double your pleasure

 

Noah's vacation ark

I've not seen a boat like this around here before but it's been moored up across from the Ile d'Or for awhile now.  A perfect parking place right at the foot of the château.

however you look at it

It can be startling, even uncomfortable, to look at things from another angle... but I think always interesting and sometimes rewarding. The original:

kayaking into the sunset

canoe ride on the Loire

Finally, after living in Amboise for about seven years, I took my first canoe ride on the Loire with a visiting American friend.  We started near Château Chaumont (in the photo background) and ended in Amboise.  It was a beautiful day and an easy downstream ride.

hunkering down

You may have seen on the news that France is undergoing some significant flooding.  So far, Amboise has mostly avoided any serious problems.  Some nearby roads are closed due to local flooding and the Loire itself is as high as I have seen it (of course that's only since 2011).  Today, I was walking around the river banks capturing it from many angles when I discovered my beloved flat bottom boats hunkering down in a relatively protected spot behind some large trees. I think they will be safe and will return soon to one of my sunset shots.

the boats are back

After being missing from the local scene for over a year, the flat-bottomed boats are back.  And just in time for this nice sunset this week.

overwhelmed

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

le bateau

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

flat bottom boats

After seeing this summer just how low the river can get, it's clear why these were once the boat of choice for commerce for the Loire valley.

Festival of the Loire

The Festival of the Loire for 2015 begins today in Orléans (upstream from Amboise).  It continues through the 27th.  Alas, I am not in town to enjoy it this year, so here is a shot from a previous festival.

Note that today is also the autumn equinox in the Northern hemisphere and we say goodbye to summer.  (Of course, you Aussies have a very different view on this.)

what to do on the Loire in August

cruising up the Vienne

The Vienne flows into the Loire not too far from Amboise.  I presume this is a boat for tourism as it was filled with people.  It was a beautiful day for a cruise.