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Montrichard: Val de Loire

Nov 10, 2018 by scribbling4bread

Looming over the town of MonTrichard (the T is sounded) is the impressive donjon which has dominated the countryside for miles around for the last thousand years. We assumed ‘donjon’ meant dungeon, a prison down in the bowels of the earth but no, the French use dungeon too. Donjon means the exact opposite, architecturally speaking. It’s what we call a Keep, a large tower built in fortified residences, a place of last resort should the rest of the castle fall.

Beauval Zoo (2-3) Why We Must Not Shut The Zoo Gates.

Jul 16, 2017 by scribbling4bread

In March 2017, the journalist Ian Birrell wrote a piece for the ‘i’ newspaper: Why We Must Shut the Zoo Gates. It’s his view, he’s entitled, but one he might change if he went to Beauval Zoo in France, a beautiful seventy acre park for animals which humans are allowed to share. Mr Birrell asked […]

Loches.

May 6, 2017 by scribbling4bread

The Loire Valley has many common or garden châteaux but Loches is a Royal Château which means it was owned and lived in by French Royalty. One of the most important, historically speaking, in France, it still has the feel of what it was, a mighty fortress.

Christmas in Amboise

Dec 14, 2016 by scribbling4bread

Christmas in Amboise is, unfortunately, getting more like Christmas in the UK but there are a few merciful respites. Decorated Christmas trees and Father Christmases do begin to pop up in December but on the whole, things are much more low key. There is no spending frenzy. The French do not go into debt. […]

Château Gaillard

Jul 23, 2016 by scribbling4bread

Foolish to condense five hundred years of history into one blog. However, fools rush in, so here goes. The Renaissance arrived in France via Amboise in 1495 when King Charles VIII, came home from Italy. The fact he went there at all was something of a fluke. In 1489, to punish Ferdinand, the King of […]