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GIEN |
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Monday, after cruising to Beaulieu-sur-Loire, our bus trip was to Gien, 30 minutes north-west on the D951. There we visited a faience factory. And again we had time to wander around town and/or shop. |
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As we approached Gien, I shot this through the bus window. The river is the Loire. |
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The factory tour was quite interesting. Faience is like porcelain. Clay is molded into shape; the clay is baked (bisque); the design is applied and fired; the piece is dunked in liquid glass and the piece is fired again. These ladies are shaping the piece - making dishes. |
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This woman is applying the design by a kind of tissue transfer. |
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There were about 15 people hand painting the pieces. First the outlines were applied from the tissue transfer method. Yes, hand painted really is hand painted. |
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This lady was painting lines around the edges freehand. |
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After the tour, we were on our own in town. We walked up to the chateau on top of the hill (the one you can see in the first picture). Besides this historical marker, there was another about the doings of Joan of Arc - this area was where she recruited, fought and died. We saw a number of references to her through the region. |
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The chateau on the hill. The brickwork is typical of the area. |
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The view from the chateau across Gien. |
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Just before we left, the sun was setting over the Loire. Then we bought some chocolate brioche for the ride back to the barge. |
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top |
home |
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Loire |
St. Fargeau |
Cosne |
Briare |
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Sancerre |
Canal de Briare |
Meillant |
Nevers |
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Canal Lateral |
Chanterelle |
Paris |
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