I am not sick. I have not given up my blog but like Owl in Winnie the Pooh, I am busy! After a sluggish start to the year workwise, I am suddenly inundated with translations. I can’t complain but it’s not easy to juggle with work, the beautiful weather, the garden and cycling. I am (more or less) keeping up with my photographic blog, Loire Daily Photo. In the meantime, may I invite you to join me in the garden with a cold glass of jurançon in front of our wisteria which came into bloom in just two days!
We have just finished breakfast at a very late hour, mainly due to the switchover to daylight saving last Sunday, which is still playing havok with my already terrible sleeping habits, and have decided to go for a walk before lunch. It’s sunny but only 8°C and there is a northern wind which means it feels like it’s about 4°C.
Jennet in front of a modern half-timber house
We walk down our very long street towards Blois and turn left at the church, then up the hill and under the overpass, admiring all the flowering shrubs on the way.
You can only guess at the view from the front of this house
We take the first street on the left and keep climbing. We are eventually walking parallel to our street, but about seventy metres above. Many of the houses have a spectacular view of the Loire but the noise of the riverside traffic is louder than it is at river level.
Our house is two houses to the left off the edge of the photo
Eventually we find a track that leads us to the edge of the hillside overlooking the railway line. This is the closest we can get to our house which is two doors down from the last house on the left of the photo.
A very un-environmen-friendly cubby house
We go back to the main path which eventually leads us to a steep track down through the forest. We spy a little cubby house built many moons ago to judge by the materials used – and very un-environment-friendly! The forest floor is covered in little yellow and white flowers.
Flower-covered forest floor
After lunch and a little siesta interrupted by the doorbell (by the time we emerge it’s too late, the person has already left), I go into the kitchen to start preparing lamb shank for the first time in my life. It’s Easter Sunday after all. With no children or grandchildren around, this is our only concession to Easter which our family has not celebrated since my sister died on Easter Saturday many long years ago. We’ve already eaten our April Fish Day chocolates.
April Fish Day chocolate
I love lamb shank but you usually have to order it at the butcher’s and it takes a long time to cook. Yesterday at the supermarket, there were four shanks just crying out to be bought. I check out a few recipes on the web, many of which seem time-consuming. Not my scene … I eventually find one that looks easy.
Delicious lamb shank
You just have to peel and chop a couple of carrots, thinly slice a couple of shallots (which, amazingly, I happen to have!), peel some garlic cloves, brown the shanks in olive oil in a pan that you can put in the oven, déglaze with vinegar, add the other ingredients along with a bouquet garni (which I go and gather in the garden), a teaspoon of cumin and a tablespoon of honey. Add ½ litre of water (it’s supposed to be beef bouillon but the only cubes I have are chicken), bring to simmering point, cover and put in a 200°C oven for three hours, adding another ½ litre of water halfway through cooking. Easy, huh ?
The wood I stacked with the resting block next to it!
Meanwhile Jean Michel is up in our little wood filling the wheelbarrow with logs from the ailanthus tree he cut down last year. During the night the pile of logs collapsed making evacuation urgent. He then takes them down to our sheltered wood pile. I play my part by unstacking them after he empties the wheelbarrow onto the ground. Some are a bit heavy but I still manage. I have a little rest on the cutting block while waiting for the next load. It’s much less stressful that having to make sure my logs are exactly 50 centimetres long!
It’s time to go and check the lamb. The smell is heavenly – I only hope it tastes as good.
My weeded garden bed outside the gate, with flowering forget-me-nots and a yellow daisy affair, and hollyhocks, roses and irises in the making.
We follow up with some gardening. Jean Michel is cleaning an area in front of our little house to store the freestone blocks we’re acquiring at the moment. He unearths about forty refractory bricks which I stack in a neat pile. If we don’t eventually use them, we can always sell them over leboncoin.com!
My stack of bricks next to the first lot of freestone blocks
The lamb turns out to be delicious. I serve it with creamy mashed potatoes flavoured with truffle shavings from the truffle we bought at the Truffle Fair and froze in January. We have a red bergerac from the Dordogne to go with it.
Our Renaissance fireplace
By the time we’re sitting in front of the fire having our decaf espresso, I think that every muscle in my body must be aching which makes me realise how out of shape I am after my flu this winter. Let’s hope the weather is going to get warmer soon so we can be out and about on our bikes again.
We haven’t seen Mr and Mrs Previous Owner for quite some time, what with moving, retirement blues, Christmas, New Year, the flu, Granada, getting over the flu and finishing the glass doors and shutters. However, we are now sufficiently en forme for a visit.
I took this photo from the stop of a step ladder on the other side of the wall enclosing the house when I was cleaning of the moss
Mrs Previous Owner emails me and suggests either dessert and coffee or an apéritif. We decide on dessert and coffee because we know that the apéritif means a lot of vouvray and we’ll be driving to their home a half an hour away. We’ve also scheduled a visit to the nearly Brico Depot DIY to buy a window for the laundry.
I always feel badly when we see their house. Having to trade Closerie Falaiseau, which they spent twenty years lovingly doing up, for a modern house, must have been very hard. Fortunately, our enthusiasm for the Closerie helped them to get over the hurdle of having to sell for financial and health reasons after they both retired.
The daffodils planted by Mr and Mrs Previous Owner
When we get there at 1.30 pm, Mr Previous Owner, who is very punctual, welcomes us in and I am a little surprised to see that neither the living room table nor the kitchen table are set. Mrs Previous Owner appears and I give her the enormous bouquet of daffodils that Jean Michel gathered in our little wood earlier on. We have Mr and Mrs Previous Owner to thank for our wonderful carpet of daffodils.
Mrs Previous Owner takes us through to the veranda that fronts onto the kitchen. Despite the fact that we’ve been to their new home several times, I have no recollection of a glassed-in veranda! The table is set with plates, serviettes, wine glasses and coffee cups.
Wine glasses and coffee cups on the veranda
We sit down and Mrs Previous Owner brings out not one, but two stunning cakes from a local pâtisserie.
I don’t know what the situation in Australia is today, but back in my youth, no one would have dreamed of inviting someone over and not baking their own cakes or biscuits. In France, however, that is not the case and cakes bought at a good pâtisserie are more than welcome.
Chocolate and raspberry cakes from Eric Saguez’s pâtisserie
We accept the offer for a glass of vouvray to accompany the very delicious chocolate and raspberry concoctions made by Eric Saguez at his pâtisserie in Rue du Commerce in Blois, and even take seconds ! Good thing yesterday was a 5:2 fast day …
Thanks to my iPhone, I am able to show them the new glassed-in doors and shutters. They are suitably impressed.
I tell them about the broken weathervane and Mr Previous Owner immediately says that if it happens again, he’ll be more than happy to repair it.
Our repaired weather vane
A little later, after coffee, when Jean Michel and Mr Previous Owner are in deep discussion about our alarmingly high property tax, I learn that Mrs Previous Owner hasn’t downloaded the photos on her iPhone for 3 years. We go upstairs to the computer so that I can show her how to do it.
It’s getting late and we still have to buy the window so we take our leave and promise to see them again soon at the Closerie, when the wisteria is in bloom.
Our standard white PVC tilt and turn window
At Brico Depot, we learn that they only sell white PVC turn and tilt windows which are not what we want since all our other windows are stained a dark oak colour. At least we haven’t gone out of our way. Two days later, however, having checked the prices for coloured PVC and wooden windows which turn out to be five times higher, we go back and get a white one. It is, after all, at the back of the house, down near the woodpile in an area which I intend to close off with bushes so I can put up a discreet clothes line. But that’s another project!
I’m still getting over the flu that I’ve shared with several MILLIONS of people in France this year. My recovery after 5 weeks is remarkably slow and annoying. Every time I think I’m better, I seem to have a mini relapse. My friends and neighbours are faring no better than me and we still haven’t resumed our Nordic walking.
The three walkers (and the photographer’s shadow) before we succombed to the flu
So we decide to have tea together instead. I think I should get a bit of exercise anyway so I decide to walk to the post box halfway down our street to post two letters and stop for tea on the way back. Even though the post box is in the same street, it’s a good fifteen to twenty minute walk from our house.
Chaenomeles japonica just coming into flower
I set out at a fairly brisk pace as it is spitting slightly and I don’t want to get too wet. I keep my eyes open for a photo on the theme of ageing for the City Daily Photo theme day this month, to which I usually contribute with my second blog, Loire Daily Photo. Not a theme I feel particularly keen on at the moment.
Local school in our street that has now closed
I come across a few possibilities including the local school which, after serving generations of children in Les Grouets, our neighbourhood in Blois, closed last year because there weren’t enough pupils. However, my iPhone photos of it are a little disappointing.
The ageing gate
I find a like-looking gate which doesn’t look as though it has been opened for a very long time. The surrounding trees, wall and tiles also look are though they are ageing fast as well.
Purple crocuses, some growing through the gravel
A little further along, I stop, absolutely enchanted by a whole bed of purple crocuses, some of which are growing through the gravel. The gate is open so I go as close as I can without actually setting foot in the property. I don’t want to be found trespassing.
Freshly baked bread in front of our (non-functioning) bread oven
Happy with my find, as it has really brightened a very grey day, I continue towards to mail box, which is just after the organic bakery that unfortunately closed not long after the school. The baker still uses the kitchen but sells his bread elsewhere. It’s also where I buy 5-kilo sacks of flour and smaller amounts of grains to make my multi-grain bread.
Our closest mail box
As I go to post my letters, I discover one’s missing. Oh dear ! What’s more, it’s Jean Michel’s chez for Renault who accidentally charged him 1.01 euro on his Visa card instead of 101 euro and obviously wants him to pay the difference … I start walking back, hoping that the letter has fallen face up and not face down in the mud and that no one has run over it!
The lost letter
Fortunately I eventually spy it on the road. It’s the right way up and the letters aren’t smudged. I go back to the post box wishing it wasn’t so far away.
Three barn doors
On the way back I notice a barn with three doors which we might be able to use as inspiration for our barn which Jean Michel is going to turn into a garage as part of our renovation plan.
A windvane on my walk
I arrive exactly on time at Françoise’s house. Liliane is already there so we play ladies and drink our tea in yet another set of Françoise’s many porcelain teasets which she inherited from her mother. I am just so fortunate to have made such wonderful friends in the same street before even moving to Blois. It can take years to be part of a community when you move.
The living room sofa on a sunny day
After about an hour, I go home to have a second pot of tea with Jean Michel who’s working on the shutters for our glass doors. I can’t find him although I can hear him answering me. I eventually realise he’s inside the house but since there are no lights on, I find it a bit strange. It turns out that he’s lying in the half-dark on the sofa in living room.
The delinquent plunge router that lost its screw – it is used to make that hollowed out big you can see on the left
This is so unlike him that I am immediately worried. He explains that he’s been using the plunge router on the new shutters. A screw came loose and caused a bigger gouge than he intended. Since using the plunge router requires considerable concentration and creates a lot of physical tension, he decided to stop and lie down for bit. (Just in case you’re wondering what a plunge router is, it’s a power tool used to rout or hollow out an area in the face of a woodpiece, typically wood or plastic as in the photo above).
Almost finished – the shutter being glued together
I make a pot of tea but don’t have any myself or I’ll be totally water logged. I then go with him to inspect the gouge which doesn’t look that catastrophic. By then, he’s feeling better and is able to finish the shutter without any further problems.
The glass doors and shutters are now finished. I’ll tell you about them in detail in another post.
It’s Sunday, the sun is shining brightly, the sky is blue and it’s 8°C. We can hardly believe it after the awful weather we have been having since November.
Sun in the little wood behind our house
We begin with pruning the roses. We have ten climbing roses now and I’m still learning how to do it so Jean Michel explains as we go along.
We are still feeling the aftermath of the terrible terrorist attacks during the week, starting with Charlie Hebdo and ending with four people being killed in a kosher supermarket in Vincennes very close to where I once lived, so a change of scene is welcome.
View from François MItterand bridge with St Nicolas Church and Blois Castle on the left
Whenever we go across François Mitterand bridge in Blois, I am frustrated because I’d like to take photos of the view but there is nowhere to stop before or afterwards much less in the middle.
So we drive to the parking lot halfway between the François Mitterand and Gabriel bridges so that we can walk back to the bridge, cross it, then continue along the Vienne side to Pont Gabriel. We’ll then cross over to the monthly brocante where we recently found andirons for our Renaissance fireplace.
Blois from the Vienne side
I take lots of photos of Blois as we cross the bridge (the sun is in the right direction) and another series as we walk along the river bank on the other side. We’ve often cycled here but it’s much easier to take photos when you’re walking than when you’re cycling!
Blois brocante held on the second Sunday of each month with Vienne in the background
I love the brocante. I’m always amazed and intrigued by the things on sale. You wonder who would buy most of the stuff but I guess that the vendors only really need a handful of sellable things and the rest is just to fill up the stand.
Unusual bellows at the market
It’s still light when we get back home at 5 pm so we decide to treat the moss that is covering most of our grass using the dolomite we bought recently. Last year we bought a product from the garden store that burnt the moss but didn’t destroy it so this time I searched google for something more natural. We’ll see what happens.
Jean Michel then goes to the kitchen to cook dinner. We have just bought two (dead and plucked) free-range ducks through our neighbour Alain. Jean Michel cooked one of the ducks last night for dinner with our next-door neighbours (the ones that bought the house with the poultry yard) using a recipe called the Arabian nights (1001 nuits) with various spices, nuts and dried fruit. It was very good.
Canard à l’orange appropriately served on our Egyptian tablecloth
Up until Jean Michel’s retirement, I was the main cook with Jean Michel as my offsider. He also has a couple of dishes of his own (veal stew and rabbit) that he cooks occasionally in large quantities and then freezes. When we moved, I took over the everyday cooking with his occasional help when he’s not involved in renovation.
I was not initially thrilled at the idea of doing all the cooking on my own because it’s not something I’m passionate about but I saw that I really had no choice in the matter and this retirement game’s too tricky to rock the boat too much … However, Jean Michel has spontaneously increased the number of times he cooks by himself and we now have a good stock of veal, rabbit and chicken dishes in the freezer that I can dip into whenever I want.
The fireplace with the andirons we bought at the brocante
Tonight he’s making the other duck into canard à l’orange which turns out to be very complicated and finicky so we don’t end up eating until 9 pm. But that’s OK. I have lit the fire and am enjoying not having to make the dinner! The breast is a little firm because it’s been cooked a bit too long but the drumstick is excellent and the orange sauce is delicious. I contributed the baked potatoes.
The rest of the duck will go into freezer bags for shepherd’s pie (hachis parmentier). I’m happy he’s found a creative activity that’s also practical and he doesn’t seem to mind that it’s so time-consuming. Vive la retraite!
It’s an intermittent fast day so we prepare a picnic to eat in nearby Estrela Gardens with their exotic trees and shrubs and 19th century bandstand, obviously a Saturday rendez-vous for the locals.
The 19th century bandstand in Estrela Gardens, originally located on Avenida da Liberdade and moved here in 1936.
There’s even an outdoor cinema. What a pity it’s in Portuguese or we could come back in the evening and conjure up childhood memories of sitting under the stars on canvas seats at Magnetic Island in North Queensland, particularly with all the tropical trees around us.
Open-air cinema with the Estrela Basilica in the background
Just opposite the park is the imposing Estrela Basilica but there is a mass inside so we don’t visit – it doesn’t look any different from most of the other churches we’ve seen in Lisbon anyway.
Basilica da Estrela built in the 1780s, impossible to photograph without the tram lines!
Instead we take the famous n° 28 tram which is a great favourite with tourists so is usually completely full. But this is the terminus even though the tram does a loop so we manage to get a seat. If you are on the tram and want to continue you have to get out and walk to the next stop a few metres further on.
Alfama in the sun – with lots more people!
As we’re almost at the beginning of the queue, we both get a single seat on the right. It takes us up the hill to the cathedral and through the Alfama quarter we visited in the rain but as today is fine and sunny, there are a lot more people. We decide to stay on the tram until the second terminus.
Tram 28 at the Largo da Graça terminus
With a big clunk, the tram stops and the driver announces finished. Some of the people look completely bewildered because they don’t know about moving along to the next stop. Jean Michel checks the map and says we’re in Largo da Graça and we can walk to the Miradouro Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen, which we also visited in the rain. It, too, is full of people today.
You can see the castle on the hill on the left from Miradouro Sophia de Mello Breyner Adrensen, the esplanade in front of Graça church
However, it still offers the best view of the castle on the next hill over. Up and down we go until we reach a very decrepit area that is part of the Alfama but last time we came from the opposite direction and it didn’t look nearly as bad.
The Disoriented Pavilion by Camila Cañeque, 1984
We walk around the ramparts of the castle but they are hidden by more delapidated housing. We walk through a tiny street and come out on an a vacant alotment with masses of artificial flowers. This, we learn from the sign, is a work of art called the Disoriented Pavilion by Camila Cañeque, Spain, 1984. Taking “disappointment as a starting point, the sign explains, her art interrogates unending paradoxes on how humans create and modify the cultural/material landscape they inhabit”. Yes, well …
Crowds in front of the entrance to the castle walls
The castle is surrounded by souvenir shops and cafés. There is a long queue even to visit the grounds so, instead, we decide to go to the nearby 17th century Mosteiro de São Vicente de Foro (Monastery of Saint Vincent outside the walls), renowned for its azulejos and in particular a collection illustrating La Fontaine’s fables.
Bougainvillia-coverd courtyard of Monasteiro de São Vicente de Foro
We give the church a miss and enter the monastery via a bougainvillea-covered courtyard. Inside are two-storey cloisters with blue and white azulejos on every wall. There is virtually no one in sight.
The two-storey cloisters with their azulejos
Various rooms lead off the cloisters, including a lugubre royal pantheon of the Braganza monarchs and a marquetry marble chapel.
The mausoleum of the Braganza monarchs in Saint Vincent’s Monastery
A staircase with azulejos on both sides leads up to the La Fontaine collection on the first floor. I don’t recognise any of the 38 fables but our guide book tells us that many of them are relatively obscure. I like the one about the astrologer who is so busy looking at the stars that he falls into a well.
The astrologer falling in the well because he’s looking at the sky
By now, my feet are aching but we remember that the lady who sold us the tickets said there was a good view from the roof terrace. Good is not the word – it is breathtaking. We can see the National Pantheon, Alfama, the Tagus River and rooftops of Lisbon spread out before us.
The view of the Tagus and rooftops of Lisbon from the Monastery
There are lots of columns on top of the balustrades that remind me very much of Gaudi’s chimneys, especially the ones on Guell Palace. This is not the first time that I am reminded of Gaudi in Lisbon.
The pinacles on the rooftop of the Monastery
We walk back to Largo da Graça to get the n° 28 tram down to our bus in the historical centre. We’ve only been in it for a few minutes before it comes to a stop. The driver climbs down to check the tyre of a big black stationwagon badly parked halfway up the pavement next to us. We can’t get past because the tyre is turned outwards.
Inside tram n° 28
As the passengers don’t believe we can’t get past, the driver, who seems very young, gets out with a template and shows that it’s impossible. He blows his horn very loudly for a long time but nothing happens.The next tram soon pulls up behind us so the drivers have a conflab. Our driver gets back into the tram and phones the police. There is a lot of photo-taking and questioning from the passagers, most of whom are tourists.
Too close for comfort!
I whip out my dictionary and ask the Portuguese lady behind me if this happens frequentemente. She shakes her head. Eventually the driver tells us in English that it’s going to take an hour for the police to come and tow away the car. People start to leave the tram including ourselves.
Not enough distance between the tram and the car tyre
Then several men all try to lift the car out of the way. Jean Michel joins them and they manage to move it enough to let the tram go past. Everyone cheers. The driver gets back into the tram and edges his way forward. We all breathe a sigh of relief!
We’ve checked the weather and it looks like it isn’t going to rain. We walk down to Rossio Station to take the train to Sintra. We’re amazed to see the long queue of people, even at the ticket machines. We soon understand why – the system is quite complicated because of the Via Viagem travel card.
Rossio Station with its neo-Manueline façade built in 1886 with its interesting intertwined horseshoe portals
If all these people are going to Sintra, I think, it’s going to be very busy. However, we easily get a seat, the windows are clean (unlike the train to Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris!) and it is a comfortable 40 minutes to our destination. As soon as we get out of the train, it feels like we’re in a different part of the world.
Sintra Station
The charm that is often lacking in Lisbon abounds in Sintra. It’s cooler and we are surrounded by what looks like a tropical forest. We stop for coffee and a cake at a little café opposite a house covered in bougainvillea. I order a cappuccino for the first and last time. Jean Michel wants a bigger cake than the pastel de natathat I choose. It turns out to contain ham …
House with bougainvillea opposite our tea shop
To quote the Unesco World Heritage Site: “In the 19th century Sintra became the first centre of European Romantic architecture. Ferdinand II turned a ruined monastery into a castle where this new sensitivity was displayed in the use of Gothic, Egyptian, Moorish and Renaissance elements and in the creation of a park blending local and exotic species of trees. Other fine dwellings, built along the same lines in the surrounding serra , created a unique combination of parks and gardens which influenced the development of landscape architecture throughout Europe.”
A very romantic-looking building near the train station in Sintra
We start walking up the hill towards the castle. The promenade is quite delightful, with forest on both sides and modern sculptures and views of the palace and town along the way.
Our first view of the castle
The white royal palace with its two tall chimneys looms into sight. It was probably constructed on the site of the Moorish Alcazar and its buildings result from two main periods (15th and 16th centuries). We buy a double ticket to the palace and nearby Pema Castle for 22 euro each and begin our visit.
Sintra National Palace
The first thing I see are what look like leather Henri II chairs and a table, similar to those in Blois castle. We go from one room to the next, admiring the beautiful azulejos tiles of which there is a different set in each room, the unusual ceilings and intricately carved furniture, harmoniously blending Gothic, Moorish and Renaissance elements.
Henri II table and chairs with azulejos in the background
Lovely little patios lead off the main rooms and there are views in every direction.
A typical patio in the palace
My favourite is the breathtaking Heraldry Room, built in 1515 to 1518, with its magnificent coffered domed ceiling. It reminds me of the beautiful rococco libraries along the Danube, such as Melk and Wiblingen Abbeys, except that the scenes on the walls are blue and white tiles.
The Heraldry Room with its beautiful blue and white azulejos
I also love the Galley Room whose painted ceiling depicts various sailing ships representing the great discoveries.
The ceiling of the Galley Room
By the time we finish it’s 1.30 and time for lunch. We wander off into the very touristy old town, with its steep little streets and I eventually see a sign saying Miradouro (panorama) providing an excellent view of the palace and surrounding countryside, including the steeple in the second photo.
View from the Miradouro da Villa restaurant
There is also a little restaurant called Miradouro da Villa that still has a free table on the minute terrace. We are soon esconced on our high stools and can watch other people coming to “ooh” and “aah” over the view and take selfies.
A little cherub on the road up to the restaurant
We order pork spare ribs, rice and salad and a ½ bottle of local red wine. There are no half-bottles left so the waiter suggests wine by the glass, although he warns us to drink it slowly so it won’t go to our head! One glass doesn’t seem to do much harm and although it has no nose it is a dark red and full bodied.
My favourite azulejos in Sintra National Palace
At 28.40 euros for both of us, including olives and coffee, the restaurant with its beautiful view and quiet surroundings is an excellent choice.
Now we’re ready for the next part of our visit – Pena Palace, the most visited monument in Portugal. We take a return ticket for the local hop on, hop off bus which stops at the train station and in front of the tourist office in Sintra (tickets on board) (5 euros each). For the entire 15-minute ride to the palace, up a steep winding road, it pelts with rain! Just as we reach the bus stop, the rain stops. Good timing indeed.
The forest road up to Pena Castle
We have the choice of either walking for 15 minutes up a pleasant path to the palace or taking a 3 euro bus. We walk of course.
The path up to the castle
By now, the palace is more visible. It looks like a pink and yellow Walt Disney castle and I think it is ghastly. Built in the 19th century, it is considered to be a work of pure Romanticism, designed by the Portuguese architect Possidónio da Silva.
Mist at the top of the castle
Inside, however, are the richly decorated church, two-storey cloister and refectory of the monastery built by King Manuel 1 and donated to the order of Saint Jerome following a visit by King John II in 1493, accompanied by his wife Queen Leonor, who made a pilgrimage to a chapel dedicated to Our Lady of Pena built, it seems, after an apparition of the Virgin Mary.
The cloisters of the original monastery over which Pena castle was built
For centuries, Pena was a small, quite place of meditation, housing a maximum of eighteen monks. I wonder what they would say if they could see the Disney castle and swarms of tourists today!
Both the monks and royal family certainly enjoyed a wonderful view
Lightning first damaged the monastery in the 18th century but the famous earthquake of 1755 reduced it to ruins. The marble and alabaster chapel, however, remained relatively unscathed.
The “family room” with its Islamic and Renaissance features
It was left to rack and ruin until 1838 when the young prince Ferdinand who was a bit of a nature lover acquired the old monastery and much of the surrounding land. He turned it into a palace to be used as a summer residence for the Portuguese royal family. The work was entrusted to a German mining engineer, Wilhelm Ludwig von Eschwege, which is why it is reminiscent of some of the castles along the Rhine.
One of the beautiful vaulted ceilings inside the castle
The King suggested that vaulted arches and mediaeval and Islamic elements be included and Queen Maria looked after a lot of the decoration and symbolism.
Monserrat Castle
We decide not to visit the nearby Palace of Montserrate designed for Sir Francis Cook by the distinguished British architect, James Knowles Jr, an example of mid-19th-century eclecticism, combining neo-Gothicism with substantial elements derived from the architecture of India. Two palaces are enough in one day.
The art work inside Rossio Station
Instead, we walk down a fairly steep path to pick up the hop on hop off bus at the second last stop as we think there might be quite a few people waiting at the main entrance at this time of the day, but we needn’t have worried. There is plenty of room. We arrive at the station just as our train is about to pull out. Back at Rossio Station, we have time to enjoy the artwork on the walls.
How to Get to Sintra: Trip Advisor has excellent advice. Click here.
To use the Via Viagem card: See the metrolisboa website
We’ve just had a lovely visit from of my former ESIT students now living in Maryland, with her husband and little Ada, which is my mother’s name. The weather is not brilliant so we decide to forego a visit to the Villette version of Paris Plage as planned and walk towards the Marais.
Lovely façades in rue Saint Honoré
As we walk down rue Saint Honoré, which we must have done a hundred times already, we notice two façades we’ve never seen before even though we’ve eaten several times at the Bistrot du 1er.
Café Oz in rue Saint Denis
A short while later, I spy Café Oz off to the right in rue Saint Denis. The last time I saw Café Oz it was on the other side of the river – now there are three of them! www.cafe-oz.com.
Window box in rue Saint Denis
We are intrigued by all the window boxes of geraniums. How do they do it in the middle of Paris when I only have very mediocre success in Blois? We are also amazed at just how many people there are! August is supposed to be empty. On rue Vieille du Temple, we come to a quiet little cul-de-sac with a village feel to it and an Australian Ugg shop on the corner. Now I know where to buy my winter slippers.
La Chaise au Plafond (the chair on the ceiling!) in rue du Trésor off rue Vieille du Temple opposite Ugg
In the Marais, immediately recognizable from all the Yiddish signs everywhere and the throngs of people, we stroll into the Jardin des Rosiers and out the other side through the Maison de l’Europe de Paris which has a giant Easter egg, painted by Croatian naive artists in the courtyard.
Giant Easter Egg at the Maison de l’Europe in rue des Francs Bourgeois
We can also see a large brick chimney that we later find used to be a factory for extracting gold, silver and platininum from jeweller’s dust. The Marais of course was once full of Jewish jewellery shops.
Spontini in an old bakery on rue des Francs Bourgeois
It’s amusing to see that Spontini is now in a former bakery that once sold special bread for diabetics. I like the fact that they’ve kept the old signs.
Harpist in the arcade leading onto the Hôtel de Sully on Place des Vosges
When we reach Place des Vosges, all the cafés are full so we walk along the arcade to Hôtel de Sully, enticed by the haunting melody of a harpist.
Village Saint Paul
Our route takes us past several courtyards. We wander in and discover Village Saint Paul, which we’ve never seen before, but most of the boutiques are closed.
Part of Philippe Auguste’s wall around Paris
We see a large half-ruined wall which turns out to be part of the city walls built by Philippe Auguste at the end of the 12th century to protect Paris while he was off at the Crusades. We have vestiges near us as well, but they are not nearly as imposing as these.
Chez Mademoiselle with its coordinated 2CV!
Further along the street, after the famous Lycée Charlemagne in Rue Charlemagne, there is a little café called Chez Mademoiselle with a grey Citroën 2CV parked in front and painted to match the front of the café. How’s that for coordination?
Tapas at Trésor in rue Trésor
After going past two of the oldest houses in Paris on rue François Morin, we find our way back to the Ugg shop and its cul-de-sac because we saw that Trésor is serving tapas. There is even a table for us on the edge of the inside room looking out on the terrace. It seems to be a well-guarded secret from tourists because everyone around me is speaking French.
Nicki de Saint Phalle’s fountains near the Georges Pompidou centre
Our path home takes us past the Pompidou Centre and Nicki de Saint Phalle’s fountains that my kids used to love when they were little. A much better promenade than last week!
UGG Australia, 26 Rue Vieille du Temple, 75004 Paris
Trésor, rue Trésor, 75004 Paris
Chez Mademoiselle, 16 rue Charlemagne, 75004 Paris
Most of our time in Blois seems to be spent frantically gardening, restoring fireplaces and making laundries, but this time, I’ve checked the weather report and Thursday looks as though it will be bright and sunny. We have breakfast in the garden then, after much searching, unearth our Blois & Chambord bike maps. We decide on itinerary n° 11 & 11 B (total of 50 K) because Jean Michel says we haven’t completed the loop before.
Château de Chambord with more scaffolding
We drive to Saint Dyé sur Loire and park in the church grounds. It’s getting close to midday by the time we start out for Chambord. I’m a bit disappointed when we arrive to see there is more scaffolding.
Chambord reflected in the Grand Canal
After lunch at the Saint Louis (dish of the day and café gourmand) we cross the little bridge and set off along the Grand Canal because I want to take a photo of Chambord reflected in the water like my friend Anda from Travel Notes and Beyond. But clouds have appeared and the reflection is not exactly what I was looking for.
Chambord from the little bridge at the end of the Grand Canal
And what do we discover – a completely new view of Chambord from the other end of the canal. This time, the clouds are lighter and their reflection in the canal is spectacular.
Fontaine Saint Michel well in Thoury
We continue the cycle path towards Saint Laurent de Nouan, our final destination, and find ourselves in the little town of Thoury. I surprise Jean Michel by remembering it from a previous bike ride and he comes to the conclusion that we’ve already done the n° 11 loop (but not the n°11bis. The typical Sologne well of Fontaine Saint Michel has all been spruced up. You can see its little wrought-iron sculpture of a snake coiled around a tree branch.
Saint Martin de Crouy
Not long after, we come across the 11th church of Saint Martin de Crouy which coincidentally I published just a few days ago on Blois Daily Photo. Once again I astonish Jean Michel by telling him what’s inside the church! I also take a better photo of the sculpture of Saint Martin on the façade. By now, the storm clouds are looking more threatening.
Auberge des Trois Rois
By the time we reach Saint Laurent, we’ve ridden about 25 kilometers straight and I’m well and truly ready for a cold drink. The main street has a couple of interesting buildings, including Aux Trois Rois or the Three King Inn. Built in the 15th century, it welcomed such distinguished guests as Philippe le Bel, Louis IX, Charles VIII, Louis XIV, Alfred de Musset, Jean de La Fontaine, d’Artagnan and maybe even Joan of Arc. Unfortunately, it was dismantled between 1780 and 1781 and sold in several parcels. The mullion windows are copies of the original structure, I’m sad to learn.
Saint Laurent de Nouans nuclear power plant
To my disappointment, no friendly café comes into sight and instead we find ourselves on a 70 kph road taking us straight towards the Saint Laurent NUCLEAR POWER PLANT. Now why didn’t I realise that before when I looked at the map?
Saint Jacques windmill at Saint Laurent de Noans taken on a previous visit
I rant and rave about the inappropriateness of putting a nuclear power plant on a cycling itinerary and we eventually reach the beautiful Saint Jacques windmill we have already visited on a previous occasion. Still no café …
La potion muidoise which is a reference to the druid’s magic potion in Astérix, also taken on a previous occasion
We finally get to Muides after a very bumpy ride along the river thankful that it hasn’t actually rained. By then, we’re so near to our destination that the thought of the only somewhat decrepit café in Muides with its local bar supporters, no longer appeals. Also, it might be closed the way it was last time …
Loire between Muides and Saint Dyé also taken on a previous ride
We cycle the last few kilometers back to Saint Dyé but the sky is muggy and not nearly as nice as the last time. I surprise myself by going straight up the hill next to the church almost effortlessly. I don’t know where that energy suddenly came from. In the future though, we’re going to remember only to do itinerary 11 and ignore 11 bis. A nuclear power plant indeed!
We are well and truly back from our cycling holiday in Germany. It’s amazing how far away it already seems. Our next holiday, a six-day home exchange in Lisbon, is scheduled for September.
Closerie Falaiseau in Blois last time we were there at the end of our holiday
Now we have to get ready for our move to Blois at the end of October, which means we only have three months left. It’s a bit daunting even though I’m ready to leave Paris (though I might occasionally miss the view from our balcony). Closerie Falaiseau will be our own home, as opposed to our apartment in the Palais Royal which is part of Jean Michel’s job.
As we have guests in our gîte up until 6th October, we’ll be going down for a couple of weeks after that to get everything ready for the movers.
The current downstairs bedroom will become our combined study which means redispatching the furniture, putting some of it in the little house while waiting for re-use either in the future gîte or an investment I’m hoping to make in Tours.
The upstairs living room with its secondhand sofa
The furniture in the other rooms will also have to be moved around to take the content of our apartment in Paris. Some, such as the upstairs sofa and chairs we bought at Troc de l’Ile, will be resold.
I’ve been planning what will go where and I think I have everything sorted out. Despite the fact that it is a big house, the rooms are very large and we don’t have much storage space so I don’t want to take anything we’re not sure we’ll use again.
The view from our balcony which I might miss …
It’s a pity that I will still be working as a freelance translator for the next 5 years – I could have got rid of the entire content of my office! But I’m having a change of furniture and am resolved to only take what I really need.
Many people have asked me if I’ll miss Paris. I don’t think so. What I will miss is seeing my friends who live here and those from further away who will come to Paris but not to Blois. But we’re not that far away (less than 1 ½ hours by train) so we can schedule regular visits.
The overgrown vegetable patch when we got back from Germany
What I’m looking forward to is the garden and the nearby forest, less traffic and more friendly people in shops and restaurants.
I’d say that the only real drawback of Closerie Falaiseau is that it’s on the edge of town and there are no shops within walking or even cycling distance. I’ll have to plan more carefully. Since I make my own bread, it doesn’t matter that we don’t have a bakery close by. Even living in the middle of Paris, we practically never go and buy fresh croissants …
Catching up with Australian friends in Paris – Carolyn from Holidays to Europe in the Palais Royal Gardens
As I’ve always worked from home, I’m used to spending the day by myself, but it will be different for Jean Michel who will need to plan activities that involve other people.
We’ve already make several friends in and around Blois, especially through the Loire Connexion, so I’m not worried about our social life as a couple.
A drink with fellow bloggers and friends in Paris
We both love the house and garden and would presently much rather be there than in Paris, so I think that’s a good start, don’t you?
