les deux tours

 

April 14th was the first running of a local bicycle tour that ended in Amboise, la Tour de val d'Amboise.  The photo captures the racers as they begin to cross the bridge over the Loire and in front of the Tower of White Gold, la Tour d'or blanc (which celebrates the heritage of wine making in the Loire Valley). 

Of course the French word tour can mean both circuit (as in the Tour de France) and tower (as in the Eiffel Tower) in English.  Had the race ended in the nearby city of Tours, it could have been titled "les trois tours".

Military exposition 2023

 

Brass Band Festival 2023

 

the flower parade - the end

 

the flower parade

 

It is a long weekend in France (Pentecost) and in Amboise flower festooned vehicles, people, and animals paraded over the bridge to the Ile d'Or.

December Solstice 2020

 

Today Amboise will have only 8 and 1/2 hours of sun whereas on the Summer Solstice we have about 16 hours of sun.  These extremes are because we are above Maine in latitude.  Even so, the weather here is milder than in the States year-round, thanks to the Gulf Stream.

100 years after the Armistice

Under a vaulted cathedral of plane trees, Amboise remembered the end of World War I with a moving ceremony.

in between notes there are rests

At the end of an exhausting day at the Brass Band Festival.

Brass Band Festival 2018

The past weekend Amboise hosted its annual Brass Band Festival with competing bands from all over Europe.  And to the great pleasure of the locals and tourists, the bands strolled the streets and plazas playing classic tunes with great enthusiasm.

celebrating traditions on the banks of the Loire

50th anniversary of the Méhari

This past long weekend, Amboise hosted the Méhari car clubs of France to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the introduction of this "unusual" vehicle.  They were manufactured by Citröen in the same genre as the Mini-Moke (BMC) and "The Thing" (VW).  The Méhari chassis is based on the classic 2CV but with a plastic, open-sided body.  It weighs around 1200 pounds (540 KG).  Between 1968 and 1988, fewer than 150,000 units were produced.  It was a major precursor to the world-wide off-road SUV phenomenon.

At least 300 of these impeccably maintained machines descended from all over France.  The owner's had a wonderful time showing them off and taking driving tours around the area.

Victory in Europe Day 2018

On this day in 1945, World War II officially ended in Europe.  Today in Amboise, a ceremony was conducted which included the laying of flowers on a memorial by the kids.

international Thanksgiving

Today we are celebrating a mostly traditional American Thanksgiving with some of our French friends.  Alas, no whole turkeys could be found so we're having duck instead.   This boulangerie (just 50 yards/meters away) graciously offered to make American-style rolls just for us on this occasion.  We have so much for which to be thankful.

And here they are:

VE day 2017

les Revues Historiques - part 7

This will be the parting shot for this series of photos.  Time to get back to today.

les Revues Historiques - part 6

The story continues... or should I say novel?

les Revues Historiques - part 5

The event grounds were organized by theme and this scene was taken in the World War I section.

les Revues Historiques - part 4

I got so many interesting subjects during this event that I'm finding it difficult to stop posting them.

the brass band festival 2017

The annual brass band festival was this weekend.  And bands from all over Europe descend on Amboise to compete.  So there are formal competition events as well as many casual strolling bands around town to entertain us locals as well as the tourists.

the fair at Amboise

Every May there is what I would call a "home" fair in Amboise.  It's an opportunity for vendors of home products  and services that are in and around Amboise to display their wares.  As a photographer, I really love the white tents and in this case, the shadows on them.