dimanche matin à la chapelle Saint-Hubert

a snowy sendoff

On the day I left Amboise to begin the journey to the States, it snowed for the first time in three years. I didn't have time to get any shots around town, but I did manage to get this shot at the train station.

who called this meeting

I haven't the foggiest idea.

knock knock

I must have walked past this simple yet elegant knocker a zillion times before I noticed it.

going down

This is the inside of the keep (a defensive tower) at château Loches.

the carved wood panel

The carved wood panel can be found in the château  in Amboise.  As a woodworker myself, I find it to be just exquisitely done.  It looks to me as if it could have inspired some modern day juke boxes.

towering above

This straight lines of this light tower contrast with nearby trees in this winter scene on the Ile d'Or.

the frosting

Not on the cake, but on the roof of the Hôtel de Ville (city hall) in Amboise at the time of one of the earlier frosts this year.

medieval rocket launch?

The clouds are reasonably interesting, but this jet really provided the punch I wanted for this castle silhouette.

the bridge to nowhere

I recently discovered a new walking route that takes me down to a bridge over the Loire east of Amboise.  I liked the look of it from underneath and decided that maybe I should double my pleasure (if you are now singing in your head "...double your fun...", then you are clearly of my generation).

a snowy Loire

Unfortunately, I didn't have time to capture any of the snow scenes in Amboise before heading to the train station on Monday.  Nevertheless, I did manage to snap this little frozen island in the Loire from the train as it crossed over.

symbol of royalty

This symbol can be found throughout the many royal castles of the Loire valley.  I this this one is one of the more simple yet elegant examples from the château d'Amboise.

glass patchwork

Sunlight passing through a stained glass window makes for an interesting abstraction on the adjoining wall. It's to be found in one of the nearby châteaux of the Loire valley.

snow dreams

While there are snow flakes in the forecast for today, it's doubtful that it's going to look like it does in this shot from three years ago.  But I can always dream.

sunny Sunday morning

This little church, Saint-Paul, can be found just down the road from Amboise in the town of Saint-Règle,  It's almost brand new by French church standards, being constructed in 1898.  I snapped this shot on one of my bike rides around the countryside.  We're expecting the sun to be out today here, but probably not as warm as when I took this shot in November.  Right now it is the very definition of freezing.

water under the bridge

It must be Saturday.

the bandstand

The bandstand in Amboise is probably feeling a bit lonely, and chilly, these days.  The warm trend has finally broken and we're back to more typical winter weather now.

seven swans a-swimming

They're a little late but there they were this week around the Ile d'Or.  In fact, not far out of the picture were another group of five, the most swans I've ever seen together in Amboise.  I'm now on the lookout for the geese... and the maids.

inspiration

I've been doing a lot of walking lately. This stately tree is next to a little dirt road just along the Loire where I've been taking brisk walks.  It looks so sturdy and so ready to wait out the Winter weather until Spring arrives.  I'm trying to follow its example.

l'Ile d'Or

Here's a panorama of the eastern end of the Ile d'Or, the island in the Loire just across from downtown Amboise.  I made a complete panorama of the island but it's just too wide for this blog page.

golden tears

This weeping willow along one of my running/walking routes is holding on tight to its golden leaves despite the fact that it's January.

overwhelmed

It would appear this flat-bottomed boat was overwhelmed by too many clouds.

a new angle on the sunset

I was out for a late afternoon walk around the Ile d'Or and was rewarded with this nice sunset.  I've never gotten a shot of the sunset from this vantage point so I was able to include some of the icons of Amboise.  Most notably there is the bell tower, l'hôtel de ville (city hall), the church Saint-Florentin, the bridge Général Leclerc, and of course the Loire.

social climber

This unusually situated house seems to be climbing the cliff behind it. The château of Amboise sits nearby on the plateau above. This geologic situation is what made the area on high so desirable, dating back to Roman times, as it was so defensible.  Now it's there to provide photographers a great view of the town, the Loire, and the surrounding area.

la porte en rose

This little door can be found on the ramp of Tour Hertault.  At first I hardly noticed it, but looking back I found the light and the embellishments to be very interesting.  Of course, I'm now wondering what's behind it... la vie?

the Loire Ness monster

I was lucky to catch this creature while walking around the Ile d'Or.  The quality is not good at the long distance.  I believe they migrate here from Scotland in winter.  Here is the famous shot of one in Loch Ness:

My wife has accused me of PhotoShopping a log run aground in shallow water, but you all know I would never PhotoShop a picture on ADP.

under wraps

Like presents under the Christmas tree, these "bumper cars" are peacefully awaiting the mad house that is shortly to ensue when the kids arrive.

Several amusements for the kids were temporarily installed just next to the levee during the year-end school vacations.  I haven't seen "bumper cars" in years and it was interesting to see the kids enjoying something so "low tech".  Do these even exist anymore in the States?

Si aucun de mes amis froncophones pourrait se traduire "bumper cars", je serais heureux de l'entendre!

le bateau

The local photographers should be paying the boat owners to anchor their boats near the banks of the Loire.

a new view on chapelle Saint-Hubert

I recently visited the château d'Amboise and discovered a new view from the top of Tour Heurtault.  This tower is one of two that provide access to the château via spiraling ramps from the town below. (Here's an earlier shot of the tower from the town square.)  This was the first time I have seen the top of the tower open to the public.  It gave me a chance to take shots of the chapel and the town from a new angle.  I'm always looking for a new angle.

the source

I have a collection of photos taken from this same spot.  To me, it's a source of ever-changing abstracts according to the season, the weather, and the river level.  If you haven't figured it out yet, it's one of the piers supporting the bridge Général Leclerc, photographed from the bridge above (two weeks ago).  It's quite different from this shot taken almost three years ago.

Theme Day - "photo of the year"

The first of every month is Theme Day for the bloggers of City Daily Photo, and the theme for January is (almost) always "photo of the year".  For me, I can still see in my mind's eye the brief show of that glorious October sunset that looked like the sky was on fire.  So here is its curtain call.  To see how the other bloggers celebrated this day, click here.  Happy New Year everyone.