I am fascinated by the houses and the barns here. Most were built in the 1700 and early 1800s. Some have been renovated - which means double glazed windows put in and maybe a conservatory out the back like my house has, but with no change whatsoever to the presentation of it. There are a couple of new places in La Longueville, but they are built in exactly the same style with exactly the same red brick so they just blend in readily.
The satellite dish looks a bit incongruous on the outside of this house!
Flowers adorn the outside of most houses.
Most houses, whether renovated or not, have electric roll down shutters attached to the outside of the windows. This helps keep the house cool and also keeps warmth in during winter. One house we visited has had a complete makeover with inside rooms changed etc. It still looks traditional though. Out the back I was shown a circular cobbled path which they have left intact. It was the path around which the bullocks walked pulling something to help generate the electricity for the house a couple of centuries ago!
It was a beautiful fine morning for doing the job and the whole exercise most enjoyable. When finished, Therese took me a few kilometres up the road to stand with one foot in France and one in Belgium!
What a wonderful opportunity to practise your French, meeting all the locals like that! Small places are always much friendlier aren't they. So interesting to read about your first big activity! Keep smiling :)
ReplyDeleteYou are often in my thoughts, Marie. Danielle's daughter-in-law was born in Charlois and I see the name often on road signs. I remember reading your blog about you sussing out the bus trip to get to school before you actually had to do it. That will be me tomorrow! My first school is in Bavay, a small town near here.
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