Author:visionarymarketing
Wind turbines are often the subject of heated discussions between those in favour and those against. I do not particularly want to jump into that debate but I thought that spending a bit of time trying to understand how things really work might be useful to me and maybe some of my readers. Wind Turbines and the Industrial Age This is an account of our latest visit to Le Havre and its harbour, last July 3 years after our 2019 […]
The 36 views of the Eiffel Tower is a series of wooden engravings. Well-famed engraver Henri Rivière sketched and printed them in the 19th century. These pictures show various areas of the French capital from which one could catch a glimpse of the famous iron lady. Above picture: from the pont Mirabeau and its beautiful 1910 steel railings. 36 Views of the Eiffel Tower Henri Rivière, a lover of Japanese prints, was inspired by the most famous of the Japanese […]
When preparing this post, I researched Chateau de Terride in Mirepoix with duck duck go. I realised that quite a few chateaux in the south-west of France bear that name. It’s a shame, because this particular château is in no way like all the others I have found on the Internet. Chateau de Terride in Mirepoix Chateau de Terride is quite derelict. As I researched its history, I discovered that French TV celebrity Stephane Bern had launched an initiative with the Ministry […]
Bagatelle is a chateau well hidden in the Bois de Boulogne where you can find flowers and especially roses, gardens and the Sphinx of Bagatelle. The sphinx of bagatelle is a novel by Romanian Princess Marthe Bibesco (aka Martha Bibescu). The book is a bit hard to find, though. Etonians might get it from the school’s library. It can also be bought from AbeBooks. The original French version doesn’t seem to have survived the test of time. “In 1775, the Count […]
The Clematis, amongst the flowers of Bagatelle, are my favourites. Here are my two best macro shots. There are approximately 300 species of that flower, which is part of ‘the buttercup family, Ranunculaceae’. Clematis – Bagatelle – Paris – May 2022 ‘Their garden hybrids have been popular amongst gardeners, [3] beginning with Clematis × jackmanii, a garden standby since 1862; more hybrid cultivars are being produced constantly. They are mainly of Chinese and Japanese origin. Most of us know these species as clematis in […]
Our streets are teeming with bollards.Not so long ago we went to Pau in the South-West of France. As I was taking pictures, I noticed that bollards had multiplied since our last visit, 7 years ago. What is a bollard anyway? I had to go to good old Wikipedia to find out. Here is the definition. A bollard is a sturdy, short, vertical post. The term originally referred to a post on a ship or quay used principally for mooring […]
Cherry blossoms in spring don’t come as a surprise. Cherry blossoms in autumn are a very different kettle of fish, or flowers for that matter. I suppose that only a few years back, before Covid-19 struck, taking pictures of Cherry Blossoms would have sounded naf and awfully deja vu. As it happens, many people flock to Korea or Japan to see these Cherry Blossoms but Flyskam makes all this impossible. IPCC tells us a major catastrophe is just around the corner, […]
The Val-de-Grâce church is much of a saving grace in its neighbourhood. The area has greatly suffered in the hands of ruthless brutalist architects from the 1970s. Val de Grâce (the valley of grace literally) is a beautiful name. Val de Grâce, a Saving Grace The ‘Val de Grâce * is the earliest military hospital in France. The magnificent church and its monastery were built by Anne of Austria. She was the wife of Louis XIII, to thank God for the […]
Northern Doorways aren’t grand, they often lead to modest houses in working class areas where unemployment is high and income is low. I lived in the North of France for a long long time before moving to Britain and, later on, to Paris. Whenever I go up North it feels like going home even though I left that place a long time ago now. Northern Doorways Around Boulogne I suspect one never quite forgets the place one was raised in, it […]
Some time ago we took the train, a grey train with an orange Z, a Z for Zorro. Even if it wasn’t lightning fast, it took us to our destination, if I may say so, since we were going to Blois and Blois isn’t by the sea but by the Loire. And the Loire doesn’t match up with the sea, it goes without saying (Between Orleans and Blois the flow is much is lower and there are many sandbanks). Blois […]
