Insights into the French way of life and European travels by an Australian living in the Loire Valley
Header photo: Blois in spring, 2016. All photos on website copyright by Rosemary Kneipp unless specified otherwise. All rights reserved.Sign up for the latest posts below and don’t forget to click the confirmation email link:
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Author Archives: Rosemary Kneipp
Eurovélo 3 – Sainte-Catherine-de-Fierbois – Sainte-Maure-de-Touraine – Maillé : goats cheese, dolmens & massacres
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 … Continue reading
Friday’s French – Globalisation, mondialisation, global, overall
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 … Continue reading
Secret Blois #2 – Wars Wounds and Fountains
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. … Continue reading
Posted in Architecture, Blois, History, Sightseeing
Tagged secret blois, walking tour of blois, what to see in blois
4 Comments
Sound & Light at Blois Castle
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 … Continue reading
Friday’s French – Ecole Normale, normal, standard, norme, norm
The first time I heard the expression école normale was when I took up a post as an assistant English teacher in Nantes many moons ago. I soon discovered that it was a teacher training college. I then heard about the école normale … Continue reading
Posted in French customs, French language
Tagged école normale, normal in French, normal school
1 Comment
Cycling in the Loire – Luynes to Langeais: Castles & Troglodytes
It’s one of those perfect summer days in the Loire Valley and we’ve chosen to cycle from Luynes to Langeais via a loop we’ve found in our La Touraine à vélo book. Luynes is about 50 minutes from Blois by … Continue reading
Cycling along the Loir – Vendôme to Lavardin: troglydytes and murals
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 … Continue reading
Troyes – A Taste of Late Mediaeval France
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 … Continue reading
Posted in Accommodation, Architecture, Cycling, France, Sightseeing
Tagged cycling in troyes, rood-screen Saint-Madeliene's troyes, troyes
7 Comments
Cycling along the Neckar in Germany #3 – Rottweil to Oberndorf
It’s the last day of our cycling holiday in Germany. We’ve checked a few on-line sources and studied the cycling map and are driving to Altoberndorf a half an hour away so that we can cycle along the Neckar to … Continue reading
Posted in Cycling, Germany
Tagged cycling on the Neckar, cycling to Oberndorf, cycling to Rottweil
7 Comments
