tonight Santa arrives by hot air balloon

 

This is a local yard display.  In France hot air balloons are called montgolfières (in honor of the brothers of the first working balloons in the 1780's).

lowriders - Amboise style

 

we take off at dawn

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On my way back from the boulangerie this morning.

No we're not quite ready for takeoff

Inflating a hot air balloon begins by just blowing air into it with a big fan.  Once it's about like this, the pilot fires up the burners to finish.  It's a bit of a delicate maneuver to aim the burners at just the right angle to avoid burning the balloon itself.  Here, the hot air balloons are known as montgolfières in honor of the two French brothers who built and flew the first manned and untethered balloon in 1783.

a new angle on Chenonceau

I'm still thinking about my recent balloon ride so expect to see more photos on that topic.  Here we're drifting silently over my favorite château, the one in Chenonceaux*.  The light of dawn really made some nice dramatic shadows.


*Yes the town name has an "x" on the end while the château name does not.

at last, the balloon ride !

Well after six years in Amboise, I finally took my first balloon (aka montgolfière in French) ride with my visiting son-in-law from the States.  The pilot was skilled enough to "steer" us over the château in Amboise and Chenonceau.  It was fantastic.

floating away

off on another adventure

A shot from right outside our front door as these hot air balloons start their adventure shortly before sunset.

I know it seems like I just came back from a break from ADP, but here I am taking another one.  This time we're off on our own adventure to Japan.  However, I have queued up tomorrow's photo (CDP Theme day) to be automatically posted while we're in flight. So for now, au revoir.

when hot air is a good thing

I was peacefully having breakfast when I heard the familiar roar overhead.  I ran outside with camera in hand just in time to catch this view from our terrace.

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.

afternoon liftoff over the Loire

This shot is the bookend to my post earlier this week of the them launching in early morning.  Here, two are just beginning their ascents while a third is still inflating on the beach.

early morning liftoff over the château

There have been lots of hot air balloons over Amboise in recent weeks.  I can hear their roars as they fire up the burners in the quiet of early morning.  That's my "wakeup call" to go running with camera in hand down to the river to catch sights like this.

Friday I got travelin' on my mind

I have a lot of travelling coming up in the next two months so it is very much on my mind as I'm getting ready to be away for awhile.  (Today's title is a "bookend" to Monday's post.)  Bon weekend.

Le prix de la ville d'Amboise

As I am every July, I am glued to the TV to watch the 21 stages (3360 km / 2087 miles) of the Tour de France.  It turns out that Amboise has it own bicycle race and it was today.  While not to be compared with the professional Tour de France, this is an exciting 74 km circuit race in downtown Amboise for local cycling clubs.  These are the kinds of events conducted all over France that inspire and produce the future professional riders of tomorrow.

In any case, while the Tour de France has it's helicopter coverage, I did note the happy coincidence of this hot air balloon (montgolfière in French) flying overhead as if it were covering the event for the local TV stations.

late afternoon at église St Florentin

As the sun starts to set, the balloons are often to be seen launching from across the river and then flying over downtown Amboise.

the first balloon

Well, it's certainly not the first balloon (la montgolfière) of the season in Amboise, but it's the first one I've managed to catch flying directly over our house.  One day I hope to shoot the inverse (our house from the balloon).

low flying

It's not been a good year for the hot air balloon companies this year.  At least, not according to the number of them we've seen overhead.  But in recent weeks, they seem to be making up for lost time.  This one was flying very low right over our house and I "shot" it right from our terrace.  It was probably less than two hundred feet/meters overhead. The roar of the flame is quite impressive at that distance.

up in the air

I caught these hot air balloons the other day as they drifted over our house.  However, this gate is actually one of our neighbors.

airway to heaven

With apologies to Led Zeppelin.

Up, up, and away - le décollage de la montgolfière

We have seven friends from the States visiting us this week and one brave soul decided to take a hot air balloon ride over the châteaux.  As a result, I got to see the launching up close.  Below is a series of shots showing the balloon and its basket being unloaded and then the balloon being inflated, first with two large fans and then with the burners.  It's a fascinating and exciting process.