Showing posts with the label France

Saint Guinefort: The Holy Greyhound

Dec 8, 2020

Around the second half of the 13th century, a Dominican friar known as Stephen of Bourbon, began travelling the width and breadth of souther...

The Spectacle of Death at The Paris Morgue

Oct 8, 2020

Throughout the 19th century, the Paris morgue attracted thousand of visitors every day. Eager tourists consumed by a morbid fascination with...

Pierre André Latreille: The Entomologist Who Escaped Death Because of a Beetle

Sep 29, 2020

Pierre André Latreille owed his life to a beetle. The French zoologist is often considered to be the father of modern entomology, having mad...

The Underground Fortress of Château de Brézé

Sep 23, 2020

Château de Brézé is a small castle by European standards. Occupying less than 2 acres, this modest U-shaped building surrounded by a dry moa...

Etienne Bottineau And The Lost Art of Nauscopie

Sep 16, 2020

Etienne Bottineau was a sailor and an employee of the French East India Company who possessed a remarkable skill. Bottineau could detect shi...

Désert de Retz

Sep 14, 2020

François Racine de Monville had at his disposal a large estate on the edge of a 2,000-hectare-forest, in the commune of Chambourcy, about 15...

The Windmills of Paris

Jul 3, 2020

Windmills of Montmartre, Maurice Utrillo. Paris is not exactly hilly, but there are a couple of high points in the city where one can ea...

The Meridian That Stood Up To Greenwich

Jun 24, 2020

Railways, in the late 19th century, ushered in a revolution in transport, but with that arose one unexpected problem. Back then, there was...

The Cobbled Hell of Trouée d'Arenberg

Jun 13, 2020

The famous cobblestone road through the forest of Saint-Amand-Wallers, in France. Photo: Radu Razvan/Shutterstock.com The forest of Sain...

Llívia: A Curious Spanish Enclave in France

Jun 3, 2020

A welcome sign on the road to Llívia, a landlock state of Spain inside France. Photo: LMspencer/Shutterstock.com Deep in the Pyrenees, s...