Those among my scarce pool of readers who know me well (most probably the first group and the second are the same!!!) are aware of my affinity for water bodies (unless you ask me to drink some!). Previous posts have already exploited the graphic qualities of this naturally occurring chemical or the calm and beauty that it inspires. Having grown up in the Val de Loire region, I never had the chance at the time to document these great places and recently caught up with this task. When writing, you must rely on a strong theme linking the pictures I ultimately want to showcase.
My recent trip to the Rhine region took me to Koblenz, city I knew nothing about until I set foot there. We opted for a first contact from above while visiting the Ehrenbreitstein Fortress which stands proud, east of the river at more than 100m.
We were able to overlook the whole city and realise that the river Moselle was meeting the Rhine, one of many confluences of tributaries along large European rivers.
At the time it left us with a nice panorama but in no way incited me to write about it!
Back in Val de Loire, we spent an afternoon along another better known to us river, The Loire (not to be confused with “Le” Loir, smaller river closer to my hometown, featured in The shape of water and Stacking).
Candes Saint Martin happens to be the place where the river Vienne joins The Loire in a very soothing setting that explains the nostalgia and longing expressed by Joachim Du Bellay (Les Regrets, sonnet XXXI, 1558. – English Translation)
White limestone reflecting the sun and large green and sandy banks along both rivers are definitely something I would settle for to age quietly.
Not at all the same vibe as Bangkok along the Chao Phraya but “gabares” and “toues cabanées” (literally: “with a cabin on the deck”) moored along the banks are reminder of the historic importance of navigation on France’s longest river.
Should you travel across the Loire valley to enjoy lively wines and magical castles, stop in Candes near Chinon to step back in time when life went a lot slower.