tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18071407.post7876776083617678891..comments2024-03-28T11:41:43.558+01:00Comments on Living the life in Saint-Aignan: Life at La RenaudièreKen Broadhursthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04430899802705818716noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18071407.post-71645021762787463292013-11-15T13:54:09.620+01:002013-11-15T13:54:09.620+01:00Hi
I often look at your blog,
We have a small cott...Hi<br />I often look at your blog,<br />We have a small cottage down the other side of the zoo.<br />CharlesAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07319591022757357176noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18071407.post-47661580867748811352011-11-08T19:28:24.019+01:002011-11-08T19:28:24.019+01:00Hello Jan,
From my point of view, whether a villa...Hello Jan,<br /><br />From my point of view, whether a village is <i>mort</i> or just peaceful is all a matter of perspective. And it depends on the hour of the day, and the weather too. At lunchtime, or if the weather is hot, rainy, or otherwise not conducive to being outside, you are right — in these villages, you probably won't see anybody.<br /><br />But people are here. City eyes sometimes have a hard time recognizing the signs of their activity: mowed lawns, trimmed hedges, well-tended vegetable gardens, and so on.<br /><br />Specifically, Thésée has a very good and busy boulangerie, a couple of restaurants, a pharmacy, and some cafés. They can be very busy. Pouillé is more exclusively residential, but the population has not declined significantly since 1872. The reason you don't see people out on the streets is that everybody now has a car. We in the countryside drive to the supermarket, to the bank, even to the open-air markets. We don't walk much. I'm sure that's different from 50 years ago, <i>sans parler de la vie au 19e siècle.</i><br /><br />"Dead" is in the eye of the beholder. And so is "the middle of nowhere." Maybe the Garden of Eden was there.Ken Broadhursthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04430899802705818716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18071407.post-77794277464016453172011-11-07T16:30:32.015+01:002011-11-07T16:30:32.015+01:00Hi Ken,
I am French and live in Germany. I have t...Hi Ken,<br /><br />I am French and live in Germany. I have to admit my Frenglish might sometimes be hard to cope with, and it will certainly get worse with German mixing in...<br />What I meant by "dead" was that sometimes you cannot see any sign of life. Sure you've got buildings, but a single person outside. In French you'd say something like "ce village est mort", which does not necessarily imply nobody live there. It just means you could not tell from the lack of action, how many people are actually inside the buildings. I think that was my mistake.<br /><br />I remember my mum often made this reflexion ("villages morts") as we were driving through places like Pouillé or Thésée. May be I am exaggerating it, just because I heard it too often as a kid. I'll ask her if she ever saw them more lively. I guess you have to visit these places on the "marché" day in order to really appreciate the situation. During summer time, the difference is striking between a place like St-Aignan that can really be crowded, but surrounding villages aren't. You must know better because you live there. It is just the impression I always get driving through. And I know some villages not too far away where there used to be more action as nowadays. May be I idealized this as a kid. My wife cannot understand how I could enjoy spending my "grandes vacances" in the middle of nowhere, so may be there is something to it.<br /><br />Anyway, on the next occasion I'll take the time and ring the bell (we were in a rush, in a car loaded with kids, but I wanted to see the place :). I am actually pretty sure I saw your house. The picture accompanying your post is exactly the view I had from the street. I always imagined your house being in the middle of the garden, a big alley leading from that gate you see on the picture to your front door.Jannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18071407.post-85530407457878521942011-11-07T13:43:12.307+01:002011-11-07T13:43:12.307+01:00Jan, not sure where you were, but there's a co...Jan, not sure where you were, but there's a contradiction between "packed with houses" and "dead" or quiet.<br /><br />Some new houses have been built down the hill from our hamlet. That's Les Laurendières, not La Renaudière. Next time, stop at our place and ring the bell. We might be taking naps, or we might be working in the garden...<br /><br />I'm not sure I agree at all about the dying or abandoned villages. There are people in nearly all the houses, at least seasonally. There are new houses being built all around, but not big subdivisions as in America. I don't know where you live. If you're in the U.K., especially England, well, that's a different, very crowded, very traffic-dense world from the Loire Valley, according to my British friends.Ken Broadhursthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04430899802705818716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18071407.post-34690060345762332692011-11-07T13:34:33.884+01:002011-11-07T13:34:33.884+01:00As a kid, we often drove through St-Aignan to visi...As a kid, we often drove through St-Aignan to visit relatives in the area. I thought I remembered to have seen a road sign pointing to la Renaudière while driving towards Angé. Last summer I drove there again, and followed the road sign. When I got there, I was surprised to end up in a place that seemed "packed" with houses (your pictures always give a feeling of much space). I just went there out of curiosity, as I was yet again on my way to visit some relatives. I think I saw your house, but no sign of life. The whole hamlet seemed pretty (dead :) quiet. Thinking about it, the whole region seems to be made up of abandoned or slowly dying villages. It's been like this for decades.Jannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18071407.post-57651761806771365612011-11-06T21:32:49.311+01:002011-11-06T21:32:49.311+01:00From the past year plus that I have been following...From the past year plus that I have been following your blog, Ken, your life in your locale seems very calming and perfect for retirement. Jean expressed it well!<br /><br />Mary in OregonMaryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04911284607089608538noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18071407.post-1502649701925595692011-11-06T04:17:07.925+01:002011-11-06T04:17:07.925+01:00Add to Jean and Nadège: retired from the hectic bu...Add to Jean and Nadège: retired from the hectic business world so you can devote your time to the things you love.<br /><br />woooo hooooooo!Seine Judeet (Judith)https://www.blogger.com/profile/07407353544376132484noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18071407.post-11784551129708443662011-11-05T23:54:56.613+01:002011-11-05T23:54:56.613+01:00The Google picture almost looks like a gold with w...The Google picture almost looks like a gold with white sand traps.Starmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12386841450183061541noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18071407.post-20181109453092690062011-11-05T17:47:58.722+01:002011-11-05T17:47:58.722+01:00Just to add something extra to Jean's comment ...Just to add something extra to Jean's comment : you are also close enough to Paris and lucky to have a train station near by.Amandahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06031276247743743680noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18071407.post-11510755316494440152011-11-05T17:45:56.293+01:002011-11-05T17:45:56.293+01:00This comment has been removed by the author.Amandahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06031276247743743680noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18071407.post-3720190202403180522011-11-05T15:12:58.118+01:002011-11-05T15:12:58.118+01:00Nicely written Ken - as usual :-) and very descrip...Nicely written Ken - as usual :-) and very descriptive. Talking about the steep road leading to your house, if it is as snowy as in Quebec kids will have fun in the winter ( assuming no car or trucks). <br />BTW; putting your address in the GPS made it easy to get to your place and hasslefree ( or should I say no stress at all) as far as navigating is concernedThe beavernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18071407.post-56545102566993036962011-11-05T14:40:31.737+01:002011-11-05T14:40:31.737+01:00I agree with Jean :)I agree with Jean :)Seine Judeet (Judith)https://www.blogger.com/profile/07407353544376132484noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18071407.post-87864853971478873532011-11-05T14:23:21.896+01:002011-11-05T14:23:21.896+01:00I think you live in an ideal spot. You have enoug...I think you live in an ideal spot. You have enough neighbours nearby not to be too isolated and most of your shopping needs within a short drive. Peace and quiet too. Lots of touristy entertainment within easy reach for you and your visitors. Nice surroundings - no litter or graphiti and light traffic most of the time. A pleasant climate with largely good summers and a long growing season for your garden produce. Winters not too harsh. Enough of the trappings of 21st century life to be comfortable and not much of the aggravation that goes with it. Perfect.Jeanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01758423316220067958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18071407.post-73465152599853165562011-11-05T13:22:56.672+01:002011-11-05T13:22:56.672+01:00Thought id say hello while passing your blog by, a...Thought id say hello while passing your blog by, and i hope you folks have a very nice weekend. We are maybe a little past fall peek colors for taking pictures of our tree's here in central Pennsylvania, but ill try anyway to go out one last time to snap some images. Richard from the Amish community of Lebanon Pennsylvania.trumphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14379869475899318079noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18071407.post-73848982811321560902011-11-05T13:13:38.058+01:002011-11-05T13:13:38.058+01:00We just began our "trial" life in a Fren...We just began our "trial" life in a French Hamlet. In 4 month the verdict will be in.<br />It's about 20 Minutes to Saint Jean d'Angely, three km to the closest town.<br />We all love the quietness and the climate so far.The Celiac Husbandhttp://www.theceliachusband.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.com