Beautiful details in Rouen....

 

The charme of Rouen is hidden in the little and beautiful details: the artistic sign of the next boulanger (shop for artisanal bread), the wall decoarted with shells, the old&magic art-deco decorations.... One feels and sees that Rouen was an important and rich city in the past! In the 16th century the city was important harbour town for products exchange with Brazil.  Victor Hugo was calling the city: city of tausend church towers. A lot of architecture was destroyed during the Second World War bombing. However over 2000 colombage houses are still well preserved.

 

Colourful houses in Alsace...

 

The region Alsace in North of France is very famous for its wine, hills and food! However I do love it for its colourful and happy-making houses!

 

One could see that most of the owners simply love to decorate and make their own house cute and beautiful...Not only tons of flower pots make the drive through the small villages pleasant for the eyes, its simply fantastic to enjoy the different colours of the facades of the beautiful timbered houses.

 

On our way we passed by this bus stop painted with pictures of badgers!

The town hall of Calais and the giant bonbons/ Expo des bonbons géants a Calais

 

Join me in this blog to discover the huge colourful bonbon-sculptures of the artist Laurence Jenkell. From end of May till mid September 2012 the expo showing these 15 colourful sculptures is decorating the garden in front of the town hall in Calais...

 

Almost all pieces of art carry one of the European flags: one may spot France, Belgium, Finland, Italy, Switzerland, Greece, etc...There is one bonbon even dedicated to the "dentelle" of Calais, also one to the EU, but there was none with the Bulgarian flag.

Farmers market in Buding, Lorraine/ Marché fermier á la Ferme du Moulin á Buding

Today I would like you to meet the colourful inhabitants of the amazing Ferme du Moulin in the tiny village Buding, in Lorraine, France. The farm was holding a cozy market of local products such as home-made bread, sausages, jams. A honey producer and veggie-grower from the neighbourhood were present too...

 

I really enjoyed making a round and discovering the animals living there: the white peacocks were lazy in the green grass, the funny turkey cock was making weird noise all the time (being annoyed by the people watching him), the black baby pigs were sleeping (keeping each other warm by being one above the other)...

 

...the beautifully coloured cows were enjoying the shadow of the blooming apple trees...

 

Flower and other decoration in villages in Lorraine

 

France and the cute and tiny villages there always surprise me and impress me with their lovely floral and other decoration. This blog entry is dedicated to the flower-villages in Lorraine.

Some of the flowers in the gardens are also eatable as the blue flower as a decoration in the glas of fresh pressed tomato juice (last shot)...

Amazingly different: Château de Brézé or about "the castle under the castle"....

Château de Brézé suprises its visitors with actually two....castles. One rising from another! The original underground castle, the "Rock" of Brézé, begins to appear in historical texts from 1063. You can still visit it nowadays at a depth of 9m beneath the courtyard. The light-well is the oldest part of the castle and a great example of a troglodyte dwelling constructed along defensive lines. One can walk through the underground tunnels, discover the bakery, ice-house and wine cellars as well as the silk-worm farm...

In the 15th century a medieval edifice was erected and fortified by the excavation of immense ditches all around. This one has been replaced by the building visible today, a Renaissance castle restored and extended in the 19th century.

Chateaux and vineyards between Gien and Sancerre....

France is definitely the country of castles and the area around the river Loire is the best place to visit some of the most beautiful architectural gems from different centuries. South of Orleans this time I admired the Chateau de Gien, in the picturesque town Gien, famous also for its faience ware. Hidden a bit more in the countryside is the Chateau de Verrerie, first picture.

Around the town Sancerre one can find, taste and buy fruity white and rose wine. The vineyards are climbing up and down on small hills next to Loire and offer breathtaking landscapes.

Summer landscapes from Filstroff, Lorraine

Today I would love to share some shots from the French countyside in Lorraine, close to the "Dreiländereck" (the triangle of 3 countries): Germany, France, Luxembourg.

Golden wheat fields, colourful and workoholic insects and some curious foxes I met over there.

For the rest enjoy the colours, the blue sky and yeeeeeeeeeeeeees, the cherries were extremely yummy:-))