I think this will be my last Valençay post. I'm moving on... to where I'm not sure. Another month of lock-down (confinement) in France means more travelogues from me, in all likelihood.
08 April 2021
Valençay's horse-drawn carriage
One of the features of the fine-weather season at Valençay is a series of little costume dramas that are performed in the courtyard of the château. Quite a few local people are employed by or have signed contracts with the château to provide costumes and other services. The actors wear microphones and the spectators can hear them over loudspeakers, but unless things have changed the scenes are performed only in French.
I think this will be my last Valençay post. I'm moving on... to where I'm not sure. Another month of lock-down (confinement) in France means more travelogues from me, in all likelihood.
I think this will be my last Valençay post. I'm moving on... to where I'm not sure. Another month of lock-down (confinement) in France means more travelogues from me, in all likelihood.
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I'm all for a new travelogue.
ReplyDeleteBut I'm not all for putting these poor horses into slavery!
Should we feel guilty for keeping poor Tasha in slavery? LOL I imagine "domesticated" horses live longer, healthier lives than wild ones. Where are there wild horses nowadays anyway? Wyoming? Idaho? Asateague and Chincoteague? On the N.C. Outer Banks? Mongolia?
DeleteThe wild mustangs here in Arizona seem to be thriving. I can see them from the road when I visit my dad who lives outside of Phoenix, Arizona. For me it’s a big thrill whenever I see them.
DeleteI love seeing this beautiful horse. Life was different in "horse and buggy days". My mother was carried to school on horseback by her mother. My father earned a nickel a day for riding the plow horse on the family farm. One day he ate too much at lunch and fell asleep, falling under the gentle animal who stopped. I've heard both stories all my life and will probably repeat them to my grandkids.
DeleteI've seen wild horses also- a wonderful sight.
DeleteE., I remember you said you saw the wild horses on Carrot Island, across Taylor's Creek from the Beaufort NC waterfront, when you were there a few years ago. And also dolphins swimming in the creek.
DeleteYes, you grew up seeing some wonderful things, Ken.
DeleteYou may be in lockdown, but time will tell who had the right strategy. Things are very open here and people are getting a little careless. Valençay's gardens are lovely.
ReplyDeleteI think there is a major misunderstanding among everyday citizens and many politicians (the Texas and Florida governors, for example) when it comes to how Covid vaccines work. Do they prevent the vaccinated from become infected with the virus and in turn infecting others? I thought they just kept the vaccinated from developing the worst symptoms once infected and avoiding death by suffocation. So if I'm vaccinated and have a Covid passport that allows me to eat in restaurants etc. maskless and undistanced, am I no longer infecting the people around me? Can we be sure of that?
DeleteWe're not sure of that, and as I understand it...you can still get Covid with a vaccine but the odds are reduced. If you do get it, it will be a lighter version.
DeleteKen, As I understand it, it's a bit of both. If you are vaxed and get the coronavirus, it will be a lighter case. So far, people in that category are staying out of the hospitals and the morgues. But I think you can also transmit if you have the virus on your person. The CDC may have some clarification on that.
DeleteBeautiful photos and colour. Those costume dramas must be a bit odd to witness.
ReplyDeleteI don't remember them being odd. It was fun to watch and listen. I guess Valençay is a mini-Disneyland, without the rides and with some history.
DeleteOh, more travelogues please! Armchair traveling is all we can do for now, and your photos and commentary are excellent. Helps me plan where I'd like to visit once we are vaccinated and restrictions lifted. Not much longer now.
ReplyDeleteI will continue. Maybe one day we'll be able to travel again. There are plenty of places I would still like to see.
DeleteI love your travelogues! I first found your blog when you wrote about Mennetou-sur-Cher!
ReplyDeleteThanks Lynn. The first time I went to Mennetou was in 2000. I've been back there half a dozen times since then.
ReplyDeleteI would so love to ride in one of those period carriages. For writing research, you understand. I wonder if that's possible?
ReplyDeleteBonjour, Ken. Merci pour ces photos très intéressantes du carrosse et de son cheval. Nous avons visité le Château de Valençay lors de notre voyage en France en 2011. Avec mon club de lecture francophone, je lis en ce moment « Le hussard sur le toit ». Ce livre raconte une histoire qui se déroule au début du 19ème siècle. Du coup, il est plein de mots équestres: le cheval, la selle, les sangles, l’attelage, la crinière, la croupe, le mors, à hue et à dia, et même le montoir (https://fr.m.wikisource.org/wiki/Dictionnaire_raisonné_de_l’architecture_française_du_XIe_au_XVIe_siècle/Montoir).
ReplyDeleteLe temps de jadis, quoi !🏇
Merci, Dean France, de m'avoir appris un mot que je ne connaissais pas dans ce sens : montoir.
DeleteMerci aussi du lien vers le Dictionnaire raisonné...
Dean France, votre français est tellement excellent que vous me permettrez une petite remarque, on dit le temps jadis, sans de.
DeleteThanks for the correction, CHM ! And thanks for complimenting my French. It really means a lot coming from someone like you who has such a deep knowledge of the French language. I’m really surprised I was able to find the use of a word you weren’t familiar with! Bonne journée !
ReplyDeleteThanks for the correction, CHM ! And thanks for complimenting my French. It really means a lot coming from someone like you who has such a deep knowledge of the French language. I’m really surprised I was able to find the use of a word you weren’t familiar with! Bonne journée !
ReplyDelete