weberwest Loc: Ferndale WA

This second part of my just started presentation series brings you three images from Paris, going from the obvious emblem of Paris to a few lesser known details. The timing of our spring trip was pretty much determined by the school vacations of our grand children and was thus quite early in the year, not the most conducive time for photography: particularly in Paris the weather gods were not showing us their usually more benevolent sides, thus the relative dearth of images from this stay. - Then we have a brief glance at a few of the more than 300 castles and numerous towns dotting the countryside along the Loire River, France's "Royalty Alley".

I promised in the introduction to keep my descriptions short and I will do so, but if you are interested to become more familiar with this fabulous valley, I invite you to click on the following link to Wikipedia, which provides a brief description of the valley as well as further links to some of the castles I am presenting: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loire_Valley


Notes
TRIP INFO: Set # 1 provides a brief introduction to this series. Please use the link below if you would like to review this intro:
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-797460-1.html

Thanks for visiting, I recommend viewing the downloads and look forward to your comments and questions.

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1 - Paris 16 - View of the Eiffel Tower from the Palais de Chaillot with the Trocadero Gardens and (on this image not activated) fountains

(Download)

2 - Paris 10 - Porte Saint-Martin on Boulevard Saint-Martin, the smallest of 4 triumphal arches in Paris, built in 1674 as a monument to Louis XIV victories at the Rhine and in Franche-Comté

(Download)

3 - Paris 1 - Cluster of the Samaritaine Department Store buildings on Rue de Rivoli, bisected at the center by the Rue de la Monnaie, the building at right features an undulating curtain wall added in the recent 2021 renovation

(Download)

4 - Indre-et-Loire/Villandry - Part of the Château de Villandry at right with the famous ornamental gardens, at the rear the small village of Villandry with the Saint-Etienne church

(Download)

5 - Indre-et-Loire/Langeais - Château de Langeais: Town-side view of the castle, rebuilt in the 15th century

(Download)

6 - Indre-et-Loire/Chinon - Château de Chinon (12th century) standing on a rocky outcrop above the river Vienne, at the foot of the hill the old-town core of Chinon

(Download)

7 - Indre-et-Loire/Azay-le-Rideau - Picturesque Château d'Azay-le Rideau (16c), one of the most popular castles in the Loire valley

(Download)

8 - Indre-et-Loire/Amboise - Historic buildings serve as shops and restaurants in the old town center of Amboise

(Download)

9 - Indre-et-Loire/Chenonceau - View from the Gardens of Diane de Poitiers to the northeastern facade of the Château de Chenonceau spanning the river Cher, at right the medieval keep as the last vestige of the previous castle

(Download)

10 - Loir-et Cher/Blois - Skyline of Blois above the river Loire viewed from Quai Henri Chavigny, at the center the late gothic style Cathedral of Blois, the construction of which began in 1544 on the site of an earlier 12th century edifice

(Download)

weberwest Loc: Ferndale WA

For your reference:

Map detailing our drive through that part of France and the location of the places presented in this set, i.e. Paris and the cluster of places at the bottom center of the map

(Download)

UTMike Loc: South Jordan, UT

Vivid color and detail! A wonderful overview.

weberwest Loc: Ferndale WA

Thanks Mike, while the weather was mostly dreary in Paris, we did have a few sunny days and things got much brighter once we got into the Loire Valley.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

weberwest Loc: Ferndale WA

Thank you Bill!

Moondoggie Loc: Southern California

Beautiful series. Thanks for sharing.

weberwest Loc: Ferndale WA

Thank you Moondoggie for looking in on my new series and your kind comment - it is much appreciated.

NMGal Loc: NE NM

Are those buildings in number three really a store? WOW! Beautiful photos.

Leicaman Loc: So. Miami, Florida

Beautiful Photos and indeed the Loire Valley is spectacular; One of my favorites is the Chateau de Chambord, and by the way, in Autumn with the changing of the leaves is quite magical.
Thank You for posting!

weberwest Loc: Ferndale WA

Yes Barbara, the Samaritaine is one of the big department stores in Paris with a long history. That one newly clad building to the right in the picture is quite a show of its own - I love the reflections of the neighboring buildings on that undulating facade, it becomes even more fantastic if you do a DDL++ to zoom in on these reflections.

weberwest Loc: Ferndale WA

Thank you Arturo for looking in on my new mini-series and your kind comment. Yes, the Loire Valley is quite close to our hearts, we have visited different locations over the years and even stayed in a château-hotel one time, which was a fantastic experience, particularly the meal they served on tables set in the gravel promenade under the trees, and the cheese-course blew me away: 16 goat cheeses at one go! We also love the Château de Chambord, unfortunately this time the entire facade was covered in plastic as they are in the process of a major renovation/cleaning. Thanks again for looking in and if you have the time and interest, I invite you to follow my mini-series which will bring us to a bunch of interesting places that we covered this and last year in Europe.

Delderby Loc: Derby UK

Great set - really interesting accomplished photography

weberwest Loc: Ferndale WA

Thank you very much Delderby for looking in on my new mini-series and your kind comment, it is very much appreciated.

Leicaman Loc: So. Miami, Florida

I too travel to Europe quite often. Looking forward to your travel log.