-made foie gras and drinking vouvray wine, we spent a lot of time reading our travel diaries aloud and looking at the corresponding digital photos. We FaceTimed with all the children and their partners on Christmas Day, which cheered us up no end. They are all doing well despite Covid.

If you’ve been tracking the Covid situation in France, you will know that we are not out of the woods. We have a large and somewhat reticent population to vaccinate and we are not in the immediate target group. We have another two months of cold, stay-at-home weather in front of us, then we’ll be able to go back to our outdoor occupations. By then we might be eligible for vaccination. In the meantime, we are exercising maximum precaution, only going to shop once a week at the local market and supermarket and, occasionally, the plant nursery. We buy everything else over the Internet. I continue to make our bread and yoghurts.

Our hopes for 2021 are to see our children again, including Jean Michel’s two sons who live in France, celebrate my daughter’s wedding wherever it may be, visit my son and daughter and partners in Boston and New York and find a safe venue for our annual cycling holiday.

I would like to wish everyone a happier 2021, full of hope, inner strength and new horizons! Thank you for reading my very sporadic blog!

Blogging, Blois, Cycling, Cyprus, France, Germany, Poland, Uncategorized

Happy New Year 2019

January 31, 2019 Rosemary Kneipp 19 Comments

This is my absolute last chance to write my New Year post and wish you all a wonderful 2019, as tomorrow is the first day of February. I have an exciting year ahead – I am going to retire on 30th June (although I shall keep up my certified translations for a few more years). Retirement will, I hope, give me more time to blog.

Travel continued to play a big role in our lives this year, with our first trip away in February, to the island of Malta, where we stayed in a flat called Marine View in Senglea with a most stunning view both day and night. There were many interesting places to visit and the weather was wonderful, but Cyprus, where we went last year, remains my favourite Mediterranean island.

A snowfall on our return provided the occasion for my most stunning photo yet of Château de Chambord which remains high on the list of our cycling destinations in summer and a great place to walk in the winter.

The bridge between La Rochelle and Ile de Ré

In April we went to La Rochelle for a long week-end and had a truly unforgettable experience at Christopher Coutanceau’s 2-star Michelin restaurant followed by lots of cycling on nearby Ile-de-Ré. It’s a very busy and lively town and it’s a great place to shop in comfort (especially for a non-shopper like myself). There’s lots of activity at night along the waterfront which made a bit of a change from the Loire in winter.

We spent the whole of June in Germany and Poland, on our power-assisted bikes clocking up 800 kilometers for 16 days’ cycling. As ever, Germany was a pure delight. It is just so geared to cyclists with all its bike paths and rest-stops and I adore the colourful half-timbered houses in all the little towns and villages!

Poland, however, was another story. Although the major cities such as Poznan, Gdansk, Warsaw, Krakow and Wraclow have an amazing network of bike paths, as soon as you get out of the built-up area, you have to take either the main road or go on mountain-bike trails for 20-year-olds in top form. One unforgettable ride through a very sandy forest had me preferring the bitumen and traffic! There are practically no pretty villages which was a great disappointment. The only exception was Gdansk which we really loved. We had an apartment outside the town and were able to cycle happily up and down the coast through the seaside vilalges as well as into the city with its beautiful baroque façades.

After two weeks in Poland, we were relieved to get back to Germany and follow the Main River! Poland, despite its drawbacks, is a country on the rise economically and that was obvious everywhere we went. It was difficult to have much contact with the locals though, as they were not very welcoming on the whole.

Our week’s holiday in autumn this year took us to Porto with Ryan Air (never again!) from the nearby city of Tours. We enjoyed the first three days in Porto, by which time we had exhausted its possibilities, including a rather hair-raising bike ride along the coast. For the next three days, we took day trains (about one-hour each way) to the very interesting historical towns of Guimaraes, Aveiro and Braga. Poland may be on the way up, but Portugal is definitely going in the opposite direction. It’s very sad to see.

A favourite view of Blois when cycling along the Loire

On the home front, we continued to cycle throughout July, August and September nearly every day, often in the evenings for a picnic on weekdays thanks to the long twilight and the amazing weather. We are now up to 5000 kms since we bought our power bikes in May 2017.

Winter walk along the Loire on a rare sunny day

The winter, so far, has been cold and rainy. I’ve been forcing myself to go for an hour’s walk every two days but it’s not very attractive. We have a yearly pass to Château de Chenonceau though which makes a welcome change.

Jean Michel kept on with the renovations at the studio flat in Blois most of the year and it is now ready for holiday accommodation on www.chatelrose.com. I amused myself with some of the decorative features but my brilliant ideas always turned out to be more time-consuming than expected. As it is in a very old building, Jean Michel had to face up to a lot of challenges as well.

Château de Chenonceau from the walking path on the other side

This coming year, especially once I have retired, we went to do more home exchanges as well. And in case anyone is wondering – we still follow the 5:2 diet twice a week and are in very good health! I miss my blog and hope that retirement really will bring me the time and energy I need to write more often! In the meantime, I would like to wish everyone a very happy and fulfilling 2019 and maybe see you over at www.loiredailyphoto.com!

Accommodation, Architecture, City breaks, France

A City Break in Angoulême

February 16, 2017 Rosemary Kneipp 8 Comments

We haven’t had a break since we went to New York in September what with having to fill the coffers again after our three months’ holiday in 2016, digging the trenches for the automatic watering system and Jean Michel’s varicose vein operation but he’s now up and about again so we’ve chosen to spend two nights in Angoulême, which is 280 K south-west of Blois. Sunny weather is predicted with temperatures around 11 or 12°C during the day.

L'Embarcadère where we had lunch — L’Embarcadère in Rochecorbon

By the time we leave it’s nearly midday so we plan lunch at L’Embarcadère in the troglodyte village of Rochecorbon, not far from Vouvray. We’ve been there twice before and enjoyed it. I book a table but needn’t have bothered as there are very few people. The February “ski” holidays are in full swing which means that local tourism is down. We have a pleasant lunch with real chip potatoes, always a good way to start a little holiday.

After another couple of hours’ driving, we arrive at our apartment-hotel in Angoulême at 5.30 pm. We nearly had to give up the idea of Angoulême altogether as the local hotels were either too expensive or too “modern” with garish coulours that I could never have slept with. Angoulême is the “comic book” capital of France and a lot of the interior decor caters for the annual comic book festival held at the end of January each year.

The old abbey of which are hotel is one of the remaining buildings

In the end, we decided to try Appart’City at the bottom of the hill leading up to the old town. The building, which we later discover is an old abbey, is not very attractive, but the one-bedroom apartment, with a separate kitchen and bathroom, is excellent value for money at 70 euro a night (optional 8.50 for breakfast). It’s clean, with white walls and sober colours, the bed is comfortable, the kitchen has everything we need, even a mini dishwasher, it has a decent shower and it’s not noisy. Excellent choice.

The Charente seen as we walk up the hill to the old town

After a short rest, we take the zigzag path up to the old town, with sweeping views across the newer part of the city which has a total population of 42,000, much less than I would have imagined, but “greater Angoulême”, created in 1989, has 141,000 inhabitants. The Charente River is below us.

We wander through the old town which is surrounded by ramparts. All the streets have paving stones. We find it quite animated with many shops and bars. The comic book influence is everywhere but we are also surprisesd by the large number of beautiful old façades.

Our first glimpse of the cathedral town and dome

The sun is starting to set over Angoulême’s main monument, the Romanesque Cathedral of Saint Peter, built in the 12th century and renovated several times since then.

Saint Peter's Cathedral — Saint Peter’s Cathedral

After a glass of wine on one of the town’s many squares we walk back down to our hotel, taking the direct route this time. On the way, I am intrigued by a building which has a comic strip projected onto it, one panel at a time. Not being an adult comic fan, I don’t know who the characters are, but the result is very effective and there are several sequences.

Comic strips at night on an otherwise blank wall

We are perfectly happy with a platter of bread and cheese with a good glass of red wine in our little apartment.

The law courts with a combination of old and new — The law courts with a local producer to remind us that we are in Limousin, famous for its beef

Next day is sunny and not too cold. We walk up the hill again and have a cappuccino at the François I opposite the impressive-looking Law Courts built in 1826 in the neo-Classical style by the architect Paul Abadie who seems to have been involved in the construction or reconstruction of most of the main buildings in Angoulême.

Two of the beautiful façades in the centre of Angoulême — Two of the beautifully sculpted façades in the centre of Angoulême

We continue our walk through the city in search of the “last haberdasher’s shop” in Angoulême. This is a dying race in most towns in France these days. A little chat with the owner confirms this. She will be retiring in three years’ time. The shop belonged to her parents. She explains why the shank buttons keep coming off my jacket. It’s their concave shape, it seems, so I buy some straight ones.

Roman-tiled rooftops and the rcently built church of Sainte Aubézine — Roman-tiled rooftops and the recently built neo-gothic church of Sainte Aubézine completed in 1960

Our path takes us around the ramparts until we reach the cathedral whose dome and bell-tower we keep seeing in the distance.

Walking along the ramparts towards the cathedral. You can see the dome.

The inside is somewhat disappointing, mainly due to all the reconstructions that have taken place.

The back of the cathedral, which offers the best view — The back of the cathedral showing all the different influences

By now it’s nearly lunchtime so we wander back to Le Saint André which I reserved when we went past earlier. As n° 1 out of 176 restaurants on TripAdvisor, I thought I should. It quickly fills up. At 14.90 euro for a three-course set menu, it’s good value for money. The leek and conté cheese tart is excellent, the kefta meatballs aren’t bad and the apple and pineapple tatin tart is very good. Jean Michel has the pork mignon and moka and praliné sponge roll. He says they are simple but refined. The restaurant is obviously a favourite with the locals and the two owners explain the menu and chat with their regular patrons.

Church of Saint André after which the restaurant is named

After coffee, we walk back down the hill for an after-lunch siesta. We would like to visit the paper museum across the other side of the Charente in the afternoon. There are many old water mills and reconverted factories along the banks of the river, including the international comic book centre in a series of old wine and spirit stores.

The Paper Museum on the banks of the Charente, next to the Ecole Supérieure européenne de l'image — The Paper Museum on the banks of the Charente, next to the Ecole Supérieure européenne de l’image

Only the bottom floor of the paper museum is open. The museography is not very good and gives little idea of what was once a huge industry.

We take a different path up to the old town. Jean Michel takes me straight to a Salon de thé he noticed during our morning walk – Parfums Sucrés Daniel Hue. The cakes and tea are both good.

We finish our rampart walk in the other direction and return to our hotel from the other side as the sun sets over the city. We settle for yoghurt and salad in our apartment. We rarely eat out at night when we’re on holidays. You can have too much of a good thing!

Lower Angoulême with our Appart'City hotel in the middle — Lower Angoulême with our Appart’City hotel in the middle

Next day, it’s cold and overcast. We chose our two days well! More photos below if you’d like to have a more complete idea of Angoulême.

Another typical building in the historical part of the city

A modern façade looking up towards the old town – our hotel is on the right

Looking down at our Appart'City hotel and the Charente — Looking down at our Appart’City hotel and the Charente

Le Saint André where we had an enjoyable lunch

Joan of Arc in Angoulême Cathedral. They are all different!

The cathedral spires are on the left and xxx on the right — The cathedral spires are on the left and Notre Dame d’Obézine on the right

The church of Saint Martial in the centre of the city where we had our apéritif

Hôtel Saint Simon built in — Hôtel Saint Simon built by the Dussouchet family in 1530 to 1550

France, French customs

French-Style Primaries

February 2, 2017 Rosemary Kneipp 12 Comments

The first time I voted in the French presidential elections in 2007, there were no primaries. In 2012, the main parties held their own primaries but it was an internal vote and you had to be a party member.

This year, however, someone has thought up a new system. Anyone on the electoral role can participate in the primaires citoyennes as they call them (citizens’ primaries). The centre and right wing parties held theirs in November and the left wing and environmentalists in January.

There is no obligation to participate in the primaires on the part of the presidential candidates (Far Left Wing candidate Marine Le Pen abstained, for one) but those who do participate must agree to respect the outcome. Any political party or group can ask to be part of the primaires and the parties set their own rules about deciding who will represent them.

Voters in the right and centre primaires had to sign the following on their honour: “Je partage les valeurs républicaines de la droite et du centre et je m’engage pour l’alternance afin de réussir le redressement de la France.” (roughly, “I share the republican values of the right and centre and I am committed to the principle of alternation [of political parties in government] for France’s successful recovery”.

To auto-finance the ballot each person contributes 2 euro each time they vote. As in the presidential elections, there are two rounds. A total of 4.27 million people voted in the first round in November. The winner was François Fillon from the Republican Party with 44.1%, followed by Alain Juppé, 28.6% and former president Nicolas Sarkozy, 20.7%. The other 4 candidates obtained less than 7% of the ballots. During the second round, Fillon scored 72.89% while Juppé didn’t do much better than the first time with 27.11%. All but one of the France’s 95 départements (administrative divisions) voted for Fillon.

The left wing and the environmentalists have just held their primaires citoyennes. Once again, the far left wing did not participate. The contribution this time was 1 euro per person per vote. The sentence to be signed was “Je me reconnais dans les valeurs de la Gauche et de la République, dans le projet d’une société de liberté, d’égalité, de fraternité, de laïcité, de justice et de progrès solidaire”. (“I agree with the values of the Left Wing and the Republic, in their vision of a society of freedom, equality, fraternity, laicity, justice and progress based on solidarity.”)

A total of 1.65 million people voted in the first round. Benoît Hamon came out on top with 36.03%, followed by Manual Valls, with 31.48% and Arnaud Montebour with 17.52 percent. All three are members of the Socialist Party. The other four candidates totalled 13.66%. During the second round, Hamon headed the list once again wiht 58.37% and Valls 41.63%. Once again, all but two départements (not the same ones!) voted for Hamon.

The total number of voters on the electoral roll in France is 44.8 million. There would seem to be another 3 million who have not registered.

In both lots of primaires, it would seem that about 15% of the voters were from the other side!

Since then, right wing candidate François Fillon has somewhat tarnished his image. His wife, Penelope, was paid €830,000 to be a phantom parliamentary assistant, his children received another €84,000 as his equally phantomesquechimerical assistants while they were still students; Penelope is also said to have been paid €100,000 as a literary consultant although there is no evidence of any output. Fillon himself may have embezzled funds when he was a senator and he omitted to declare €200,000 in earnings as a senior advisor for a company called Ricol Lasteyrie. He seems to have little choice but to dip out although he has asked for two weeks to make up his mind.

Juppé, the next in line, declared yesterday that he would not be “plan B” after François Fillon. He has a somewhat shady background as well.

Meanwhile, the Socialists are seriously divided about Benoît Hamon’s politics and many are debating about whether to follow Macron, President Holland’s extremely young finance minister from 2014 to 2016 who founded a breakaway party, “En marche” in April 2016 and chose not to participate in the primaires citoyennes.

Where all this will lead to, it’s hard to say. Marine Le Pen is certainly rubbing her hands with glee. The presidential elections are scheduled for 23^rd April and 7^th May. Vive la France!

This post is a contribution to Lou Messugo’s All About France link-up.

For other posts about France, click here.

Accommodation, Architecture, Cycling, France, Home exchange, Paris, Sightseeing

Discovering Canal Saint Martin in Paris

October 25, 2016 Rosemary Kneipp 9 Comments

We’ve come to Paris for a long week-end to celebrate a friend’s 60^th birthday, organised by her daughter as a surprise. As usual, we’ve fitted in a few medical appointments, as there is a severe lack of specialists in Blois, and some pleasure time with friends. I have found a home exchange with an Australian/French couple like us who live in a house in the west of Paris and exchange a two-room flat near Canal Saint Martin on the 5^th floor. It’s not an area we know very well but our friends Susan and Simon from Days on the Claise always stay in this part of Paris when they come.

A tempting little restaurant on Rue des Vinaigriers

From what we can see, the area is very trendy. When we arrived last night, there were bars and restaurants open everywhere with people milling around the streets and pavements.

The spiral staircase in our apartment building

We’re in Rue des Vinaigriers just a short distance by foot from the canal so we set off to walk along it to the Bastille market where we’re going to buy oysters to take back to the flat for our traditional Sunday lunch.

We arrive just as a barge is passing through the lock at the end of our street. There is also a swing-bridge for vehicles that opens to let the barge through. We’re not the only people watching. Several locals are enjoying the scene and there is a group of seniors on a walking tour.

View of the canal from one of the humpback bridges

There are several humpback pedestrian bridges that give us a bird’s eye view of the canal.

We pass the statue of “Frédérick Lemaître, Comédien, 1800 – 1876”. The French actor and playwright was one of the most famous actors on the celebrated Boulevard du Crime, the nickname given to nearby Boulevard du Temple because of the many crime melodramas staged every night. It is notorious in Paris for having lost so many theatres during the rebuilding of Paris by Baron Haussmann in 1862.

Just one of the beautiful buildings along the canal

We have already noticed the many beautiful Haussmann buildings with their finely sculpted doors and windows that line the street along the canal.

The next statue is La Grisette de 1830, sculpted in 1909 by Jean-Bernard Desomps. In the vocabulary of the 19th century, a grisette was a young seamstress who worked in soft furnishings and fashion, a flirt and coquette who occasionally sold her charms due to poverty rather than vice, so it would seem.

Richard Lenoir promenade above the canal

After a while, the canal goes underground and becomes a planted walkway called Promenade Richard-Lenoir. One of the four squares, Jules Ferry, is named after a French politician who drafted the 3^rd Republic bills that made lay education compulsory in France. Many schools in France are called Jules Ferry.

Bouly Ceramics — The former P. Bouly ceramic manufacture

P. Bouly, Carreaux de Faïence (ceramic tiles), on the left hand side is a reminder of the many factories that once flourished in the area.

Le Bataclan concert venue — Le Bataclan concert hall

On the right is a colourfully trimmed building surrounded by a fence – Le Bataclan, sadly famous for the terrorist attacks that led to the killing of 90 people in the concert hall on Friday 13th November 2015.

As we get closer to Bastille, we see a church in the distance on the left that we’ve never noticed before. Just in front is a sort of fenced-in area with small wooden huts. A sign on the gate says “La Friche Richard-Lenoir”. (Friche means “wasteland”). When I check it out later I learn it is a pop-up bar and open-air entertainment area with refreshment stalls, games and music that appeared in Septeember this year.

The memorial plaque to Merabet — The memorial plaque to Ahmed Merabet

A sobering sign on the promenade fence has a bouquet on top: “In memory of police officer Ahmed Merabet killee here on 7 January 2015 in the line of duty, a victim of terrorism. He was shot after firing at the gunmen’s car during the Charlie Hebdo shootings during which 11 people were killed.

The Bastille market on a Sunday morning — The busy Bastille market on a Sunday morning

After more Haussmann buildings on the left and more modern constructions on the right, we come to the bustling market which is very colourful and pleasant under the trees along the promenade.

Buying oysters at the market. Jean MIchel watches as the man with the cigarette hand-picks the fattest oysters!

We find our oysters (from the same supplier as those we used to buy when we lived in the Palais Royal in the centre of Paris) and pick up some butter and baguette from two other stalls (we brought our Sancerre wine with us from Blois).

Vélib' and baguette — Vélib’ and baguette

Now for the Vélib’ city bikes. We’ve only ridden them once before but after cycling in New York City, we figure we are experts. Although Jean Michel assures me they are exactly the same bikes, I don’t find them as comfortable. They are infinitely cheaper though. As an occasional user, you pay 1.70 euro for a one-day ticket (8 euro for 7 days). The first 30 minutes are always free (you can swap your bike at a Vélib’ station every 30 minutes or pay 1 euro for every additional half hour). (More information here). Three-quarters of an hour’s cycling in NYC (with Black Cat’s City Bike subscription) cost us near 20 dollars each!

More buildings along Richard Lenoir promenade

We follow the canal back up as far as Hôpital Saint Louis. As we walk back to our flat, I try the baguette and decide it’s not very tasty so we go looking for a traditional bakery called Du pain et des idées recommended by our home exchange hosts on Rue Yves Toudic. Unfortunately it’s closed on Saturday, like many of the other shops around us, most of which were open late last night.

The highly recommended bakery on rue Yves Toudic — The highly recommended Du Pain et des Idées bakery on rue Yves Toudic

On the way we pass a building with Douches (showers) written on the front. I don’t know whether these particular ones are still in operation but there are still a half a dozen free public shower establishments scattered throughout Paris. You can find the list here. Take your own towel and soap :).

We go back to our flat, past Café Craft, a co-working space. I later learn that it caters to people without offices who need a space to work. It has fast internet, a comfortable working atmosphere and healthy food and drink and you can spend the entire day there if you want. What a great idea! Next time I’ll check it out.

But for now, we are going to climb our five flights of stairs, open our oysters and our bottle of sancerre and enjoy our favourite Sunday brunch!

Cycling, France

Why it’s so great to cycle in France – Experience France by Bike

September 29, 2016 Rosemary Kneipp 4 Comments

I have just read a post by Maggie Lacoste on her blog “Experience France by Bike” and I wanted to share it because it so exactly explains why I love cycling in the Loire Valley. I’m sure you’ll agree with her! Maggie is an American who “love sthe adventure and unpredictability of experiencing France by bike” and her blog is full of excellent information about holiday cycling in France. I’m looking forward to hearing her top 5 cycling itineraries for 2017 that she has promised in December. Read on!

This photo by Maggie shows one of the small hill towns often missed when touring by car which are a focal point of touring Provence by bike

http://experiencefrancebybike.com/why-you-should-consider-experiencing-france-by-bike/

Architecture, Art, Cycling, France, Sightseeing

Cycling along the Loir – Vendôme to Lavardin: troglydytes and murals

August 11, 2016 Rosemary Kneipp 8 Comments

Before I begin, just a little note to say that I really am talking about the Loir and not its cousin, the Loire River. We’ve been to Lavardin before – on a cold winter’s day in December last year during the Christmas markets – and promised we’d come back and cycle around the area in the summer.

The imposing entrance to Louis Gatien school in Villiers-sur-Loir

We’ve found an itinerary on the web that we’ve printed out and are starting at Villiers which is the closest point to Blois (50 mins away by car). We park in front of a school called Louis Gatien which must surely have been something else in its heyday. Nothing else could explain the entrance!

The water tower designed by Mr Fortier in 1868

It has a large round building at one end that I later discover is a water tower with an artesian bore built by a Mr Fortier in 1868 for his personal use. It also supplied water to a wash-house; any surplus water was taken via a ditch to the Loir. Maybe the school was his house.

The town hall in Villiers-sur-Loir with its 2-metre diameter monumental clock

The centre of little town of Villiers, which has a population of just over 1,000, seems to be thriving. Around the central square is a church, a town hall with a 2-metre diameter monumental clock, a baker, a butcher, a Proxi supermarket, a bar, a restaurant and a hair-dressing salon. It’s Sunday morning and bustling with people.

The bike and camino signs at Villiers-sur-Loir

We see the little green and white bike route sign indicating Loire à Vélo and start following it. We are also on the Camino path. We go past an amazing number of troglodyte dwellings, some of which are quite sophisticated. One even has crenellations and bull’s eyes!

The first village is Thoré la Rochette built over the river. It has a hotel/bar/restaurant that is actually open (but it’s too soon for a capuccino stop).

Hôtel du Pont bar and restaurant in Thoré la Rochette

We keep following the little bike signs until we come to another very busy place: a train station that doubles as a wine-tasting venue. The red and white wine produced in the area is vendomois, made with chenin and pinot d’aunis grapes, a cousin of chenin blanc. The room is full of people so we don’t taste any wine.

The Loir Valley Tourist Train statoin at Thoré la Rochette — The Loir Valley Tourist Train station at Thoré la Rochette

The station has been rehabilitated for the Loir Valley tourist train, a rural railcar from the 1950s. The 2 ¾ hour trip stops at the troglodyte village of Tröo and the “tunnel of history” in Montoire where Pétain and Hitler met up during the Second World War. I try out the “dry toilets” and wonder why there aren’t more along the bike paths in France.

We continue towards Rimay past more troglodyte houses. What a pity we can’t have our picnic at this one!

At one point we can see the ruined castle of Lavardin in the distance. With some difficulty regarding signage (our itinerary no longer coincides with the Loire à Vélo bike route), we arrive in Montoire. We should have gone to the left of the roundabout with the waterwheel and not to the right.

The waterwheel intersection where we should have gone left

I don’t know the reason behind the flags on the town hall in Montoire but I find them very attractive.

The town hall in Montoire with its colourful flags

We finally reach Lavardin where we’re hoping to find some shady picnic tables. We find the tables – 8 of them, but only two are in the shade and both are occupied. Everyone else is picnicking on rugs on the ground.

As we continue on to Lavardin, we see the perfect place to picnic – shady tables on the banks of the Loir. Sigh.

Lavardin itself is much prettier without the Christmas market. We have a café gourmand in an open-air restaurant with a view of the castle. There is a stand with tourist leaflets on it and I pick up one mentioning the murals and frescos in the church of Saint Genest which we were not able to visit last time.

A curious sculpture of a snake on one of the façade stones of the church

We walk around it as directed to find the sculpted stones that were included in the façade when it was built.

The castle seen from the side of the church

It proves to have a perfect view of the castle as well.

Paintings on the ceiling of the apse depicting Christ in Majesty

Inside we discover a magnificent series of wall paintings, two frescos and painted capitals that are well worth a visit.

Afterwards, we walk up the hill towards the castle so I can take some more photos. We can now see the church of Saint Genest in full.

The Romanesque churcvh of Saint Genest probably built at the end of the 11th century

The castle is certainly photogenic. Founded by the Counts of Vendôme in the 9th century, it was rebuilt in the 14th and 15th century by John 1st of Bourbon-Vendôme. After being occupied by members of the Catholic league, it was captured and dismantled on the orders of Henri IV in 1590. All that is left of the feuldal castle is a 26-metre high rectangular keep with flat buttresses topped with crenallations. The only remaining part of the two walls built in the 14th and 15th centuries is the entrance flanked by two circular towers and a drawbridge over a moat.

We head out of town and past a magnificent Pierre Ronsard rose bush and a church for sale, then have to backtrack. We’re in the wrong direction again.

Magnificent Pierre Ronsard roses in Lavardin

We arrive at the waterwheel roundabout just in time to see the tourist train go by.

Our itinerary takes along the Loir and past more troglodyte houses.

Another variation of troglodyte houses - these could be at the seaside! — Another variation of troglodyte houses – these could almost be at the seaside!

We come to the little town of Les Roches d’Evêque whose church has an unusual buttress and see another shady picnic table that we now no longer need.

After more troglodyte houses, one of which is three stories high, we find ourselves on a busy road with cars speeding past at 90 kph. I see a sign off to the right saying Château Mézière so suggest we follow it.

It’s worth the detour! There is a beautiful Renaissance porch, a moat, a stately main building, a chapel, a boat landing and an orangery, all very romantic and used today as a wedding venue.

Château de Mézière with its Renaissance porch

Unfortunately the upkeep must be enormous and much of the main building is very dilapidated.

The moat and boat landing at Château de Mézière

There is a sign under the porch saying that visitors are welcome to walk around the outside without charge.

Château de Mézière from inside the courtyard. You can see the Orangery on the left, with the church in the middle and porch on the right.

By the time we arrive back at Villiers, we are ready for an ice-cream. I know there is no hope of finding anything that might resemble a German Eiscafé but I’m hoping they might have a Miko.

The main square in Villiers is TOTALLY deserted. Nothing is open. So we visit the inside of the church of Saint Hilaire which has 16^th century wall paintings along one side known as the “three living and the three dead”: three young rakes are called into a cemetery by three dead who remind them of the brevity of life and the importance of saving their souls.

The mural in Saint Hilaire in Villiers depicting the Three Living and Three Dead

The stalls in the chancel have some interesting sculptures as well.

One of the scuptures on the stalls in Saint Hilaire

Jean Michel takes a photo of a curious motif on a wall which turns out to be a clock jack made by Alain Henry, a copper manufacturer in Villiers, with the help of a fellow craftsman from Bourges. It recalls the legend of the Serpent’s Hole. Unfortunately, it is no longer in operation.

According the legend, in the time of the Merovingian king, Childebert I, who lived in the area, a dragon was terrorizing the population. Its den was a cave honed out of rock in Saint-André. The king ordered one of his prisoners, Brayanus, to kill the monster, in exchange for his freedom. Brayanus, mounting a chariot with long sharp steel blades attached to the wheels, charged at the monster while it was slaking its thirst in the river and cut it into three pieces.

The cathedral seen from Saint Martin's Bar in Vendôme — The cathedral seen from Saint Martin’s Bar on Place Saint Martin in Vendôme

We ride back to the car having clocked up 38 km and 2 hours 40 minutes and Jean Michel suggests we go to Vendôme for an ice-cream as it’s only 10 minutes by car. We find a vendor on Place Saint Martin that only has about six uninteresting flavours so we go looking for somewhere else.

The inner courtyard of the Town Hall, built in 1623 as a college by a religious congregation

Although we enjoy walking through the streets of Vendôme, which we have visited several times in the past, we do not find any other ice-cream vendors so go back to Place Saint Martin.

The sun setting over the buttresses of the Cathedral

The result if very disappointing. Even Carte d’Or ice-cream is better! But we eat them in the cathedral cloisters and enjoy the view of the sun setting over the buttresses.

I later discover, to my great dismay, that we missed two major monuments along the bike path – Saint Rimay tunnel where Pétain and Hitler meet up during the Second World War and St Gilles Chapel in Montoire which was the priory of the poet Ronsard from 1566 until his death in 1585. It is said to have murals of exceptional symbolism painted in the 11^th to 13^th century. We’ll have to go back! But next time, we shall start in Vendôme and follow the little green and white bikes the whole time. That way, we won’t keep getting lost. Or maybe we should just take the tourist train.

Accommodation, Architecture, Cycling, France, Sightseeing

Troyes – A Taste of Late Mediaeval France

August 4, 2016 Rosemary Kneipp 7 Comments

We are on our way back to Blois from our cycling holiday in Germany and are looking for a stopover in France. There is nothing interesting midway but Troyes is about 3/5 of the way which is fine. We book a hotel that is a bit higher than German prices but seems to be well located.

The rood-screen in the church of Saint Madeleine as you enter the church

We have been to Troyes already several times and I particularly want to go back to see the rood screen in one of the churches, after seeing one recently in Tübingen in Germany. Much of the city’s architecture also corresponds to more or less the same period of history that dominates the towns in Germany that we have just visited.

The parking lot in front of Conforama with our hotel on the right (white building)

I’m a little nonplussed when I see the hotel, which is a Kyriad, a chain we have never used before. It’s three stars so I figured it would be like a Mercure. It looks very modern and ugly. Still, we only want a bed. It’s next to Conforama, a furniture chain. There is a bike path just in front of the hotel so we can’t even pull up there. Jean Michel waits in the Conforama parking lot while I go in. The girl at reception is friendly enough but does not seem to have learned to rules of polite conversation. “Do you want a bill or what?” she asks the person before me in French.

There is an extra charge for underground parking which I didn’t see on booking.com. The receptionist tells me we can park for free at Conforama which has cameras operating all night so I choose that. When we get up to the room, I decide I am striking Kyriad off my list forever. It is just too ugly and shoddy.

Some beautifully renovated half-timber houses in Troyes

After resting from the 5-hour drive, we walk into the old town, which really is only 10 minutes away. The first thing we see is a set of beautifully renovated half-timbered houses that we don’t remember seeing before. Troyes, with its rich history, has a large number of 16th and 17th century Renaissance-style half-timbered houses that have gradually been restored since the 1990s, especially in rue Passerat.

Next, the cathedral, which I certainly don’t remember.

The main square at 5 pm on a Saturday in summer

I do remember the main square, Place Maréchal Foch, but it was not this animated on our previous visits. We don’t think we’ve ever been here during the summer. Everybody looks are though they are enjoying themselves.

Saint Madeleine's from the outside — Saint Madeleine’s from the outside

We head down the main street which is full of restaurants until we find Ruelle aux Chats on the right, which leads to Saint Madeleine’s church which has the rood-screen. The nave of this gothic church, which claims to be the oldest in Troyes, was built in the 13^th century, while the chancel and apse were built in the 16^th century and the tower in the 17^th century. It is one of the rare churches to have preserved its Renaissance stone rood-screen finely sculpted by Jehan Gailde.

The rood-screen from the back — The rood-screen from the chancel

It is as magnificent as I remember. There is only one person in the church so we are able to take plenty of photos.

The painted wood calvary in Saint Madeleine church probably dates from the mid 16th century

I particularly like the gold-painted calvary on one side of the rood-screen.

Stained glass window in the church of Saint Madeleine — Early 16th century stained glass window in the church of Saint Madeleine

The ambulatory has a magnificent set of beautifully-coloured stained glass windows from the same period (around 1500) that show considerable technical skill.

The view from the terrace of the restaurant — The view of Saint John’s church from the terrace of the restaurant taken earlier

After visiting the church we join the throng on the main square for an aperitif. We then have dinner in a street parallel to the main restaurant street. What I didn’t see is that our restaurant has a terrace on the other side which means that there are a lot of customers and obviously not enough kitchen staff! Our meal takes a very long time to come. But it doesn’t matter – we’re not in a hurry.

Saint Rémi, rebuilt in the 14th century is thought to be one of the oldest churches in Troyes, despite its more modern look. The fresco was painted in 1772.

Next morning, after a good night’s sleep (at least the beds are comfortable), we leave our ugly hotel (the man on reception has more personal skills than the girl yesterday) and walk into the centre for breakfast as neither of us wants to have it at the hotel.

The main square on a Sunday morning with not a soul in sight

Visiting Troyes on a Sunday morning is a different experience. There is practically no one around and I am able to take more photographs. It’s even quite difficult to find somewhere for breakfast.

Half-timbered houses on the other side of the square from Saint John's — Half-timbered houses on the other side of the square from Saint John’s

We go past the church of Saint Jean in front of which there is plaque dedicated to Marguerite Boureoys, the founder of public schooling in Montreal and “apostle of French culture in Canada” born on 17 April 1620 in one of the nearby houses and baptized the same day in the church. She died in Quebec in 1700, was beatified in 1950 and canonized in 1982 as the first female saint of Canada. If you would like to know more about her very interesting life, click here. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marguerite_Bourgeoys

Troyes City Hall built during the second half of the 17th century

We finally have breakfast looking out onto the main square, with the Town Hall on the left and some of Troyes’ colourful old half-timbered houses on the left.

Our breakfast view of typical painted half-timbered houses in Troyes

Our return to the car takes us past the Haute-Seine canal next to the 27-km long 3-meter wide asphalt bike path joining up nine of the surrounding villages. It’s part of a route that will eventually take cyclists to Paris. We regret that we didn’t try it out the previous day.

We discover the very attractive fountain in front of the Préfecture (Troyes is the “capital” of the Aube département, one of France’s 96 administrative divisions).

Oh, and I nearly forgot to say that the old town of Troyes, which is part of the Champagne region, is in the shape of a champagne cork!

Troyes, once a thriving drapery centre, is also known for its outlet stores – McArthur Glen, Marques Avenue and Marques City http://www.troyesmagusine.com/ – which we visited many times in the past until they were developed in the Paris region. However, now that we no longer live in Paris and Jean Michel is retired, our vestimentary requirements have changed and we do our clothes shopping during the sales in nearby Tours.

This post is my August contribution to Lou Messugo’s All About France link-up. For other posts about France, click here.

Closerie Falaiseau, Cycling, Flowers & gardens, France, India, Italy, Life in France, Loire Valley, Travelling

I Have Not Disappeared

June 21, 2016 Rosemary Kneipp 7 Comments

I do not understand where all my time goes. When I lived in Paris, I had lots of time for blogging. Now that we live in Blois, I don’t seem to have any spare time at all! I do keep up with Loire Daily Photo though.

Our marble-inlay table iinstalled n its final position in the garden with the help of our neigjbour Alain and Mr Previous Owner — Our marble-inlay table iinstalled n its final position in the garden with the help of our neighbour Alain and Mr Previous Owner

I have several posts in the making: Secret Blois, the arrival of our inlay marble table from India, flooding in the Loire, Montreuil Bellay …. but don’t seem to be able to finish them.

We personally did not suffer from the flooding. There was a flash flood in our street but it disappeared within a couple of hours. There is still a lot of water on the low-lying areas around us and the mosquitos have arrived in droves.

Our smewhat soggy though still beautiful Pierre Ronsard roses at their zenith — Our somewhat soggy though still beautiful Pierre Ronsard roses at their zenith

Our roses were momentarily lovely but most have succombed to the rain. It seems to rain most days but tomorrow, the sun is supposed to come out and from a maximum of 20°C today it will be 30°C. We are hoping to go cycling. We should also mow the garden as everything is hopelessly overgrown.

We are currently debating about where to go on our next cycling holiday in 9 days time. We had thought of going to Saarland in Germany but it has also been flooded which means the bike paths will be a little worse for wear. At the moment, we think we’ll go to the south of France – I have never been to either Marseilles or Toulon – then to the new bike path in Italy that goes from San Remo to San Lorenzo al Mare. We hadn’t cycled in Italy until last year in Padua because 1) there are a large number of hills and 2) there are not a lot of bike paths but at least there is sun! Stay tuned.

Art, France, History, Loire Valley

A Monumental Afternoon

January 30, 2016 Rosemary Kneipp 17 Comments

We’re in Amboise in front of the Church of Saint Denis, waiting for our friends Susan and Simon from Days on the Claise. We’re here for a purpose. Susan wants to see some artworks in the church that she has heard about. It’s extremely cold so we go inside and wander around. It’s quite dark and gloomy and I don’t notice anything very interesting.

Collegiate Church of Saint Denis, Amboise, 12th century

Susan and Simon arrive with Antoinette from Chez Charnizay who is also interested in art. Our mutual friends Janet and Antoine who live in Amboise also join up with us. Susan takes us over the other side of the church in front of a group of statues called a Mise au tombeau which means emtombment and refers to the emtombment of Christ. I wonder why I didn’t notice it the first time.

Susan and Antoinette start discussing the different people in the group. It was common practice for patrons of the art at the time – we’re talking about the 16th century here – to be depicted as historical and religious figures. A man called Philibert Babou, Treasurer to François I, commissioned the group of eight life-sized figures in painted limestone. It is believed that the figures are members of the Babou family.

For people who know their religious history, the identity of the original characters should not pose a problem : Joseph of Arimathea, St Veronica, St John the Evangelist, the Virgin Mary, St Mary Magdelene, Mary of Clopas and Nicodemus. However, Susan is very curious about the fact that Mary Magdelene seems to be wearing a crown. Surely the Virgin Mary should be wearing it? Mary is thought to be Marie Gaudin, Philibert’s wife, who would have been about 50 at the time and was considered in her youth to be one of the most beautiful women of her time. She even had an affair with François I some 30 years earlier.

Antoinette also points out the clothes they are wearing, such as the ornate turban and flowing garments with their liberal gold trimming. Large amounts of fabric indicate greater wealth. The oriental look is typical of the sixteenth century. The headgear in general is very indicative of status. Mary Magdelene, who has the finest features and most intricate garments of the people depicted, is in fact wearing a gilded headdress and not a crown. Susan finally comes to the conclusion that “the message might be that anyone can come to God and it need not interfere with you looking gorgeous or showing off your assets”.

Joseph of Arimathea, St Veronica, St John the Evangelist and the Virgin Mary

I’m really enjoying myself. Having specialists to point out all these different aspects is far better than a guide book which I soon get bored with ! The two written guides we find in church are not very useful and don’t answer any of our questions. I’m also amazed that they were able to move it to Saint Denis intact from Montlouis further along the river.

Saint John, the Virgin Mary, Mary Magdelene and Mary of Clopas

We take a closer look at the reclining figure on the right. It’s Mary Magdalen with a book in her hand and a box of perfume. The sculpture was originally in a chapel in Amboise that has now disappeared. I’m surprised to see MM with a book but Susan tells me this is a typical way of depicting women in the 16th century.

We then move onto the sculpture, known as la femme noyée or drowned woman. We all stand around while Susan explains that it is comes from Bon-Désir Chapel in Montlouis and thought to represent a member of the Babou family, perhaps Marie Gaudin who drowned in the Loire. She then says, “but I don’t agree with that”. It’s true that after we take a look at the smooth muscular thighs it’s seems unlikely that the effigy is that of a drowned woman. Susan adds that she thinks it is exactly contemporary with a similar effigy of Catherine de Medici in the Royal Mausoleum in the Basilica of Saint Denis, Paris. “Catherine rejected the first version of hers because it was too emaciated and gruesome, and I suspect a similar sentiment with this one in Amboise.”

What really surprises me is there should still be so much mystery surrounding two artistic works of such calibre. Susan tells me it’s actually quite common and that, if nothing is known about a work of art, it is just ignored in the local guide books! I go back to the Mise au Tombeau and look at more of the details which are quite amazing. Just the draperies could hold my interest for hours.

Susan then calls smy attention to another work of art which is part of the altar piece – what can only be a representation of god which, as Susan points out, is most unusual. Only Christ and the Holy Spirit are usually depicted. She later discovers that it is, in fact, the Eternal Father, which corresponds to the first person of the Holy Trinity.

The eternal father on the altarpiece — The eternal father on the altar piece

We end our wonderful afternoon a few kilometers outside Amboise at the Gaulish Oppidum where there is a mud rampart that dates from 400 to 50 BC and a mound called Caesar’s Hill overlooking the surrounding countryside. My only regret is that Susan and Simon live in the south of the Loire, an 90-minute drive from us!

The rampart from Gaulish times built from 400 to 50 BC

For more details about the Mise au Tombeau, I strongly recommend that you pop over to Susan’s blog Days on the Claise. She has written a very lively, yet very scholarly account in her usual inimitable fashion.

Aussie in France