Doors

This morning when I picked up my baguette and croissant, the lady behind the counter went into the back to get me a fresh-out-of-the-oven croissant. None of those been sitting around for half an hour croissants for me! She is so nice – they all are.

Things here are very interactive. When you go into a shop you say bonjour, and when you leave you say bonne journée. The bakery lady was trying to teach me how to say bonne journée with the right inflection and with the emphasis on the right syllable. I really think I should have taken music as a child so I’d have developed an ear. Sometimes I feel hopeless. Most of the time though, hopeful.

We’re going to do doors today. The first one is a big one! It’s right by my house and it’s call the Porte des Cordeliers. It is the youngest of the four gates (it was built in 1498) that protect the town wall, and is named after the former monastery located nearby. If I understand things correctly, the building I live in was a mill that was run by the monastery. It was a wool mill first, and then a flour mill. The machines were driven by harnessing the power of the water. You saw that power yesterday.

Because we’re doing the Porte des Cordeliers, I’m also including a picture of the former Cordeliers monastery. (Well, what’s left of it.). It was thought to be founded in 1237 by Franciscan monks who wore a cord belt with three knots – hence the name, the Cordeliers. All the buildings have been reconstructed and the monastery was closed in 1772. Here is the entrance to what used to be:

I know I’m a bit of a neat freak, but doesn’t it look like they took those Ionic columns apart, maybe to move them, and when they put them back together they didn’t quite get them back together right. They should have numbered them! A bit of planning always saves time in the end.

Here’s the sign on the Convent entrance. It was private, I couldn’t go in.

Our next big door is the Porte Royal. I know I’ve shown it to you before, but I like it. It was used as a defensive gate and is the only access to the medieval fortress (where the Saint-Ours church, the Logis Royal and the Donjon all are). In the 15th century there was a drawbridge here. How cool is that!

Now some just regular doors that people live behind.

These people used to have a carving of someone (probably famous) above their door, but time has worn the face off completely.

This is the door to that Rose Clos that has a rose bush on either side. I’m getting bolder! I think the metal decoration is roses.

This is about as simple as you can get, and it’s still more decorative that most doors at home. I wish I had a picture of our door. It’s lovely too.

This one has character. You can’t see how tall or short they are in the pictures, but they do come in all sizes and shapes.I got a kick out of the note on this one. Can you see it at the bottom on the door above step? It says “Courier” and there’s an arrow indicating (I suspect) that piece of wood is hinged and you can deliver parcels behind it. How many years ago did the tree that lintel was made from grow? It’s just sitting there doing its job all these years later.

And you never know what’s inside the garage.

Sometimes, on a sunny day, a door opens and you can see what’s inside. In this case the outside is inside.

If I understand the inscription above this door, the king lives here.

You can’t see this door properly, but it’s fantastic! It has the world’s largest door knocker! Even larger than the one DH brought back from Venice. And, in addition to the door knocker, it has a bell pull as a doorbell (on the right of the door frame). I guess when your walls are made of stone you might miss a caller or two if you’re not careful.

That last door had shutters and, in keeping with that theme, I saw these window shutters with little hearts in them. I thought they were precious, but then started wondering. Do the holes in shutters serve a purpose? This is the door to a museum/art gallery that I keep trying to get into, and it continues to be closed for works. I really hope it opens before I have to leave. But I can come back.

One last picture today. I’ve found another kitty. This one did not want to be anywhere near me so it’s a terrible picture. He’s a big one though.

Hug someone today.