France, Loire Valley - Château d’Amboise IV (The Town)

Amboise is a commune in the Indre-et-Loire department in central France. 

It lies on the banks of the Loire river, 27 kilometers east of Tours. 

Today a small market town, it was once home of the French royal court. 

Its former name was Ambacia, from the old name of the river and marsh Amasse.

MySpot: Things Haven't Always Been a Walk in the Park

 

"Common sense and good nature will do a lot to make the pilgrimage of life not too difficult."

William Somerset Maugham

France, Loire Valley - Château d’Amboise III (The Gardens)

The Gardens of the Royal Chateau of Amboise were designed at the end of the 15th century under King Charles VIII, 

by a Neapolitan monk and gardener, Pacello da Mercogliano, 

whose work is highly influential among French landscape designers.

Cypresses, green oak trees, bay trees, hornbeams and box trees shape these wonderful gardens, 

offering a magnificent view over the 'Royal River', the Loire.

MySpot: Not Quite so Simple as Black and White

"It was one of those chilly and empty afternoons in early winter, 

when the daylight is silver rather than gold and pewter rather than silver."

G. K. Chesterton

MySpot: Warm Yellow Light

"And I'm hoping there's some larger truth about suffering here, or at least my understanding of it - 

although I've come to realize that the only truths that matter to me are the ones I don't, and can't, understand. 

What's mysterious, ambiguous, inexplicable. 

What doesn't fit into a story, what doesn't have a story. 

Glint of brightness on a barely-there chain. 

Patch of sunlight on a yellow wall. 

The loneliness that separates every living creature from every other living creature. 

Sorrow inseparable from joy."

Donna Tartt - The Goldfinch

From the Garden

"Harvest isn't just the act of picking a vegetable from the vine, 

it's a season for collecting the crops and celebrating plentiful gifts our garden has brought to us."

Unknown

Chrysanthemum Hours

"Chrysanthemums from gilded argosy

Unload their gaudy senseless merchandise."

Oscar Wilde