theonlyD800inthehameau
Photography by theonlydeadheadinthehameau
Thursday Doors: Thiers – doors without number
Posted on August 25, 2016
Thiers is a major town in the Auvergne region of France. It has a well-preserved medieval centre and is widely known as the nation’s knife capital. I mean that in a good way: it is the centre of the knife (and, more broadly, the cutlery) industry. Just like it says here:
As I discovered on a recent visit, it is also quite possibly the French motherlode for interesting doors, both ancient and modern. In fact, I spotted so many irresistible portals that I’ve had to split them into three posts for sharing here; so, odd numbers, even numbers and, this week, neither. Doors without number indeed.
I particularly like the pastel tones and composition of this one (plus it’s an unusual doorway):
Just for a change, a pair of cellar doors; haven’t seen any of these for quite a few years:
There’s even a door where another door used to be:
Thursday Doors 25 August 2016
Thursday Doors: Mortemart
Posted on August 18, 2016
Mortemart, about a twenty-minute drive from here at Tranquility Base, is listed as being among the most beautiful villages in France, according to the association Les Plus Beaux Villages de France. It’s all a matter of individual taste, of course, and personally I don’t think it’s a patch on Montrol-Sénard, which is another five minutes up the road and has made many appearances on this blog, and not just on the theme of doors.
However, it does have a few interesting doors, including this one, my particular favourite. Who can resist a ‘two-tone’ example that also boasts a ‘door within a door’?
or a long disused one like this:
Or even this more prosaic example:
Thursday Doors 18 August 2016
Thursday Doors: Le Dorat
Posted on August 11, 2016
With a name like that, this town about thirtty minutes drive from here is surely crying out to be included in Thursday Doors.
Le Dorat is probably best known for its medieval church: the Collegiale, whose stonework is mightily impressive:
…and not just on the outside:
There remain some other relics of earlier times, including a good section of fortified wall, as well as this impressive towered main gate:
Outside the old and very compact centre of the town, however, there are plenty of examples of more recent and typical rural architecture:
Thursday Doors 11 August 2016
Thursday Doors: Limoges (second encore)
Posted on August 4, 2016
Previously I’ve posted a couple of doors to be found in Limoges, both old and new. For the sake of completeness, here are a few more.
These two are to be found in the old part of the city: formerly a street of traders, it’s now given over largely to art shops and restaurants:
This next pair I’ve put together as opposites: one bricked up and one disappeared almost completely:
And finally, doors old and new right next to each other at the top of this flight of stairs:
Thursday Doors 4 August 2016
Thursday Doors: Sarlat (encore)
Posted on July 28, 2016
Previously in Thursday Doors we’ve seen what are unquestionably the largest doors in Sarlat and what is probably the smallest. So, to complete the range, here are some in between.
This is a Gift/Craft Shop and it’s completely bonkers:
While these are just plain old:
Thursday Doors 28 July 2016
Thursday Doors: Montrol-Senard (encore)
Posted on July 21, 2016
My previous post of a door in Montrol-Sénard was a bit- well, edgy. However, here are some more comfortingly conventional offerings from this ‘living museum’ village a few miles from here:
although his one is on the upper story, which could make cleaning the step a little problematic:
Thursday Doors 21 July 2016
Locked
Posted on July 15, 2016
This modern lock secures the carved wooden door of an old building in the al-Bastakiya heritage area of old Dubai.
Thursday Doors: Le Mans
Posted on July 14, 2016
Spotted on the way to dinner in the centre of Le Mans earlier this week:
I was struck by the symmetry of the ornate decoration and the (very) purple colour of this door on an old office building.
Thursday Doors 14 July 2016
Thursday Doors: Abu Dhabi (last time)
Posted on July 7, 2016
This week’s door may be unspectacular, but holds a special significance. It’s the entrance to the apartment in Abu Dhabi where we lived for ten years (2002-2012). Good memories and no regrets.
And, to be fair, the view from inside looking out on the other side wasn’t too bad:
Thursday Doors 7 July 2016
Thursday Doors: Rancon – Ancient & Modern
Posted on June 30, 2016
The village of Rancon, about a thirty minute drive from here at Tranquility Base, is in all honesty pretty unremarkable, although it does hold a medieval fête in June every year which is worth a quick look.
But, to be fair, it does have a few interesting doors, both ancient and modern:
including this particularly decrepit example;
while this neglected door is somewhere on the cusp between old and new:
Rancon’s modern doors are in rather better condition, such as this interesting and quite unusual (certainly for around these parts) offering:
One thing that isn’t unusual around here is the closed-down shop. I was particularly struck by this composition in pastels:
while this pair of garden gates suggests that there may be a bit of neighbourly one-upmanship going on:
Thursday Doors 30 June 2016
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