Sunday, August 30, 2015
Friday, August 28, 2015
Ici, on Parle Française - 33
This comic strip is specially created for Alliance Française de Bangalore, for use in their classrooms and website. Reproduced here by special arrangement.
Wednesday, August 26, 2015
Sunday, August 23, 2015
Friday, August 21, 2015
Ici, on Parle Française - 32
This comic strip is specially created for Alliance Française de Bangalore, for use in their classrooms and website. Reproduced here by special arrangement.
Wednesday, August 19, 2015
Sunday, August 16, 2015
Friday, August 14, 2015
Ici, on Parle Française - 31
This comic strip is specially created for Alliance Française de Bangalore, for use in their classrooms and website. Reproduced here by special arrangement.
Wednesday, August 12, 2015
Sunday, August 09, 2015
Friday, August 07, 2015
Ici, on Parle Française - 30
This comic strip is specially created for Alliance Française de Bangalore, for use in their classrooms and website. Reproduced here by special arrangement.
The house that Vauban built
From our trip to Burgandy: The Château of Vauban, Marshal of France in the late 17th century, master-engineer, innovator of fortification, and military adviser to Louis XIV. This is the château he built himself, in his hometown of Bazochs in Burgundy. He used this place to recuperate between the various battles he conducted for Louis XIV.
Thursday, August 06, 2015
Dandia Dancing in a small French Village
Blandine caught sight of a
poster while we were browsing the weekly village market in Vienne - Indian
Folk dances in Montseveroux. She jumped with excitement. Anything to do with
India makes her do that. I was more tepid. I tend to run the other way when I see
a troupe of folk dancers. As we did, seconds later. A whole horde of my fellow
countrymen in traditional folk costumes trundled down the cobbled streets of
Vienne. While I was still recovering from the shock, they were followed
by another horde of what looked like Russians in Cossack costumes,
and a phalanx of Americans in checked suits.
Apparently, they were the
dancers invited for 'Les Nuit de Montseveroux' (The Nights of Montseveroux).
Montseveroux is a tiny little village on the hills overlooking the Rhone, just
a few miles out of Vienne. Having gotten tired of hearing 'Montseveroux -
What's That?', the villagers decided to make their village a little more
notorious by conducting an annual international dance festival. This year, the
invited countries were India, Ossetia and the USA. Ossetia, in case, like
me, you haven't heard of it, is a little sub-state carved out of Georgia
that still is not fully recognized as a separate country. They would probably
be deeply offended at my description of them as Russians in Cossack costumes,
but in my defense, I have to say I couldn’t see much difference.
Naturally we had to go to the festival. Blandine couldn't be kept away by a troupe of hungry lions. I tagged along, despite grave trepidations. Village Montseveroux turned out to be a rather charming place...
... with a church and a château. I covered the church in the previous post. Here are some pics of the château, where the festival was to be conducted.
Naturally we had to go to the festival. Blandine couldn't be kept away by a troupe of hungry lions. I tagged along, despite grave trepidations. Village Montseveroux turned out to be a rather charming place...
... with a church and a château. I covered the church in the previous post. Here are some pics of the château, where the festival was to be conducted.
Wednesday, August 05, 2015
The church of village Montseveroux
On the other side of the Rhone from Blandine's village, atop the ridge of the river, is an inconspicuous village called Montseveroux. It's main claim to fame is that every year it has a festival of folk dances from around the world. Blandine and I hopped over to see that festival - more on that in the next post. But in the process we discovered that village's adorable 12th century Church, the Church of Saint-Martin...
Tuesday, August 04, 2015
Apremont-sur-Allier - beau village
Still in the Burgundy region. We drove over to the historic town of Nevers, which is frequently mentioned in The Three Musketeers by Alexander Dumas. The town itself was a bit disappointing (Never say Nevers again), but close by is the village of Apremont-sur-Allier, which is worth a visit. It is on the official list of 'the most beautiful villages in France'. It is not terribly historic, but it is bursting with quaint old cottages all covered in roses, and a river runs through it. The river, by the way, is l'Allier, which gives the village its name.
Monday, August 03, 2015
Lock on the Loire
On the way from the town of Nevers to the village of Apremont sur Alliers, we stopped for coffee at a rather pleasant spot: it is where one of the canals of the Loire crosses the river Alliers on an aquaduct! It was rather interesting to see a canal crossing a river on a bridge. It was also a fabulous place for a coffee break.
The crossing point of the river Allier and the lateral canal of the Loire...
The crossing point of the river Allier and the lateral canal of the Loire...
Sunday, August 02, 2015
Never say Nevers again
After Vézaley, still in Burgundy, we took a longish detour to the historic town of Nevers. Actually, we wanted to see the beau village of Appremont-sur-Alliers which is just a few km from Nevers, but since we were going all that way, why not check out the town, we thought. Blandine recalled that the Duke of Nevers had played a significant role in some of the Three Musketeer stories by Alexander Dumas. She thought it might be interesting to see his stamping grounds. In the event, Nevers turned out to be a rather sleepy and boring old town. It does have some historical monuments, but nothing to go gaga about. But still, if you are an Alexander Dumas fan, you might like to check it out.
Firstly there is the ducal palace (palais ducal), where one presumes the old Duc of Nevers used to have his digs. It looks very impressive from the outside, but the interiors are a disappointment. The administration of Nevers have completely gutted the interiors and turned it into a very bland and modern office space.
Firstly there is the ducal palace (palais ducal), where one presumes the old Duc of Nevers used to have his digs. It looks very impressive from the outside, but the interiors are a disappointment. The administration of Nevers have completely gutted the interiors and turned it into a very bland and modern office space.
Saturday, August 01, 2015
A lonely little church on a Burgundy hill
All the way to Vézaley in Burgundy, we kept getting glimpses of a lonely little church on the hill.
We were intrigued. We asked around. The locals told us it was the church of St. Aubans des Chaumes, and there was a narrow rural road to get there. We took the road. It was well Worth the visit...
We were intrigued. We asked around. The locals told us it was the church of St. Aubans des Chaumes, and there was a narrow rural road to get there. We took the road. It was well Worth the visit...
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