I'm sure you've heard of the rive gauche in Paris, the left bank.  This is the rive droite in Amboise, the right bank.  The direction is relative to going downstream BTW.  Anyway, these homes have a typical architecture for this region.  Plus these have the additional benefit of having the best view of the château in town.

This is a classic old cooperative in the nearby town of Onzain.

On my last bike ride, I discovered a path I had never ridden before.  It not only kept me off the main road into a nearby town but also revealed an array of interesting finds including this one.

Yesterday I (digitally) posted a shot of the interior of this clever building.  I say clever because the following is a description that is (physically) posted outside:

"The dovecote or "fuye" of the Château du Clos Lucé was built in 1480 by Etienne le Loup ....  The dovecote, unique of its kind in the Touraine, consists of a square exterior and an octagonal interior, and is built of brick, tuta limestone and mortar.  The angles between the outer and inner walls allow for a constant circulation of air essential for the successful hatching and rearing of young birds.  Two thirds of the way up the outside wall is the "larmier", a flat outcrop of projecting stones, convex on the lower side, to which slates were nailed to prevent predators, rats, ferrets, weasels, from climbing into the dovecote to steal eggs, drink the blood of young pigeons and drive away the parent birds.  A gap at the base of the roof timers allowed the birds to enter and leave the dovecote.  The roof is covered in flat tiles and topped by a finial in the form of a phallus, symbolizing fertility."

This amazing dovecote (shelter for raising pigeons) at Clos Lucé was built in 1480, about 30 years before the arrival of Leonardo da Vinci there.

This is part of an old abandoned factory.  I find these roofs really interesting... and practical.

The first of every month is Theme Day for the worldwide bloggers of City Daily Photo.  October's theme is "abandoned".  You can click here to see how the other bloggers interpreted the theme.  For ADP, I chose this abandoned office building of the enterprise Mabille.  Presses used in wine making as well other agricultural equipment were manufactured here under that name from 1835 to 1965.

Regular viewers of this blog may be interested to know that parts of this building were mysteriously posted recently here and here.  As a reminder, I will be away on travel for awhile but I'll be back.

Alas, this old office entry belonged to a manufacturer that is no longer in business, but to many this may symbolize the job market these days.

This shot creates the illusion of an elaborate stone fence atop the levee in Amboise.  In fact, I took it at the base of the levee, so you're seeing just the top of a building on the street behind.  Fortunately, the clouds added a certain dynamic to the scene.  On another day, I'll show you the entire building which has an interesting Amboisian history.

There are many, many tile roofs in Amboise and this one is quite large and quite impressive.

The angle of the setting sun perfectly brushed the front of this restaurant on Place Debré.

I haven't seen much timber framing like this around Amboise although I have seen it elsewhere. Just across the street is a nice cylindrical planter seen in the foreground.  And in addition, this house has a nice view of the Loire.

This beautiful mansion was constructed in nearby Tours in 1491.  It has recently undergone some serious renovations to preserve the interesting and intricate exterior.

Last year this charming home on the road to Clos Lucé was completely renovated.  Below is a shot of the work in progress.  I'd love to have a similar treatment but walking around in all that scaffolding would be too much of a challenge.

I always have garage envy here as our (rented) one is not too interesting.  But this one, whoa!

There are lots of troglodyte storage spaces around here, not to mention entire homes in cliff sides.  The spaces were created many, many years ago by quarrying the stone for local buildings and châteaux.

This schoolhouse was recently renovated, and I have to say that it's a bit classier than the one I attended.

According to the town's web site, this little chapel was built in 1099.  It is still used occasionally for cultural events.

This unusually situated house seems to be climbing the cliff behind it. The château of Amboise sits nearby on the plateau above. This geologic situation is what made the area on high so desirable, dating back to Roman times, as it was so defensible.  Now it's there to provide photographers a great view of the town, the Loire, and the surrounding area.