The network of channels and canals that drain the marais encloses a series of fields which are put to various uses by the locals. The water channels are described with some precision by specific words according to their size. Having…
Tag: France
The Emperor’s Clothes
Francine had devised a cunning plan to barter for the use of Mike & Linda’s washing machine: maniac that she is, she volunteered to help Linda working on her allotment (a.k.a. the farm) for half a day. The allotments in…
Long-Term Interest
There are a few areas of France that are capable of holding our attention, not only repeatedly and for extended periods of time. The Marais Poitevin is certainly one of those areas. Our interest began many years ago when we…
Scarcely Recognisable
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I frequently concentrate so much on the process of photography that I don’t actually notice what it is I’m photographing. Maybe one day, it will become second nature enough for that…
À la Marais
We tend to buy a French newspaper to have access to a relatively reliable weather forecast showing the whole country. This way, we can avoid intentionally driving into storms. We bought one in Luché-Pringé and everything looks set fair at…
Luché-Pringé
There are two rivers called the “Loire/Loir” in France: there’s the main “La Loire” (female) and the more minor “Le Loir” (male). Le Loir is a tributary of La Loire. La Loire is the one everyone has heard of; this…
Posted in 2011 Spring Tagged with: damselflies, dragonflies, France, nature, photography, travel, wildlife
Jeux avec Sally
Our first main target is the Marais Poitevin, ~30m/50km inland from La Rochelle halfway down the French west coast, where we have friends living. It would be a trip of ~330m/550km trip from Neufchâtel-en-Bray which, though perfectly possible dragging Guillaume,…
Disorganised Departure
You’d be forgiven for thinking that I’m a novice at this travelling game. Preparations seemed to be going well. Two days before our departure I went a fetched Guillaume and gave him his traditional pre-departure bath. I was obviously keen…
A Roundabout Way
Many years ago when Francine and I started travelling to France, there were no roundabouts. All road junctions were just that, junctions – cross-roads and the like. There were, of course, a few oddities peculiar to the French, such as…
Great Drivers – NOT!
Much as we may love France and many of the French we’ve met, it has to be said that they are not the world’s greatest drivers. They believe they are, of course, as is evidenced by the fact that they…
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