Castle at Vic sur Aisne, pen and ink drawing

Vic sur Aisne
Castle at Vic sur Aisne, pen and ink, 21 x 30 cm/8.3 x 11.7

We came here on our boat last summer. The locals refer to it as Donjon de Vic-sur-Aisne. The first castle was built in the 8th century. It was part of the defense that stopped the Normans in the 9th century. The keep was built in stone in the 12th century to a height of 25 meters with walls two meters thick. The castle was badly damaged, the battlements and parapets dismantled and the towers destroyed. An abbot rebuilt in the 17th century, adding a chateau with a mansard roof adjacent. The castle was French headquarters in WWI. The front was just a few kilometers.

Here is my post from our visit https://garyjkirkpatrick.com/lots-of-locks-but-no-bagels/

Pérouges, watercolor painting

Plaza in Perouges, France, watercolor
Perouges, watercolor, 21 x 29 cm/8.3 x 11.7″ Canson 300 gram paper
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Not far from Lyon is the medieval, walled village of Pérouges. It’s name is derived from Perugia, Italy, a mountain town dating back to the Etruscans. Legend has it that French visitors to Perugia returned to France and then founded the town at least 1000 years ago. It is recognized as one of the most beautiful French villages, see Les Plus Beaux Villages de France. Human presence dates at least to 1500. For more see my entry at One of the most picturesque villages.

Tkalciceva-Street, Zagreb at Night, watercolor

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Tkalciceva-Street, Zagreb at Night, watercolor 24 32 cm/ 9.5 x 12.5″ 300 gram paper

Zagreb is a lively city at night. The crowd is generally younger, in the 20’s and 30’s or thereabouts. They populate the bars especially, and the eateries do not seem to be suffering. There’s a lot of interesting architecture.

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