Castle cappers

Here are some of the roofs on the logis royal (royal residence) at Loches. Looks very castle-y. The main roof and the conical tower roof on the left are made of slate tiles. The roof over the crenelated tower looks like it's made of stone tiles.

Logis royal, Loches, September 2003.

I had a good trip to the garden center on Tuesday. All the outdoor plants looked healthy and pretty, but I wasn't there for plants. I picked up three bags of seedling soil (for the price of two!), seeds for haricots verts (green beans), haricots beurre (wax or yellow beans), tomates (tomatoes), courgettes (zucchini), and some capucines (nasturtiums)  for color. I also got a bucket of roasted horn and blood meal to add some nitrogen back into the soil. Which reminds me, I have to shovel some compost. But not yet. There's plenty of time for that.

Top 'o the wall

Another random photo from Loches. This time, a view along the western wall of the upper city. Not much to say about it, but I liked the way the wall seems to snake along on its way toward the royal gate.

Wall with moss. Loches, September 2003.

I need to go to the pharmacy this week for prescription renewals, so I'm planning to combine that errand with a stop at the nearby garden center. They're having a sale on seedling soil and seeds, and I need a few other things as we begin to prepare for this year's vegetable garden.

Good knight

While not exactly shining, this is a suit of armure (armor) that was likely worn by a soldier in the late middle ages in France. I can't be certain, of course, because I don't have a photo of the description (visible on the base in front of the knight's left foot). It stands in the Royal Residence in Loches.

A late middle ages/early renaissance suit of armor. Loches, May 2006.

I think we Americans tend to think that all those who wore armor were knights, but as the British well know, the term "knight" is bestowed as an honorific title by a monarch, and not necessarily on a soldier. In France, the term chevalier refers to both a soldier on horseback (cheval means "horse") and the honorific title of "knight." At least that's what I glean from the Wikipedia articles on the subject. Perhaps the most famous of the historical knights were les chevaliers de la table ronde, the Knights of the Round Table of Arthurian legend. Modern day knights include the likes of Sir Alec Guinness, Sir Elton John, Sir Loin of Beef, and Sir Osis of Liver. Ok, those last two are from Loony Toons.

Sunday stained glass

I believe this window is in the logis royal (royal residence) at Loches. It's a symbol of the royalty, replete with a crown and the fleur de lys (lily flower), a favorite symbol of the French monarchy. There are also the letter C and the Roman numeral VII, standing for King Charles VII, who frequented the logis in the fifteenth century.

Original or reproduction? I don't know. Logis royal, Loches, May 2006.

I read in Wikipedia that Charles VII was the first French king to reside in the Loire Valley. He also spent significant time at the Château de Chinon and in the city of Bourges. The last French king to reside in logis at Loches was François I, who is well known for building the magnificent Loire Valley château at Chambord (which is the château you see in the banner photo at the top of this blog), about 100 km northeast of Loches.

Une lucarne

There is always a splash of color among the greys and browns of a French city. A bright red pot and some greenery on the sill of this lucarne (dormer window) give this scene a simple but effective punch.

A dormer window in a slate roof. Loches, June 2011.

We're back down to single digits (but above freezing) now that the clouds are gone. And the full moon lights the night.

Simple elegance

There's something quite inviting about these small urban spaces in French cities and towns. They're often not visible to passersby, tucked behind walls, in courtyards. But from up in the Cité royale above Loches, visitors can catch a glimpse of a few of these private spaces.

Access to the street, a respite from town. Loches, September 2003.

A little outdoor space in a crowded town is nice to have, especially if it's separated from the street. An oasis of calm, a little bit of nature, a place to putter around with flower pots. City dwellers seem to have a knack for making simple, seemingly left-over spaces like this beautiful.

Porte royale

This is a sideways view of the Porte royale (Royal Gate) that leads into the upper city at Loches. Only local traffic is allowed inside the gate (residents, workers) so visitors need to park outside and walk up. There are a couple of parking lots just outside the gate, as you can see, but most people have to park farther below.

Looking south toward the Porte royale, Loches, September 2003.

Our nice weather is expected to end after today with a cold and rainy system predicted for Friday. I did get out yesterday to trim the daisy patch. I use a hedge trimmer to cut the dead stems down, then I rake them up and take them to the compost pile. The new daisy plants are already starting to come up. Daffodils around the yard are on the verge of blooming and the forsythia is starting, too. I'll see how the rain affects all that.

A taste of spring

Tuesday turned out to be a beautiful day after some morning overcast cleared away. Our neighbors from Blois were out (parents, children, grandchildren, and friends) working in their yard all day, mowing, weed whacking, trimming, raking, and who knows what else. I, on the other hand, got two things done: I cleaned up and mowed the oregano patch and pruned our eight grape vines. I could get more done if I had a small army to help. But it's still only February. We have a lot of time.

Fresh spring geraniums on a window ledge. Loches, May 2006.

Today may be the best day of our spring-like spell before it cools off and the rain comes back. I've got one or two more things I might tackle outside today. It feels good to be outdoors and starting the spring cleanup. It doesn't have to be all done at once. As they say in France, petit à petit, l'oiseau fait son nid (little by little, the bird builds its nest).

Laundry day

Sometimes you just have to take advantage of a dry, sunny spring day to get some chores done. Like hanging out the laundry. Or some of it.

Hanging out clothes also adds a little color to the city. Loches, May 2006.

We hang laundry outside during the nice weather in spring, summer, and fall. Otherwise, we hang it indoors or use the dryer. In winter, Ken likes to stretch certain items out on the radiators to dry, taking advantage of the heat to dry them and put some humidity into the air. I don't remember us hanging clothes out before we moved here. We always had and used dryers. I do remember my mother and grandmother using clotheslines when I was a kid. They had dryers, too, but they either liked how clothes dried outside or wanted to save the cost of running the dryer.

Walls and roofs

Here's a more abstract view from up in the Cité royale in Loches. The stone walls of the upper city contrast with the clay roof tiles on the houses in the lower part of the city.

A mix of shades and textures, Loches, May 2006.

The weather was nice yesterday, as predicted, and I got the hydrangeas pruned. We're expecting similar weather for the next few days and there are other little jobs I'd like to do. For instance, the oregano patch needs to be trimmed of last year's growth to make room for this year's. Same for the Jerusalem artichokes and the daisies. I wonder if our landscape contractor will want to get started on the garden path renovation and tree removals this week. Time will tell. I should take some "before" photos.

The neighborhood is almost full this weekend. Our next door neighbor and a friend of hers are here. The people from Blois who own the house across the road are here for a week. And the house two doors down that was converted to an Airbnb rental is occupied.

A (not so) private garden

This private garden is walled off from the street, but it's in full view from the ramparts of the Cité royale in Loches. Whoever owns it did a really nice job. I wouldn't mind a place like this in the middle of the city. I wonder how much it would go for.

Bird's eye view of someone's back yard. Loches, May 2006.

We're expecting a high temperature of 18ºC (64ºF) today. The one thing I want to accomplish outside today is the pruning back of our hydrangeas. They're planted under the deck on either side of the garage door, so when the deck work starts, they'll be vulnerable. Better to have them pruned back than broken. I'm sure the contractor has a way to protect plants while doing the sand-blasting that will be part of the renovation work. We still don't know when he plans to start, but I'm hopeful it will be in the next month or so. I guess it will depend on his other jobs and the weather.

Another view over Loches

This photo was taken near the northern point of the Cité royale in Loches, very close to the royal residence (visible on the right). It's looking roughly eastward. You can see the fifteenth century Porte de Cordeliers down below (with the pointy conical roofs), the eastern gate in what was then the wall around the lower city. The Indre River is just beyond.

There's Ken taking a photo of the Porte des Cordeliers, Loches, May 2006.

From that gate, a street winds around the promontory and up to the Porte Royale on its eastern flank, the only access to the Cité royale above. It's a nice walk through the center of Loches if you don't mind walking uphill.

O'er the ramparts

The city of Loches is actually two cities. The medieval château, the church of Saint-Ours, the renaissance royal residence, and many private residences are built on a rocky promontory above the Indre River. Below, on the flanks of the higher city and in the river valley itself, is where Loches expanded and grew in the centuries after its founding.

Ramparts that once protected the Cité royale in Loches, May 2006.

This is a view of a section of the ramparts that protected the Cité royale (royal city) up on the promontory. There is only one gate that leads up and into the highest part of the city. Other gates were built in the walls of the lower city as it expanded below.

I didn't know much about the history of Loches when I first started going there. My photos are random snapshots of what I saw while wandering around, without rhyme or reason. Since then I've learned a little more about what I was seeing and why it's there.

Wall and window

I think, based on the order these photos are in, that this is one of the walls of the medieval château at Loches. But I wouldn't bet my life on it. I think it's an interesting composition nonetheless.

A castle wall at Loches, May 2006.

We've been having a little trouble recently with Tasha's, um, "bathroom" habits. She's been having a hard time "going" and, when she does, well, the result is wet and runny and not at all normal for her. Sorry.

It occurred to me the other day that it may be her food. Duh. A couple of weeks ago, we changed her wet food to a different brand after getting a coupon for it. It's the same format as her regular pouch food, but made by another (well-known) brand. So we switched her back to the old brand. This morning she had no trouble going and the result was a nice healthy-looking poop. Having animals is so much fun!

Pigeon in a rain spout

Some of the walls of the donjon in Loches are fitted with a modern gutter system to keep rainwater from damaging the stonework. This simple outlet looks to be made of copper. It serves the same purpose as a gargoyle (to project water away from the sides of the building), but is not ornately sculpted.

Pigeon in a rain spout, Loches, May 2006.

The pigeon was standing in the dry outlet, keeping an eye on me as I pointed my camera and snapped the photo. I'm sure I was using my zoom lens and was, therefore, much farther away than it looks.

Inside the donjon

So far I've only found one photo in my collection of the inside of the donjon (keep) at the Château de Loches. I think I may have more, but I obviously didn't label them well enough to find them easily. This one will have to do.

Looking up inside the donjon walls at the medieval castle at Loches, June 2011.

As you can see, the interior structure (beams, floors, walls, and anything else that was not made from stone) is gone. The tower is an empty shell, except for the traces of fireplaces and windows and the numerous small rectangular niches in the walls that, I presume, once supported joists and beams. On the upper left you can see part of the modern metallic walkway and stair that visitors use to get to the top. The vertiginous climb is not for everyone.

Le donjon de Loches

Here I'm standing at the base of the 11th century donjon (keep) at the Château de Loches, looking up. This is a view of the exterior. Visitors can go inside the castle and climb up a modern stair built inside to get views of the surrounding region from the top. The tower is 36 meters (118 feet) tall.

Try scaling those castle walls! Donjon de Loches, May 2006.

There's a lot to see inside the castle, too. It's a paid entry, but well worth it, unless you're mobility impaired. There are many stairs up and down inside the walls and towers that make access difficult. I read on the website that wheelchairs can access the ground floor, but that's about it.

Art imitates life

That's what I called this photo back in 2006 when I took it. It was a sunny and warm May day. Our friend Sue from California was visiting and we took her to see Loches. We visited the old donjon, the church of Saint-Ours, and the renaissance château, and we walked around in the city center for a while.

The Tour St.-Antoine, Loches, in real life and as seen by 19th century painter Emmanuel Lansyer.

Photo from May 2006.

It's difficult to make out what the words below the painting say. The first line might read un amoureux du Lochois (one who loves the region of Loches). And I think the last line might end with ...peint en 1889 (painted in 1889), but I can't be sure.

After I wrote this, I did some extensive quick and dirty research on line and I think I found the painting. It seems to be the work of Emmanuel Lansyer (the big white letters on the poster probably spell out "Lansyer") who lived between 1835 and 1893, and it was indeed painted in 1889. A museum of Lansyer's works exists in Loches, not far from the royal residence where I took this photo.

Random views from Loches

I've taken pictures in Loches a few times over the years, so I thought I'd dust a few of them off and post them, even if I've posted them before. There are two distinct buildings in this view. On the right is a corner of the renaissance château built on a bluff above the center of the city. On the left is the Tour Saint-Antoine, the bell tower of a chapel that's long gone.

The top of the Tour Saint-Antoine seen from the bluff above the city of Loches, September 2003.

The chapel and its bell tower were built in the sixteenth century at what was then the northern edge of the city. After the French Revolution, the tower served as the city's bell tower until it was "decommissioned" in the early nineteenth century following a lightning strike that weakened the structure. The tower remains a nationally listed historic monument.

A front door in Loches

Loches is a small city (just under 7,000 people) about forty minutes south and west of us. Its prominent features include the ruins of a medieval château and its donjon, an interesting church, and a renaissance château, all built on the high bluff that dominates the city. The church is the final resting place of Agnès Sorel (1422-1450), the official mistress of king Charles VII.

Someone's beautfully maintained front door on the streets of Loches, September 2003.

Loches hosts an animated market every Wednesday and Saturday. I haven't been down to Loches in a while, especially since the pandemic hit, but it's a great destination for an easy day trip on a nice day. Besides the castles, the city is quite walkable with lots of shops and restaurants to tempt visitors.

Loches rhymes with a standard American pronunciation of the word "lush."