Le Musée de l’École de Nancy - the gardens part 1

Audrey :  We are writing this post almost a year from when we were actually in Nancy.
Lillian :  Wouldn't it be nice if we could spend every Spring-time in France?

Ah well, at least we can look at all our photos.  And we loved the gardens at Le Musée de l’École de Nancy so much that we went back the following day to spend more time admiring all the flowers.

 

Lilac - Lilas in French.  This just doesn't grow in Sydney Australia - it is hard to believe how scented the flowers are - and the variety of colours.




Audrey :  It makes a cute head-dress or ear-muffs too.

Lillian :  Our people do grow Spanish Bluebells in Sydney.  These bluebells (jacinthe des bois) were a very pretty mauve, nearly pink.

Audrey :  It gets a bit confusing with lilac that is white and bluebells that are mauve ...

but weren't the tree peonies amazing!

 

Audrey :  Those flowers were so large - bigger even than our heads!

  

Lillian :  I liked this dark red peony - the French name for a peony is pivoine.

 

Audrey :  You look like a lovely Spanish dancer with that red flower in your hair Lilian.
Lillian :  Thank you, that's very sweet. 


Lillian :  A lot of the plants in the garden of the museum are those that inspired the Art Nouveau artists of l’École de Nancy.



Lovely white flowers - we think they are a wild columbine or Aquilegia (ancolie in French) they were beautifully placed in front of a screen with fabulous red poppies (pavot). 













Audrey :  Art Nouveau artists and craftspeople were very fond of poppies. 
Fern fronds are also a reoccurring motif in Nancy's Art Nouveau.



 Lillian : Our people thought that perhaps this bush with all the white flowers was the ombelliféres that is another favourite motif for artists like Emile Gallé.

Audrey :  Lucky for me that it was not the Ombrelles - because it seems that the flowers those people liked so much was probably giant hogweed a very nasty plant indeed!   (but please let us know if we have that wrong - and the Ombrelles were some other flower)

Lillian :  A Japanese Maple with wonderful purplish leaves.

Lillian :  Here we are under a Magnolia tree.



And our tour-manager helping us to pose for the camera.










 Audrey :  I think we'll have to save our photos of the buildings and things that are in the grounds of the  Musée de l’École de Nancy for our next post - because this one is so full of photos already.

 Lillian : Well, it is hard to resist sharing photos of flowers like this massive & beautiful pink peony flower.

Avallon - Le Vallee du Cousin

Lillian :  Avallon - the old walled town, sits atop a granite hill and most of the photos we've shown you so far were of that part of Avallon.

Audrey :  In the valley below runs the River Cousin - very pwetty, with ducks and fish in it and sweet little bwidges over it.

Audrey : The French don't pwonounce 'Cousin' like the relative - start like a dove's 'Coo' then 'son' to rhyme with The Crystals 'Da doo Ron Ron' and you've got it - almost.

Lillian :  Our people had explored the Vallee du Cousin a little on their previous visit - in December 2007.  The river was not quite so gentle and calm then. 

Audrey :  What a skinny bridge!

Lillian :  Our people say it was either a foot-bridge or aqueduct, and that it was behind a large disused mill.  There are lots of old mills and such along the Cousin.

Audrey : We found this disused building which was once a tannery.


And there was an overgrown picnic spot with this deer - set somewhat strangely half-way up the rock cliff.

It was quite a hot day when we went for that long walk down to the valley ... and then back up the hill! 

Lillian :  On the slopes there are some lovely homes

 

and the famous garden plots where the locals grow fabulous fruit and vegies.  This lovely photo is also from our people's previous visit.

 Audrey : What a sweet old wheelbarrow - but we saw some donkeys!    I love donkeys, don't you?  

Lillian : Yes, there are the donkeys again, with the old hill-top part of Avallon in the background - the spire is St Lazare.

And now looking the other way - from the top, down across the valley.

Audrey :  To an Australian that landscape looks so green and lush.   Many of the locals are keen gardeners - I think I understand why.  Remember those fruit trees we saw - pruned to an ideal shape for very small people - or Blythe dolls - they were only a few feet tall!! 




 Lillian :  And the gorgeous peony flowers ...  

A rich red bloom amongst Lily of the Valley - parfait!

Audrey : I think I understand why our people would like to live in Avallon - a pretty and historic town, climate and soil perfect for growing almost anything and fantastic food.   What could be better after a warm spring day spent exploring; than a meal of goat's cheese, wonderful fresh bread, a local Chablis, mineral water and for desert ... an apple pie or

 

A Fantastic Meringue !!!