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Post by breeze on Dec 13, 2015 13:52:33 GMT
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Post by breeze on Dec 13, 2015 13:55:35 GMT
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 13, 2015 22:06:07 GMT
Impressive! Glad to see more of this region, although the horse show thread is super too.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 14, 2015 3:43:48 GMT
Excellent!
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Post by breeze on Dec 14, 2015 11:55:33 GMT
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Post by htmb on Dec 14, 2015 12:58:26 GMT
Marvelous photos, Breeze. Were these taken with your new camera?
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Post by breeze on Dec 14, 2015 13:24:36 GMT
htmb, I think all of these are older photos, pre-Sony.
Thanks for your kind comments, bixa, kerouac, and htmb.
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 14, 2015 17:13:42 GMT
Breeze, those are calendar-worthy pictures! And that second one could be a prize winner anywhere.
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Post by breeze on Dec 15, 2015 12:04:16 GMT
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Post by tod2 on Dec 15, 2015 16:18:38 GMT
All absolutely superb Breeze! I love that last shot of the chateau with all it's turrets showing.
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Post by breeze on Dec 16, 2015 12:07:18 GMT
About 200 years before the Perche started exporting horses to the American west, it exported settlers to Canada. About 250 people emigrated from villages that are now part of the Orne in France. They were recruited by a few enthusiasts for Nouvelle France and settled along the St Lawrence river. The (or one) founder of the Ursulines was a wealthy widow from tiny Bivilliers.
There’s a museum of emigration at Tourouvre which nowadays draws a lot of Canadians searching for their roots.
Driving along a very rural road we saw this sign, which starts out “This house has a history.” As I read it, Guillaume Pelletier was born here in 1598. He, his wife, and their son Jean left for Nouvelle France in 1641. There are now thousands of descendants in 11 generations of Pelletiers in Canada. “This house is now inhabited by a Pelletier, Quebecoise of the ninth generation.”
I’m not sure that’s still true. The last time we drove this lonely road the sign wasn’t on the gate anymore.
[img src="https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5667/23035588759_8268f0177c_c.jpg" alt="[cette maison]"]
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Post by breeze on Dec 16, 2015 12:07:57 GMT
I'll try again.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 17, 2015 5:16:43 GMT
I love all of these photos, but you know what? Most of the French don't even know where the Perche is. Everybody has heard the name, but since it is a "micro region," not many people could pinpoint it on a map like, say, Alsace or Dordogne. Before seeing your report, I just had the vague notion "somewhere in Normandy."
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 17, 2015 6:01:15 GMT
Breeze is A Force for Good.
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Post by breeze on Dec 17, 2015 13:03:03 GMT
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Post by mich64 on Dec 17, 2015 13:12:53 GMT
Beautiful photos Breeze, I especially like the photo of the bridge over the road.
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Post by htmb on Dec 17, 2015 13:18:36 GMT
That's an interesting set of maps. I now see I was way off in thinking I knew the location of the Perche.
I love the long roads and paths encircled in vegetation.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 17, 2015 14:43:42 GMT
I like the old train station buildings. I actually had a 2nd cousin who lived in an old "garde-barrière" house along an abandoned train line.
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Post by htmb on Dec 17, 2015 15:02:08 GMT
The straight paths are old train lines?
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Post by Deleted on Dec 17, 2015 15:29:40 GMT
No, but the buildings with town names on them (Dorceau, Neuilly-le-Bisson) are train stations.
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Post by breeze on Dec 17, 2015 15:39:38 GMT
htmb, if you mean the photos, yes, they are from the rail-trail. It was a short line that went through forests and farm country and as time went on there was less and less need for train service there. Now it's busy again, this time with bikers and walkers.
There is one train line still in use, Paris to Nogent-le-Rotrou to Alencon and then on to somewhere beyond.
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Post by htmb on Dec 17, 2015 15:51:13 GMT
It's nice the line was turned into a very pretty path for walkers and bikers. Have you made many visits to the area, breeze?
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Post by breeze on Dec 17, 2015 15:55:09 GMT
Not enough visits yet! We first went there in 2007 and have been back every year except 2013. Our regular B&B hostess said last time, You are not tourists. You are ethnologues!
I had to look it up.
We like to start and end our trips to France there and also go to some old and some new-to-us places.
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 17, 2015 17:41:30 GMT
Beautiful and fascinating, Breeze. I love your long shots and am totally smitten with the white-trunked tree shot. The maps are quite interesting. I can even see how someone with a car might consider the area as a hub if visiting for a long enough time.
Have you ever taken the remaining train and, if so, is it old-fashioned?
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Post by breeze on Dec 17, 2015 21:57:46 GMT
Sorry, bixa, I don't know anything about the Paris-Alencon trains or even much about French trains in general. I'm pretty sure the Paris-Nogent-and-beyond train serves commuters.
We've considered taking a train to Paris for a day trip (this would be from l'Aigle). We are old enough to get the senior discount, always a draw for us.
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Post by breeze on Dec 18, 2015 13:01:17 GMT
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Post by breeze on Dec 18, 2015 13:09:25 GMT
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Post by mossie on Dec 18, 2015 16:44:39 GMT
Looks a nice typical French country place. I didn't realise they had Wallace fountains outside Paris, or has this one been transplanted?
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Post by bjd on Dec 18, 2015 17:02:09 GMT
Lots of Parisian have places in the country to the west of Paris, Mossie. I guess this fountain does too.
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Post by breeze on Dec 18, 2015 20:09:35 GMT
mossie and bjd, I didn't think this could be a Wallace fountain because they're so associated with Paris, but I looked up Wallace fountains on wikipedia and they do exist outside of Paris, even outside of France.
This one is at Nogent-le-Rotrou. On market day it's surrounded by plants for sale.
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