Something for the weekend...

Friday 1^st May

La Roche Posay

May 1 from 8:00
Great animation day of the Belle Epoque to the Roaring Twenties with craft market, discover the antique crafts, street entertainment, and lively village wedding banquet with an orchestra. A beautiful day in perspective. Throughout the city. (from the town's website)

Brocantes / Vide-greniers

Ballan Mire – Plant fair - 50 to 100 stalls

Bertheenay – vide-greniers- 50 to 100 stalls

Cangey – Brocante - 200 to 300 stalls

Ferriere sur Beaulieu - vide-greniers

Saint Benoit la Foret – vide-greniers

Saint Pierre des Corps – vide-greniers

Tours, Rue de Bordeaux 8.30am – 7.00pm – Brocante

Sunday 3^rd May

Auzouer en Touraine – vide-greniers

Bossee – Brocante

Cheille – vide-greniers

Cormery - Foire aux plants & vide-grenier

Joue les Tours – Brocante / vide-grenier

Monts – vide-greniers

Parcay Meslay – Brocante / vide-greniers

Richelieu – vide-greniers

Rille -  Brocante / plants

Tours, Place Blanqui – vide-greniers

Someone's watching ewe...

There is a mound of earth in the builder's yard that sits behind Grande Rue here in Barrou that can be seen through the gap of our near neighbours houses. Pauline had said she was sure she had seen a sheep atop of said mound as she passed one day, i thought it must be the wine, until...there it was as we passed on another occasion! 

We can only presume he has it there to keep the grass down although not sure why it wants to climb the grassless mound - maybe for the view or it might just be a Barrou animal thing...

Mega deer...

Since February there has been a new resident in the courtyard of the Prehistory Museum at the Chateau in Le Grand Pressigny...

A life-size Megaceros (Irish elk) has been installed to add more interest to the outside space and connect it to the collections inside. The species apparently became extinct around 10.000BC

Church on Sunday...Saint Martin,Chanceaux sur Choisille

When we visited the brocante at Chanceaux sur Choisille, north of Tours, last Sunday I wanted to look in the church but sadly it was locked. I know it contains a gilded 17th century altar piece so maybe with so many visitors to the town it was for security reasons!

Last weekend's brocanting...

On Saturday we headed over to Preuilly sur Claise to their spring brocante...

...it was a bit overcast and there were less stalls than expected but it is always a pleasure to walk around this    pretty town.We were not looking for anything in particular although we needed to replace some glasses       (balloons) - and we picked up 6 for 10 cents each. 

Sure I've seen this pram before

Didn't need a Wee Wee ('Noddy' in French)

...or a Poo

or indeed a Shrek.

This fine house which has a couple of 'dependances' which were used to sell brocante professionally -didn't even know it was there. As it happened what they tried to sell us was their property! A snip at 500,000 - he did say that he would accept payment in three stages - very generous of them.


On Sunday we headed north of Tours to Chanceaux sur Choisille for another walk among the stuff 'emptied from attics'..nearly 300 of them!

There are obviously a lot of young families as toys were much in evidence - which suited Liz who was with us and was searching for things for her grandson.

We have seen many bizarre things for sale at these events but this reel of barb wire has to be up there with them...

Bought an 'oil on cavas print plus coule of other prints for €4 but this was the highlight of the day...a man trying to buy the flask of coffee that the lady with a stall had to fend of the chill of  today's wind.

Vide-greniers / brocantes this Sunday -26th April

Sunday 26th April 2015

Le Grand Pressigny - Brocante / vide-greniers / Foire aux vins (wine fair)

Lets hope for better weather this year - although its always dry at the wine fair in the Salle des Fetes -well externally anyway.

Bourgueil  -  Vide-greniers

Chinon -   Brocante

Joue-les-Tours -  Vide-greniers

Louestault  - Vide-greniers

Rilly sur Vienne – Brocante

Saint Ouen les Visgnes - Vide-greniers

Saint Senoch - Vide-greniers

Tours, Boulevard Beranger - Brocante

Lets 

Location,location,location

Last year we had bluetits nesting in one of the urns on the terrace at Barrou...

It seemed an odd choice and it proved to be a bad one..

When we spotted the parents going in and out feeding the young birds we set a fence up around their adopted home to keep out the neighbours cat but sadly while we were away a few days we came back to find one of the adult birds dead and no sign of the young.

This year another pair have chosen a watering can in the garden at 'Les Balcons' again not exactly the safest of locations...we can't be there to look after them but the good thing is that there are few cats around.

Tits seem to chose the oddest locations judging from what I found on the net with my favourite being an ashtray... 

2015 Chaumont garden festival in the Loire Valley

Chaumont garden festival opens today.

This year's festival runs from the 23rd of April 2015 to 1st of November 2015
The 25th International Garden Festival on the theme of “Extraordinary gardens, collectors’ gardens”

Check out our page on website here for examples from previous festivals here

Setting sun at 'Le bout du pont' Barrou.

Photographs taken tonight from 'Le bout du pont' between Barrou and Lesigny.

Experience Loire: Thanks for looking in...hope I helped make you Loi...

Experience Loire: Thanks for looking in...hope I helped make you Loi...: I am happy to announce that my little site www.experienceloire.com has passed the 1,000,000 visitor mark which is very satisfying consi...

Sparring partner...

We have new proprietors and a smart new look at the former 'Spar' shop in Le Grand Pressigny. We like the new look and although we had a lot of time for the previous proprietors who were always very friendly to us we never thought that the 'Spar' branding added anything to the authenticity of the village.

Church on Sunday...Saint Etienne de Cheverny

 

The 12th century church of Saint Etienne in Cheverny has like many others in the Sologne a 'wrap-around' porch (caquetoire in French) where the congregation could gather for a chat after mass.

 

The church we see today has had a lot of restoration work both inside and...don't think it would originally had chandeliers!...

 

 

...or the elaborate altar.

 

 Loved the boxed pews...

 

 

...this one is probably reserved for the owners of the nearby chateau.

 

 Where's Joan...

 

Tulips from...Cheverny

See more pics here

Vide-greniers / brocantes this weekend.

 

Saturday 18th April 2015

Bourgueil - Vide-grenier

La Riche   - Vide-grenier

Preuilly sur Claise - Vide-grenier /brocante

 

Sunday 19th April 2015

Chanceaux sur Choisille - Vide-grenier

Chinon  - Monthly brocante

Descartes  - Vide-grenier

Drache  - Vide-grenier

La Ville Aux Dames - Vide-grenier /brocante

Montlouis sur Loire (Husseau)  - Vide-grenier

Saint Branchs  - Vide-grenier

Valleres  - Vide-grenier

Villaines les Rochers  - Vide-grenier

Spring on Avenue Andre Theuriet...

No apologies for showing our favourite Le Grand Pressigny view again...spring 2015 

In residence at Chateau de Tours...

On our many previous visits to Tours I think the nearest we have ever gotten to entering its chateau was to creek open its doors and expose its apparent stuffiness to the fresh air of the city. I can't remember the exhibition that was at the time on but on a lovely day going indoors to view it held little attraction. The chateau at Tours is not on many visitors list of 'must see' attractions of the Loire Valley. This 11th century building has little to offer from an architectural perspective and with the city being the capital of the region containing many of the Loire Valley's most prestigious chateau, sits as a bit of a paradox on the banks of the river Loire.

Today it is used as exhibition space and since 2010 it has been collaborating on exhibitions devoted to historic photography with the Jeu de Paume in Paris.Currently it is displaying photographs of Nicolás Muller (1913-2000) under the title of 'Traces of Exile' until 31 May 2015

It also exhibits paintings and other art forms. Along with the photographs we also got to see the works of Dominik Deniau ''Exposition des Âmes' (until May10th) plus paintings by Patrick Deutschmann (until April 24th). Entry is free.

I was actually more interested in the fabric of the building but other than the staircases it offered little.