6 January 2018

ANGLES–SUR-L’ANGLIN

Angles

So, continuing the posts about last years unposted events and photos, to pass the time……………..

A good place to visit in February, when there are no crowds of tourists, is Angles-sur-L’Anglin.  It certainly is a beautiful and fascinating town but often spoiled by traffic and hordes of people.  There was none of that last February.

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The reason I was there last February was that I had returned to France ahead of Nick, with a friend for company and with Daisy (who was fed up with being indoors in our then UK house) in order to check up on our French house after damage had been reported during some storms.  Nick still had a couple of sessions of rehab at the hospital to complete before he could join me, so for two weeks I was “off the lead”.  It suddenly dawned on me that I would have to somehow entertain myself and my friend for these two weeks, at a time of year when many of the touristy places are closed.  Angles seemed a good place to pass some time and take some photos and possibly get a spot of lunch.

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Of course, it being February, lunch options were limited, but we managed to find a very nice pizza restaurant open that I hadn’t tried before and we had a really nice meal, followed by a lovely walk around town.  It was a bit chilly, but it was nice to see the place without the frantic crowds.

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A visit there is always good and I never tire of taking photos.  These two old cars seem to have been parked in the same spot for years.

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It is also an excellent place for indulging in my fascination for old doors and windows. 

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The place is full of them.  You would be tempted to think that the properties are all completely empty and deserted but a visit in the middle of summer would reveal that most of them are very much occupied and in use for something or other, for many months of the year.

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This one does, I have to admit, look unlikely to be occupied usefully, but you just never know.

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These two doors look like they’re for the same building, but one is in good repair and the other much worse, suggesting possibly not.  They seem to share a lintel but until you get a peek inside it’s impossible to guess what’s going on there.

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This door is probably a gate, leading to a courtyard of some kind.  It’s surprising how so often large and well kept courtyard or gardens lie behind an unimposing outer door.  I never tire of visiting Angles, and fantasising about what lies behind its lovely old doors.

7 comments:

  1. January and February do seem to drag on. And the daily chore of dealing with the wood fire does get old. But this year it's been relatively warm. I haven't needed a fire for two weeks! Yesterday it cooled down again, so the fires are back on.

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  2. This is a good time of year to spend a lot of time in a warm kitchen, cooking delicious and nourishing food. I have a coq au vin in the oven right now. And about those doors: the most fascinating and intriguing place for wondering what is behind big closed doors along the old streets is Paris. It's endlessly entertaining.

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    1. Ken, you're right. When we've got our house "done up" sufficiently we'll be able to do the same, spend time in the kitchen.
      It's too long since I was in Paris, Nick more tecently for work. Maybe this year.

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  3. I do all my planning and dreaming for the garden in these dreary weeks, I’ll be ordering some seeds today; I love it now the days are noticeably longer. Keep the photos of old windows and doors coming!

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  4. Hi Jean, we’ve holidayed in northern France many times and it’s always been a complete mystery to me why so many villages seems almost deserted in the middle of the morning. (and this could be in the warmer spring months too.) Maybe only one or two souls in the street as we drive through, when in uk things would be bustling at the same time. Wonder why this is, where is everybody??!

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    1. Stella, I know exactly what you mean!
      I think that in reality there are more people indoors than you would think, or possibly outdoors at the back if it's good weather.
      At lunchtime places are often deserted for two hours while everyone is home having lunch.
      I think a lot of these villages will be quiet during the day, youngsters being at school and workers being at work. Sadly a lot of villages have now lost their village shops, due to competition from out of town supermarkets, as everywhere, so there is not much on the high street to tempt people out of their homes.

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