Halloween 2015

Truth in advertising: this photo is not actually a Halloween celebration but it captures that spirit. This photo was taken during the Amboise Carnival celebration in March.  For this festival, the kids (and often adults) parade through the streets in costume lead by bands of musicians and dancers. For better or worse, large amounts of sweets are not collected and consumed by the kids.  While Toussaint is a solemn religious event here, Halloween as Americans know it is not widely celebrated.  Wherever you are, have a fun and safe celebration tonight.

the road not enough travelled

This road is of course my usual bike path that courses along the banks of the Loire river.  It's especially beautiful at this time of year.

la voiture classique

I found this 1940s era Plymouth in a parking lot area near our house.  There are many, many restored American cars here... as well as European cars of course.  This vintage beauty is about the same age as me.  If only I looked so good.

the entry

What's left of this season's crops make a nice pattern at the entrance to this home on the outskirts of Amboise.

vineyards of gold

At last, I am back from two months of being on the road and so yesterday I did a little bike ride to capture some fresh autumn scenes.  Here's one of a nearby vineyard that has long been harvested and is now putting on its final show of the season.  And a golden one it is.

sur Quai du Général de Gaulle

This wide street in Amboise is lined with plane trees as well as some beautiful homes.

the red leaves of ivy

Long time readers of ADP know that every autumn I lament the lack of bright red tree leaves as I so love in the States.  The yellow leaves here are great (especially the ginkgos) but there are very few maple trees and their ilk that just explode in red.  However in compensation, there are many, many walls of ivy that do "paint the town red", as the expression goes.  Here is small patch from my neighbor's beautiful red-walled courtyard.

the timeless view

If you read yesterday's post, you know I've been rummaging around my old photos since I haven't had the time lately to replenish my current stock (I've been mostly on the road for two months).  I realized that this shot taken on our first trip to Amboise, and one of my very favorites, has not been published.  I've used this image as my screen-saver and as a background for "business" cards (if I called them retirement cards, no one would understand what I mean).  It was on this same trip we found our house in Amboise... I guess this golden sunset on the bridge and château was the clincher.  We signed the contract two weeks later.

the old tourist information office

I reluctantly use the word "old" in its most relative sense here (see yesterday's post if you want to see real European "old").  I'm scrambling again to find photos to post in advance of yet another trip this week.  So digging deep into my Amboise archives, I find this October 2010 photo of the "old" TI office as I found it on our first ever visit to Amboise.  Since then it has been relocated across the street.

the kitchen at Château Chenonceau

I recently posted a photo of the kitchen at château Gaillard in Amboise.  Today I'm showing you part of the kitchen at château Chenonceau.  Both châteaux date back to the 16th century, and both are well equipped to handle royal appetites.  I'll bet you're wondering where you can pick up your own boar's head trophy for your kitchen.

it's started

Autumn has arrived in Amboise and the leaves are starting to put on their show.  (That ominous Easter Island looking object is a pier from an old bridge that was destroyed by flood waters many years ago.)

all cleaned up

I was pleased to see that all the untamed growth around the piers of bridge Leclerc has been removed.   Although I always hate to see trees taken down, once again you can see these beautiful arches unobstructed.  Here is how it looked a year ago (recently the trees where taller than the top of the bridge):

Foulées Amboisiennes 2015

You probably should view this full size (click on the photo and maximize your browser).  Yesterday was the annual road race in Amboise.  There were 1 km and 2 km races for the kids and 9 km and 17 km races for the adults.  Alas, being on the road for the last two months I was not ready to run this year but I did get a few snaps of the festivities.  The weather cooperated and I think everyone had a good time and that's all that counts.

the light

Ignoring the actual location of this scene, this alley makes for very tranquil stroll.

dark skies

Summer is definitely over here and the serious weather is rolling in.

brick and stone

This is a frequently found motif around this part of the world.  I like the mix of wood, brick, stone, iron, and glass as well as the simplicity of this design.

the kitchen at château Gaillard

This is truly a kitchen fit for a king at château Gaillard.  Here's a link to an earlier post showing the exterior of this wonderful castle built for king Charles VIII of France.

abstract Wednesday

This garage door looks to me like it could have belonged to Joan Miró... maybe that's because I recently visited a museum of his work (in Barcelona).  It's more likely this is just the result of years of abuse but I have to say I can definitely see some images in it.

the yellow cloud

This little "cloud" was found in one of the flower gardens in Amboise in July.

the blue door

I like the simplicity and coolness (in the color sense) of this door near our house in Amboise.

what a ride

I've seen many, many hot air balloons hovering near the château before but not this close.  That's the ride I want when I take mine.  Also note the 2nd balloon in the background... heading in the direction of château Chenonceau.

climbing the wall

I've had those days too.

le château d'eau

This is an example of the classic water tower found throughout France.  As with this one, there are often cell phone transmitters/receivers on top.  I haven't been able to find out the history of the name itself, though.  To most of us Anglophones, a château means a castle.  My guess would be that since many castles have cylindrical towers not unlike these the name was applied to the water towers.  Or maybe it just evolved because people like the rhyme of château ("cha-toh") and d'eau ("doh").

Doucement les jeunes !!!

I love this old hand painted truck.  On the back is painted "Doucement les jeunes!!!  j'ai 40 ans" which I will translate as "Careful youngsters!!!  I'm 40 years old."  I snapped this little treasure on rue Nationale, the main shopping street in Amboise, while the owner was in buying a baguette at the boulangerie in the background.

l'Hôtel de ville de Tours

Last Thursday we went to nearby Tours to apply for our "long stay" residency card (good for 10 years).  The application went very smoothly and quickly and we are optimistic that we will get our cards in a few months.  This is a vast improvement on having to go through the (nearly) same process every year as we have since 2008.  The photo is of the beautiful city hall building.  Alas, we applied at the less impressive (yet modern and pleasant) police station.

the poster for my film noir

Well, if I ever do decide to do a film noir in Amboise, I'm ready for the advertising poster.

another family portrait

These portrait subjects were very cooperative.

a Sunday bouquet from Amboise

One of the Amboise autumn planters in full swing.

look out, the sky is on fire !

I post a lot of sunset photos, but this one that I took Thursday night may have been the most spectacular one I've seen since moving to Amboise.  And I couldn't fit the whole display in one shot.  It only lasted about ten minutes, so it was worth the frantic run from our house to the bridge to catch it.  Bon weekend!

in memory of my old job

Another treasure to be found at a brocante.

CDP Theme Day for October - "shelter" - le lavoir

The first of every month is Theme Day for the bloggers of City Daily Photo.  Today the theme is "shelter".  You can see how others interpreted the theme here.  I chose a sheltered lavoir in the nearby village of Mosnes (which I snapped on a recent bike ride).   A lavoir is a public place for washing clothes. There are many of these around France that thankfully have been preserved even though their mission is over.