Posts Tagged ‘France’

Today it often hard to imagine how badly some European cities were destroyed during World War II. Most cities and towns were quickly rebuilt after the war but there is one village that has been preserved as a memorial to the victims that once lived in the small village.

On the 10th of June 1944 the French village of Oradour-sur-Glane was destroyed by the Nazi Waffen-SS division. A total of 642 people were massacred as the Nazis burnt the village and shot anyone who dared escape the flames. Following the war, then French President, Charles de Gaulle decided the original village would be left untouched, and that’s how the village stands today. Read the rest of this entry »

We all know the French like their cheese, snails, garlic, frogs legs and of course wine, so it’s no wonder they have a Corkscrew Museum. The Musée du Tire-Bouchon has over 1000 exhibits with some dating back to the 17th century. No one really knows where the corkscrew originated but is believed it may be English dating back to the end of the 17th century. Back then they were very simple not like the ones we have today, some nearly needing an engineering degree to work. The Corkscrew museum is part of the Domaine De La Citadelle estate who make a lovely selection of wines including the La Chataigneier and Les Artemes which uses old vine grapes from the lovely southern Rhone Valley, so its well worth a visit to the vineyard when you visit the corkscrew museum.

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Mount Saint Michel is one of the most spectacular buildings you will ever see. Built on a rocky tidal mountain in Normandy France this UNESCO World Heritage Site is an amazing architectural feat dating back centuries. The inhabitants of the mount were called the Montois, and the buildings were primarily used as a monastery and later a prison throughout its rich history. One interesting piece of trivia, the Mount is said to be the inspiration for the design of Minas Tirith in recent film The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Read the rest of this entry »