Tag: Angers

Geometry and a Bit of Fun in Angers

I had various ideas for today’s post, our last day in Angers. In the end, a late afternoon walk made my decison. A couple of shops, and a street-name sign with a commentary provided a bit of light-heartedness among the rain-dodging of the day.

First, an estate agent. Who knew that giraffes sell houses? Vaguely geometric giraffes, anyway.

Or that Harlequin was a men’s outfitter? In a niche in a very geometric building.

Or that some wag thought a modified name might work better on one city street? Said wag prints in nicely geometic lettering…

Later today, we’ll be in St. Malo for an overnight sailing to Portsmouth. Here’s hoping the scheduled wind will have dropped by then 🙄

GeometricJanuary.

Geometry in Angers

Adam’s House

I expect not one word of sympathy from British readers when I say that yesterday in Angers was very cold, very wet and very windy. My camera got creaky from the damp, and we didn’t walk around as much as planned. But we had a good day. We ‘did’ the castle and will report back later. I ‘did’ the David d’Angers Gallery, and will report back later. And here are geometric views from the streets, including geometric chocolate which, trust me, you can’t afford.

I definitely need to include this: a building whose canopy had a circular hole built into its design, to allow the pre-existing tree to continue to flourish, as it always had.

GeometricJanuary

Geometry in Le Château d’Angers

The view of the castle from our hotel room.

We’ve arrived in Angers. Irritatingly, Sally SatNav pronouncs it just like that. Angers. In fact, it’s ‘On-jay’.

Any right-thinking Brit should have this town on their travel itinierary when in France, because (to quote Wikipedia) ‘Angers was the seat of the Plantagenet (or Anjou) dynasty, and for over 300 years English monarchs had Angevin blood, from Henry II in 1154 to Richard III in 1485. The Angevin Kings of England had strong claims to the French throne, which eventually plunged the two nations into the Hundred Years War.’ And our hotel is opposite the seat of much of the action. Le Château d’Angers, built in the 9th – 13th centuries. We’re going to visit it today, and I dare say I shall have plenty more to say, either in my next post, or more likely once we get home. For now, we’ll look at a few outside views, and also admire the stylised geometry of the formal gardens now filling the moat.

GeometricJanuary.