In an overgrown swampy forest near the town of Euzet-les-Bains, stand the ruins of a once significant thermal establishment and spa. In 1875 a certain Dr Louis Perrier became director of this already well known spa, where the waters were known for their curative properties since the end of the 17th century. The spa thrived…
Category: France
The forest of Bougès
Some forest scenes snapped on a recent hike in the Cévennes range. Quelques scènes de sous-bois sur le flanc nord du massif du Bougès.
Fontfroide
Interplay of light and shadow on the Corbières sandstone at Fontfroide Abbey. Fortes contrastes de soleil et d’ombre sur les murs de grès des Corbières à l’abbaye de Fontfroide
Bridges on the Tarn river
The Tarn river starts on the slopes of Mont Lozère at an approximate altitude 1500 m. For a few kilometres, it flows through a fairly flat mountain grassland plateau with its spongy turf until reaching a narrow gap on the edge of the plateau. From there on it plunges down to much lower altitudes, losing…
Albi Cathedral / Cathédrale d’Albi
Albi : Une ville de taille moyenne à proximité de Toulouse, France avec une cathédrale listée au patrimoine mondiale de l’Unesco. A medium-sized town in France near Toulouse with a cathedral recently added to the list of World Heritage sites.
Villandry Gardens
The “potager” (vegetable garden) at Villandry Castle in the Loire Valley is a most impressive rendering of the idea of a vegetable garden. It is huge, colourful and a demonstration of horticultural art at its best, along with the science to make it work. The “parterre” areas are planted twice each season. Spaces are surrounded…
Light and Shade
Stark contrast of light and shade in this picture of the St Ours church in Loches – location of the tomb of Agnès Sorel. See : here
Ruined barbican
The remnants of a barbican built to defend the Loche royal fortress during the middle ages.
Grafitti warrior
This one gives a new meaning to the term grafitti. It wasa carved into the soft stone wall on the inside of the dungeon prison of Loches in the middle ages.
The pagoda at Chanteloup
Built in the 1700’s as part of a vast country residence in the Loire Valley near Amboise, this pagoda was evidence of a fad for all things Chinese in that era. There were gardens, a huge lake and a “grand canal” like at Versailles, and a huge residential “chateau”. All that remains now is the…
Inside the pagoda at Chanteloup
Spiral staircases and sloping steps. None too solid it seems.
Albertas
The gardens in Bouc Bel Air – also called Gardens of Albertas – play host to the biggest garden fair in the Marseille region every May. All the plants, statues, ironwork, outdoor furniture and advice you could ever want. Plus the fountains actually work…. ♠
Montclus
Montclus : a little village at the end of the road. Location of the last operational lavender essence distillery in the Gard department. Also the location of a bridge to nowhere. See below.
Barbentane
A village near Avignon – half perched on a hillside and half-sitting in the Rhône river flood plain. Home to one of the few châteaus in France that was not burned and looted during the revolution. Nice keep on the hilltop too.
Simiane-la-Rotonde
This little town in an isolated location in Haute-Provence contains a circular defensive tower -the remnants of a more substantial fortified castle. Most such towers are not decorated or particularly good looking. This one is extraordinary due to its vaulted dome with a window at the zenith. Not to mention the strange medieval faces on…
Ochre
A scene from the abandonned ochre quarries near Rustrel, France. Une vue des carrières d’ochre abandonnées près de Rustrel, France. Site connu sous le nom du Colorado Provençal.
