You would imagine that a country with more than 400 different cheeses would have a certain number of expressions involving the word fromage, but surprisingly, there are more cheesy expressions in English than in French.
I was rather disappointed recently to learn that Il en fait tout un fromage only appeared in the 20th century. The explanation for its origin seems a little doubtful to me. Starting with nothing (a bit of milk), you can produce something as elaborate as a perfect camembert. Yet the expression in French is negative and corresponds to the English “to make a mountain out of a molehill” so I don’t really see the connection.
However, it set me thinking about other expressions involving cheese. J’ai trouvé un (bon) fromage means I found a cushy job which is sort of self-explanatory but not really.
On the English side, we have “say cheese” which obviously doesn’t work in French but dites cheese or even dites fromage for people in the know will bring about a smile or two. It is more common to say ouistiti which is a little monkey (a marmouset) and sometimes sexe!
To be cheesed off with something is less metaphorical in French. J’en ai marre is the most common expression you will hear, or simply j’en ai assez.
And what about “cheesy” as a derogatory term? Meaning cheap or inferior, it was first attested in 1896, perhaps originally U.S. student slang, along with cheese, meaning an ignorant, stupid person. In the late 19th century, in British slang, cheesy meant fine or showy (1858). The modern derogatory use may be an ironic reversal of this.
I used to have a translation student from Canada who was always coming up with amusing equivalents to French which she would qualify as “cheesy”. It’s translation into French varies enormously with the context. A cheesy song could be une chanson ringarde with the idea that it’s outdated. A cheesy grin = un large sourire. Perhaps a cheesy film might be un film de mauvais goût.
A big cheese in French is not a gros fromage but a gros bonnet. The French expression was developed in the 17th century in reference to the 4-cornered hat worn by doctors, ecclesiastics, judges and other VIPs of the time. So why “big cheese” in English? It comes from a British expression meaning the best or correct thing, the best, a corruption of the Persian or Urdu chiz (or cheez), meaning “thing” that the British brought back from India in about 1840.
I think it’s very amusing that a pie chart in statistics is a camembert in French. So very appropriate!
Did you ever go to a French wine and cheese party? We used to have them all the time in the French department at my university in Australia. They don’t exist in France of course. About the closest thing is a buffet campagnard but it includes pâtés and other cold cuts as well.
One last expression: fromage de tête is pork brawn of all things!
We’ve come to Paris for a long week-end to celebrate a friend’s 60th 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 5th 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.
Statue of Lemaître, the comedian
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.
La Grisette
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 3rd Republic bills that made lay education compulsory in France. Many schools in France are called Jules Ferry.
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 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.
La Friche Richard Lenoir
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 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 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
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 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 :).
Public showers in Paris
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.
Café Craft – a coworking space
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!
As we were driving through Paris recently in the rain, we saw a café called “Minute Papillon” which made me wonder about the origin of the expression which is roughly equivalent to our English saying “Hold your horses!”.
Some sources suggest it is simply a metaphor about butterflies which flit from flower to flower, which would also explain the verb papillonner which means to chop and change or flit from one thing to another.
Other sources also believe the expression came into use in the early 20th century but with a much more amusing origin. At the time, there was a café in Paris that was very popular with journalists. There was a waiter called Papillon who used to answer “Minute, j’arrive” when too many people were calling on his services at the same time.
So when customers wanted to tell him he could take his time, they would say, “Minute Papillon!” It seems the journalists spread the story.
Minute papillon has a second meaning which is an extension of the first i.e. I don’t agree, meaning that the other person has to stop talking so that they can place their argument.
Papillon by itself has several interesting meanings. It can apply to someone who is fickle. It also means a sticker and, by extension, a parking ticket on the windscreen (although I have never seen them in the form of a sticker).
Papillon is also used to designate a butterfly nut and butterfly stroke in swimming.
A noeud papillon is our bow tie. I much prefer the French expression.
However, you can’t have papillons in your tummy when you’re nervous the way you do in English. You have “le trac” instead.
And, by the way, there is no separate word for moth in French – it’s a papillon de nuit!
Do you have any other expression that revolve around butterflies and papillons?
We are in New York. The last time I was here was in 1979. For Jean Michel, it’s the first time. We are visiting my two grown-up children, Leonardo and Black Cat, who live and work in NYC. We have no agenda. “We’re in your hands”, I say. “I want you to show me your New York”.
Jean Michel in News eating his first bagel
The first day of our stay is a Friday so both the kids are at work. We want to see the Statue of Liberty which is French of course. There is another one in Paris. So after going downstairs to News, the local café, and having a coffee and bagel (which we don’t think is anything special), we walk from where we are staying in Union Square, which is ideally located in the lower part of Manhattan to the free Staten Island ferry on the southern tip of the island.
The sun is shining, it’s very warm, it’s 9 o’clock in the morning and New York feels much better than it did the first time I was here. The first thing that strikes me are all the fire escapes on the front of buildings that we all know from West Side Story. Black Cat later explains their origin.
Initially there were only inside staircases but in 1860, two separate fires destroyed two crowded tenement houses. In both cases, fire and smoke blocked the sole stairway, trapping those on the upper floors and claiming a total of 30 lives. Following the twin tragedies, public outcry forced the legislature to pass a law requiring fire escapes on all newly constructed tenement houses, followed by retroactive installation on all existing tenements In 1871, the requirement for fire escapes was expanded to include hotels, boarding houses, office buildings and factories.
This is just one of the many New York University buildings in West Village – I love the Coca-Cola truck
We go past NYU, New York University, which occupies several buildings in the area. We come across several typiically American delivery trucks.
The triumphal arch in Washington Square
We walk through Washington Square which I later learn is Black Cat’s favourite park, very near to where she has a flat share with two Americans. It even has a triumphal arch built in 1892 in Washington Square Park to celebrate the centennial of George Washington’s inauguration as President of the United States in 1789. Through it we can see the One World Trade Centre.
Two contrasting skyscrapers – the new One World Trade Center and one of the “wedding cake” skyscrapers from the 1930s
We walk down Broadway until we reach Ground Zero. I have never watched any footage although I listened to the live reports on the car radio in Black Cat’s company in Paris on 11 September 2001. I was taking her home from school at the time. I was afraid that if I saw the videos I might never take a plane again. Today is 9 September 2016 and a man in a tourist booth tells me there is a parade at midday.
One of the two memorials at Ground Zero showing the black pit in the centre
I have no idea what to expect at Ground Zero. We approach the first memorial, a black marble hole in the ground with water running down all four sides. Around the edge are the names of the 3000 people who died immediately or in the aftermath of the attacks. Roses and other small bouquets of flowers are scattered around the names.
The second memorial with a bouquet from the French firemen
I am overcome with emotion. It reminds me of when I saw one of the remaining pieces of the Berlin Wall near Checkpoinit Charly. There is a sort of hush around me and I see I am not the only person to be moved. There are people taking selfies which I find it difficult to imagine. We move to the second, identical memorial. Each corresponds to the surface area taken up by the fallen towers.
One of the police bands practising for the parade
Nearby we hear bagpipes playing. We are relieved to have a little light entertainment. It turns out to be various police bands from throughout the country practicing for the midday parade organised by the New York Police Department to honor its 23 officers who died at the World Trade Center.
Wall Street
After listening to various bands we think we’ll skip the parade but by the time we visited Wall Street nearby, it’s midday and we watch the beginning.
The parade about to begin next to Trinity Church on Broadway
We continue our walk to the Staten Island Ferry. It’s excessively hot (we even buy hats) and the crowd is enormous but so is the ferry and, as it turns out, there’s plenty of room to get a good view of the Statue of Liberty as we go past. By now, the sky is somewhat overcast, to my disappointment. It’s just after 1 pm.
The Statue of Liberty
After a 25-minute ride, we leave the ferry (we have no choice) and have a coffee in the terminal before boarding the next ferry back. We have been told there isn’t much to see on Staten Island and by now our feet are beginning to feel the miles we’ve walked today. The ferry back is much more crowded as it’s now 2.30 pm.
Manhattan as we approach it from Staten Ferry
We take the underground back to Union Square after buying a 7-day pass each. The underground station is horrendously hot and the air-conditioned train is cold by contrast. We are glad to be above ground again!
Entrance to the underground
We have an appointment with Black Cat at her office in Times Square at 5 pm so are pleased to be able to relax a little at home before going out again. The construction site opposite, which started at 7 am, stops at 4 pm, which is a relief.
The rooftop of Black Cat’s building
Black Cat works in the most amazing building, with a help-yourself bar, lounge chairs and an eating area on each floor but the rooftop is the best! While we are there, we see a young lady stretched out on a sofa with her laptop propped up in front of her. It’s a whole other world! Black Cat takes us down to her office and introduces us to her workmates and boss. They are very relaxed and friendly. I’m even given a red publicity hoodie.
Times Square which I find very aggressive
After walking through Times Square with its agressive neon signs, we cross Bryant Park and sit in garden chairs and listen to a guitar player. Black Cat tells us that she came to Shakespeare in the Park here during the summer. What a wonderful setting!
Bryant Park – an oasis of green surrounded by skyscrapers
She then takes us up to the top of the 230 Fifth rooftop bar on 5th Avenue to see New York at night. There are crowds of people but we are still able to appreciate the amazing view. We don’t stop for a drink – we could be here forever!
The view from the 230 Fifth rooftop bar
We finish the evening at Leonardo’s flat-share on Lexington Avenue in Kips Bays where he has cooked us some excellent steaks. We start with a cocktail which seems appropriate in Manhattan. He takes onto his balcony which is away from the street and we are surrounded with the constant hum of air-conditioners.
By the time we walk back to Union Square, we are ready for bed! The weekend promises to be full on.
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
My children, Black Cat and Leonardo, live and work in New York or NYC as they say and are keen for me to visit but I’m a little reluctant as I was not impressed on my last trip (admittedly in 1980).
The shuttle stop for the Ibis Hotel at Orly Airport
We’ve chosen to leave from Orly which is only two hours by car from Blois so we park in the Ibis Hotel’s long-term parking lot in Rungis (near Orly Airport) at 72 euro for 12 days, which isn’t bad and certainly better than taking the train and metro. We don’t need to stay at the Ibis Hotel to park there. We organize it on-line with One Park.
We arrive at the hotel car park just before 11 am and by 11.30 am we are in the departure hall of Orly Ouest. There is a big sign saying navette (shuttle) outside the Ibis hotel but we first have to get (free) bus tickets from the supercilious hostess at the desk inside the hotel.
Inside Orly airport
As usual, we have bought our plane tickets through Opodo. Most of the flights between Orly and NYC go to Newark airport but Leonardo has reassured me that it’s quite convenient and Black Cat is ordering an Uber car on arrival. We’re flying economy with British Airways and the tickets were 525 euro return each.
When we get to the counter, we discover we haven’t reserved our seats and are in different rows. The somewhat flegmatic man behind the desk says he should be able to do something about it but we won’t know until we board to plane. In the end, it works out and we are able to sit together but right at the back of the aircraft where the engine noise is loudest.
Inside the aircraft – NO screens of any sort
The first ten rows of our 757 are “biz bed” seats, with two recliner seats on each side of the aisle that look very comfy. Our economy seats are three to a side and not very roomy. What alarms me most is that there are no video screens in sight and it’s an 8-hour flight!
After take-off, the steward comes around with his trolley and hands out iPads and earphones! What an excellent idea – not to mention a great relief!
After our usual gin & tonic, a light meal, a couple of movies, a snack I could have done without and three episodes of Friends, we arrive at Newark Airport at 4 pm. It takes a while to go through police control because our finger and thumb prints have to be checked and our photos taken. We are travelling with our French electronic passports and an “authorization” obtained on-line in lieu of an entry visa. The officer checks the address I have written on the form. “Number 255, right?” he says, without looking at me. “Yes” I reply and his head shoots up. “But you’re not French, are you?” I laugh. “No, I also have an Australian passport.” Just one word and he knows I can’t possibly be French!
First view of New York from our Uber car
Our luggage is waiting for us so I log onto the free airport wifi and text Black Cat. She orders an Uber car and tells us where to meet him. It turns out we’re on the wrong level – we need to be downstairs on departure level. We soon find our car with Black Cat’s help. She has an Uber account so we don’t even have to worry about getting dollars to pay!
She is waiting for us at the other end of our journey, having organised for us to rent a friend’s flat just near Union Square while her friend is away. It turns out to be a perfect location, just 10 minutes’ walk from her own flat-share.
Our temporary apartment building near Union Square
At 7.30 pm we meet up with Leonardo at Burger & Lobster where we each eat a whole steamed lobster, coleslaw and French fries for 20 dollars! The noise level is pretty high but the food is delicious. What a great way to begin our visit to New York City!
It’s a Sunday in the middle of a heat wave and we’ve chosen a cycling itinerary from our new Tours-Basque Coast book (Eurovélo 3) that we don’t know yet. It goes through Sainte-Maure-de-Touraine, famous for its goats cheese, and Maillé, infamous for being the site of the second largest massacre in World War II after Oradour sur Glane. Unfortunately, my trusty iPhone has had a little accident and I’m going to have to rely on Jean Michel’s camera which has a Lumix lens but is not as easy to handle.
Joan of Arc in front of the Auberge Jeanne d’Arc in Sainte-Catherine-de-Fierbois
We park the car in the shade at Sainte-Catherine-de-Fierbois, 8 km north of Saint-Maure and set off on our bikes, stopping almost immediately for coffee at an attractive little auberge called Jeanne d’Arc with a terrace looking onto a statue of Joan of Arc who stayed here, wearing men’s clothing, for two nights in March 1429 on her way to Chinon. Her “voices” also revealed the existence of Charles Martel’s rusty sword behind the altar of Saint Catherine’s chapel which she then adopted as her weapon.
Sainte-Catherine-de-Fierbois church
We visit the pure flamboyant gothic church next door which replaced the chapel after it was burnt down in 1440. One of the chapels inside the church is dedicated to Saint Catherine and there is another statue of Joan of Arc.
Inside the church you can see the flamboyant gothic door and on the right the stained glass window depicting Joan of Arc
Devotion to Saint Catherine was so popular in the middle of the 16th century that Louis de Rohan, seigneur de Sainte-Maure, was authorized by the king to build walls and moats around the village (they’ve now disappeared) so that it could be elevated to the rank of a town.
A more recent château on the road out of Sainte-Chaterine-de-Fierbois
After a fruitless attempt to visit the local château, we ride out of town towards a park and another more recent château but we have no idea what it is.
The covered market taken from the side opposite the town hall
We soon arrive at Sainte Maure which has a large square surrounded by several historical buildings. The most impressive is an enormous covered market, 48 metres long, 25 metres wide and 20 metres high. You wonder just how much goat cheese they can sell! It is closed but when we go around the back, we discover an open door and wander inside among the permanent stands which are closed today.
One of the monumental doors on the covered market
The two monumental doors were added during restoration in 1672 by Princess Anne de Rohan. Unfortunately, they were damaged during the Revolution in 1798.
Town Hall in Sainte-Maure-de-Touraine
The town hall with its classical façade looks very majestic next to the local PMU café where the locals are enjoying a Sunday aperitif. Who knows, it might even be open when we pass through again on our way back.
The Belle Image inn – so annoying that the rubbish is displayed so prominently
We stop in front of the 12th century “Belle Image” inn, right on the Camino which accounts for the scallop shell on the façade alongside the motto “good wine and good lodgings at La Belle Image”. It finally closed in 1987 and now houses the public revenue department.
The entrance with the shell indicating the Camino route
We cycle down to the ruins of the château built in 990. The 14th century tower is all that remains of the protective walls. After the French revolution the castle housed the local gendarmerie until 1836 when it became a boys’ school until 1968.
The tower and remains of the château in Sainte-Maure-de-Touraine
There is one more place to visit before we go – the Virgins’ Chapel and Fountain – which is out of town a bit. As it’s very hot, not to say extremely hot, we don’t want to run the risk of losing our way so we ask at a newly open Portuguese wine and grocery store as I figure they’ll know about the chapel. “It’s up a very steep hill”, they tell us. It’s certainly not as taxing as our 1.6 km in Germany in July, but it still requires major leg power particularly in such intense heat.
The Virgins Chapel
I flake out at the top while Jean Michel looks around. There is a bench in the shade overlooking the town so we decide to have lunch there so that I can regain my strength.
The micraculous well at the Virgins Chapel
The present chapel, inaugurated in 1892 replaces a chapel built in 1760 on the site of a fountain reputed to heal milk ringworm. The chapel is closed so we don’t get to visit the inside. Apparently it’s hardly ever used
The beautifullly restore wash house and market bus sign
As we cycle down the hill, I am able to observe a beautifully restored wash house and take a closer look at a sign that I noticed on the way up when I obviously was not going to stop. A free 22-seat mini-bus called the “carosse du marché” picks up people every Friday from mid-June to mid-September to take them to the produce market. The market must be really enormous!
The only goats we see – note the manger and the goats just visible in the hangar
The next monument on our list is a dolmen or Pierre fondue (melted stone) and is very hard to locate. We eventually come across a very small sign and follow it along an extremely stony path. On the way we see our first herd of goats. Considering how famous the cheese is here, we are surprised not to see more. Some of them are resting out of the hot sun in a large unattractive wrought-iron shelter with a Christmas manger in front.
The dolmen outside Saint-Maure-de-Touraine
The dolmen is a bit of a disappointment, but then, dolmens usually are. The 1.7 metre high megalith, made of Turonian limestone and sandstone, is the remnant of a covered walkway: an aisle formed by a double row of upright stones, covered with slabs. It is a Neolithic gravesite with its opening facing the rising sun. It was erected during the “new stone age” (about 5,000 to 6,000 BC) when hunters and gatherers became farmers and breeders. I try to imagine its significance but the broiling sun makes it difficult and I let Jean Michel go and take the photo close up.
The seemingly closed war museum in Maillé
Another dolmen, a menhir this time, is shown on our cycling map but we vote only to visit it if it’s on our route. It isn’t, so we push on to Maillé. We see the war museum on our right but it looks completely closed. What a disappointment. We approach the gate and discover it is open. A very friendly woman appears, expressing surprise at our arrival. “I didn’t expect anyone to come today”, she says, “because of the heat.” Only mad dogs and Englishmen, I think.
Reconstructed houses in Maillé
The Maillé Massacre, as it is called, took place on 25th August 1944, the day that Paris was liberated, as revenge on local Resistance activities. The German forces killed 124 out of the 500 inhabitants of the village which was then burnt to the ground. Only 8 houses out of 60 remained. The village was reconstructed. It was mainly thanks to the financial support of an American Francophile couple, the Hales, that the orphaned children and remaining adults were able to get on with their lives.
A temporary exhibition consists of photos of inhabitants who were about 10 years old when the massacre took place, with recorded quotations of their experience on a video screen. We leave feeling very subdued. In the meantime, the friendly lady has put two of our water bottles in the freezer. The cold water is much appreciated as there is not a single café or shop open.
The Vienne River in Nouatre. Magnificent bignonias on the left
We continue to Nouâtre, our destination for today, built on the Vienne River. We eventually locate Château de la Motte, but there isn’t much to see. It has been turned haphazardly, it seems, into individual apartments.
The somewhat disappointing Château de la Motte
Back in Maillé, we visit the outside of the little 11th century church with its Romanesque porch and external staircase. Inside there is a memorial to the victims of the massacre but it is only open during heritage weekend in September. I later learn my friend Susan from Days on the Claise has written a post about Maillé.
The 11th century church with its Romanesque porch in Maillé
We arrive back in Sainte-Catherine-de-Fierbois exhausted but get a kick out of photographing the local recipes illustrated on billboards around the main square. I hear an older woman and her adult son clucking about the recipes but can’t catch their words. I don’t care! I’m going to try that Goat Cheese Tart!
There is a perfectly good word for “globalization”in French – mondialisation which comes from monde meaning “world” – but they seem to be set on using globalisation instead.
In English, global is mainly used in the sense of worldwide, particularly in economic fields, in which case it is usually rendered by mondial in French:
on a global scale: à l’échelle mondiale
global capitalism: le capitalisme mondiale
There is one important exception: global warming is réchauffement de la planète.
In French, however, global has many different meanings, all revolving around the idea of total, comprehensive, overall.
Ils pratiquent un prix global: they have an all-inclusive price
Ils proposent une offre globale : they offer a package
Il faut adopter une approche globale à la question: a comprehensive approach to the issue is needed
La stratégie globale concerne toute l’entreprise: The corporate strategy concerns the entire company.
You can of course have a global strategy in English which corresponds to a stratégie mondiale in French.
When my children were small, there was considerable debate in France about using the méthode globale de lecture corresponding to the word recognition method to teach reading, which is perfectly logical in English where many of the basic words follow no set pattern in terms of spelling and pronunciation: were, where, once, their, there, etc. In French, however, although there are exceptions, most words are pronounced according to syllabic rules which makes the word recognition method a very slow and confusing way of learning to read. I understand that it has been dropped in favour of the méthode syllabique.
Enough digression
Globalement means overall/on the whole, and not globally.
Je suis globalement contente du résultat: On the whole, I’m happy with the result
Globalement nous sommes tous d’accord: On the whole we agree
Globalement, nos ventes ont augmenté: Our overall sales have gone up.
Je dirais que globalement c’est la même chose: I would say that, all in all, it’s the same thing
And the much-used “holistic” in English today can also be rendered by globalement:
Il faut traiter le problème globalement – A holistic approach to the problem is needed.
Holistique does exist but I’ve only ever heard it used in a therapeutic context:
Les thérapies holistiques sont souvent fondées sur des connaissances empiriques et des enseignements traditionnels de la naturopathie : Holistic therapies are often based on the naturopath’s empirical knowledge and traditional teachings.
Back to my initial comment on globalisation. The sentence I heard recently on France Info (my favourite radio station because it keeps repeating the same news all day which means I can listen to it while I’m cooking without having to concentrate), was:
La globalisation des constructeurs a poussé les équipementiers à se restructurer : The globalisation of car manufacturers has forced car parts manufacturers to restructure.
I really don’t see why they can’t say “La mondialisation des constructeurs a poussé les équipementiers à se restructurer”. It’s just a simple. But then, I’m not French !
I am not a great fan of sound & light shows but I think I should go to the one at Blois Castle so I can recommend it (or not) to visitors. As residents of Blois, we have free passes to the castle and the weather is very warm so it seems the ideal time.
The beginning of the sound and light show
We park where we always do along Gambetta Avenue between the train station and the castle. It’s only a five-minute walk. In June, July and August, the show starts at 10.30 pm and lasts for 45 minutes (10 pm in March, April, May and September). We’re about 15 minutes early so we get our free tickets by showing our passes and ID and go into the main courtyard. We are told to stay in the centre.
One of the castle’s illustrious inhabitants
We see that lots of people have come with blankets and cushions. I have passed the age of being comfortable sitting on the ground so we find a place on the steps around the perimeter of the courtyard in front of the Gaston d’Orléans wing but the steps are a bit shallow. We think it might be better in front of the Royal Chapel (on the left as you walk in) and find a place there. It’s a little bit better.
The State Room
At 10.30 pm, an announcement is made that everyone has to go into the middle of the courtyard as images will be projected on all four façades. A man comes and shoos everyone off the steps. I tell him I can’t stand up for any length of time (my foot starts burning due to an unoperable hallux valgus). He tells me that after the first fifteen minutes, I’ll be able to come back and sit down again on the steps.
Joan of Arc arrives in Blois
That’s OK, I figure, I can walk around for that amount of time. The only problem is that the people sitting down in the centre don’t want other people standing in front of them! In the end, I see there is a group of people standing in front of the Gaston d’Orléans wing so I join them.
Joan of Arc becomes a warlord in Blois before departing for Orleans
The show starts so I move around according to the façade on which the images are being projected. A dramatic backdrop of blue with gold fleur-de-lys appears on the François I façade. The Louis XII and Gaston d’Orléans wings are then lit up followed by the chapel. The main events in the history of the castle are then recounted.
Catherine de Médicis
The sound is very loud and distorted and I have trouble understanding what is being said. An audioguide is available for foreign visitors free of charge but it didn’t occur to me that I might need one. It would certainly have helped.
François I at war
After the first twenty minutes (and more specifically after the story of Joan of Arc’s visit to Blois is finished), all the action takes place on either the François I or Gaston d’Orléans wings so we are able to sit down again in front of the chapel. I thank my lucky stars that the man at the beginning was so helpful!
Henri III
The rest of the programme is taken up with the story of the Duc de Guise who was assassinated in the King’s Chambers on the orders of Henri III in 1588 after plotting to take over the throne.
The Duc de Guise being assassinated
It’s all very dramatic but the only voice I can really understand is that of Fabrice Luchini, one of France’s best-known actors. I’m surprised he’s among the cast but then I remember that Jacques Lang, the French minister of culture from 1981 to 1991 and incidentally the founder of the “Fête de la Musique“, the very popular music festival held in France on the summer solstice each year, was also the mayor of Blois from 1989 to 2000 so I imagine that had something to do with it.
Technically, the sound and light show is a bit of a disappointment though some of the effects are interesting. I particularly like the Joan of Arc procession which moves right across the François I wing. Unless the English text is easier to understand, I’m not sure I’d be willing to pay 8.50 euro per person (or 15 euro in a combined castle + light & sound ticket – the castle by itself is 10 euro) particularly if you don’t find it very comfortable to stand in the same place or sit on paving stones (even with a cushion) for 45 minutes. I don’t think we’ll be tempted to go again although we are glad we’ve seen it.
At the end of Secret Blois #1, I left you in Place Louis XII, the most animated part of Blois and home to a twice-weekly fresh produce market. You may have noticed a certain uniformity in the buildings around you. During World War II, Blois was occupied by the German army which invaded the city on 18th June 1940. It was liberated by American soldiers during the last two weeks of August 1944. On both occasions, the town was bombed for several days particularly after the Normandy landings, destroying more than 1500 buildings, especially in the area around Place Louis XII, the railway bridge over the Loire and Gabriel Bridge.
The entrance to Rue Saint Lubin flanked by two postwar buildings
The château was saved by a pragmatic decision taken by the local authorities. The German bombs started fires in the city and the chateau was in danger so some of the mediaeval houses around the chateau were deliberately blown up by the locals to form a firebreak to protect the château. The Germans were aiming for the bridge in order to stop people fleeing south. In those days there was a steady stream of refugees crossing at Blois and other places.
However, if you continue along the narrow street of Rue Saint Lubin keeping the Loire on your left and the castle on your right, you will find yourself in a much older area dominated by the 13th century Romanesque church of Saint Nicolas with its tall spires. Follow Rue des Trois Marchands noting all the little speciality shops along the way, many of which are on the ground floor of half-timbered houses that fortunately survived the war.
Continue along Rue des Trois Marchands to n°11. Initially called Auberge du Cigne, this inn, which was built in 1573, became Auberge des Trois Marchands in 1669 and gave its name to the street which was full of hostels and inns: l’Ecrevisse (opposite the pharmacy at n° 17), La Fontaine (the site of the Tuile d’Or, today n° 19), La Croix Blanche (n° 21) and many more which have now disappeared.
Fontaine de Saint-Laumer or Fontaine de Foix next to Saint Nicolas Church with Laumer Abbey through the door on the right
On the right of the church of Saint Nicolas when you are facing the entrance, you can see a fountain built into the wall of the cloisters of the old Saint Laumer Abbey. Foix or Saint-Laumer Fountain was the only one not supplied by the Gouffre, a reservoir gouged out of rock to which a 529-metre long aqueduct brought rainwater and seepage water collected on the limestone plateau. The Gouffre is at the bottom of the staircase called Degrés du Gouffre which we will visit on another occasion. This is the third fountain we have seen so far out of the seven that still remain in a city once renowned for its “glorious fountains” to quote the historian Noël Mars, writing in 1646.
On the next corner on the right is the Musée de la Résistance, another reminder of Blois’ war history. Turn right in front of the Auberge Ligérienne Hotel and onto Place de la Grève to find the best-known and most elegant place to stay in the 17th and 18th centuries: Hôtellerie de la Galère. At that time, it was right on the quay, near the old river port of Grève. at 3 place de la Grève. It was first mentioned in 1611 and finally disappeared in 1825. Its illustrious guests include Nicolas Fouquet (Louis XIV’s finance minister who got too big for his boots and built Vaux-le-Vicomte), Madame de Sévigné, James II of England, Philippe V, the Prince of Wales in 1711, Mehemet Effendi and the Spanish Infanta. Sadly, all that is left today is a window with a balcony and a carriage entrance at 6 rue de la Grève.
The rear façade of Hôtellerie de la Galère on Rue de la Grève
Back on Place de la Grève, turn left to walk along the river towards Pont Gabriel bridge and past Saint-Laumer Abbey which now houses the region’s administrative offices.
A little further on, on Place Jacques Lob, you’ll see a building with two comic characters on the front – La Maison de la BD. A BD is a bande dessinée ou comic strip, an art form that is extremely popular in France among both children and adults. Blois holds a comic festival every year called BD Boum. This year (2016), it will take place on 17 and 18 November. The characters, Bill & Boule, first appeared in a Belgian comic book called Spirou in 1959.
Boule and Bill on La Maison de la BD
If you take a short deviation left into Rue des Jacobins on the left, you will see the front entrance with a drawing by François Bourgeon. Millions of copies of Bourgeon’s albums have been sold. He’s particularly well-known for his heroines. The BD centre runs temporary exhibitions and comic strip classes for teenagers and adults.
Back on Quai de la Saussaye, you will come to Square Valin de la Vaissière on top of an underground parking lot. A black marble monument to Colonel Henri Valin de la Vaissière on the edge of the square closest to Place Louis XII is yet another reminder of World War II. Born in 1901, Vallin initially trained as an air force officer. After his unit was disbanded in 1942, he joined the ORA (Organisation de résistance dans l’armée) where he was known as “Valin”. Unfortunately, he was assassinated by a deranged subaltern in December 1944, after a regiment of Resistance fighters under his orders expelled the Germans from their barracks and liberated Blois on 16th August 1944.
War memorial to Valin de la Vaissière
Before the Germans left, they decided to blow up Jacques Gabriel Bridge which you can see on your right. Two piers and three arches collapsed but the rest of the 18th century bridge resisted. The only way that the daily traffic of 1000 vehicles and 4000 pedestrians could cross the river was by ferry. As a result, a temporary wooden bridge was built in less than 3 weeks. It was used for a year while a second wooden bridge capable of carrying greater loads was being built next to the stone bridge.
Despite enormous problems– flooding, lack of materials, very cold weather, etc., construction of the second wooden bridge began during the winter of 1944 and was completed on 2nd September 1945 on the 1st anniversary of the total liberation of the city. The new bridge was pronounced safe by the engineers but vehicles were asked to limit their speed to 15 kph and only trucks under 10 tonnes were allowed to cross. After three years of good and faithful service, the wooden bridge was finally replaced by the newly reconstructed stone bridge. If you cross over to other side of the road just to the right of the bridge, you can see the remains of the wooden bridge during low water periods next to the central arch.
You can see the remains of the wooden piers of the temporary bridge near the centre stone arch
Cross back again and turn left just after the Société Générale bank into Rue Emile Laurens. Take the first street on the right, Rue du Commerce, the main shopping street of Blois. On the first corner, you’ll see a couple of half-timbered houses that miraculously survived the Second World War.
At the top of Rue du Commerce, turn right into Rue Denis Papin and you’ll see a sunken fountain on your right on Place du Marché au Beurre, once the butter market. The original street level has now been raised, and the fountain is partially hidden by the terrace of the Saint Jacques Restaurant. It was given to the town by Louis XII under the somewhat uninventive name of “Neighbourhood Well Fountain” and renamed Saint-Jacques Fountain after a collegiate church that has now been destroyed. Since its construction, it has been fed by the Gouffre mentioned above. That is our fourth fountain.
The fifth is located further along Rue Denis Papin just before you get to the corner, on the opposite side of the street almost at the foot of the stairs. It has an interesting history. Called the Hôtel de Ville (Town Hall) Fountain, it used to be located on the wall of the old 15th century town hall, on Rue Foulerie. which was destroyed in June 1940. The fountain was found among the ruins and kept in the Lapidary Museum across the river in Vienne until a local historical association, Association des amis du Vieux Blois, financed its re-installation at the foot of Denis Papin stairs in 2005.
Now walk down Rue Denis Papin towards the river, staying on the right-hand side. You’ll come to three enormous metal keys on the corner of Rue des Trois Clefs (Three Keys Street), so named because of the many locksmiths who had their shop fronts on this once narrow street, widened after the 1940 bombings. It was in 1979, when the pedestrian precinct was created, that the municipal workshops produced the monumental metal sculpture consisting of three keys, 3 metres high and each weighing 420 kilos, in less than three months.
The Three Keys sculpture in Rue des Trois Clés
We’ve come to the end of our second tour of Secret Blois. Next time, we’ll cross Denis Papin and explore another old quarter of Blois with its many mediaeval façades, winding streets and staircases.
If you’re looking for something to eat or drink close by, you can go to Appart’Thé for tea/coffee or lunch at 12-14 rue Basse (Rue Basse forms a triangle with Rue Denis Papin when it turns the corner), dinner or lunch at Au Coin d’Table, 9, rue Henri Drussy or for lunch, dinner or a drink at Le Douze which is a cellar, restaurant and wine bar, Place Ave Maria, 12 rue du Poids du Roi, or F&B opposite, all of which are on the other side of Rue Denis Papin.
