29 May 2016

Ballooning : Le Trophée François Ier

It turned out that the hot-air balloon event we had witnessed involved as many as 25 entrants, so we had only seen about half of them. It's called Le Trophée François Ier. There's a Facebook page about it.

I grabbed this 2015 image off the Trophée François Ier Facebook page... with my thanks. It shows the late 15th century Château du Moulin, about 20 miles east of Saint-Aignan, near Romorantin.

Unfortunately, yesterday's flight had to be canceled because of the threat of stormy weather. Here's a local newspaper's article about the annual ballooning event, with a video shot just a few days ago up at Cheverny, about 20 miles north of Saint-Aignan.
As I said, I couldn't get any long shots of the balloons other than the ones I posted yesterday, because they were just too close to the house. But I did take a lot of zoomed images of the individual balloons as they floated by.
The balloonists were lucky to have a beautiful morning on Thursday. We had had a violent thunderstorm overnight, but the day dawned clear and calm. Yesterday storms threatened but never materialized here at Saint-Aignan. In Paris, three adults and eight children were injured when they were struck by lightning in the Parc Monceau, near the Arc de Triomphe. Rain delays were called at the French Open tennis tournament up there in the afternoon.

18 comments:

  1. Eleven people were injured in Parc Monceau near the Étoile, by lightning striking a tree under which they had taken shelter from the rain. I didn't know about the Eiffel Tower.

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  2. I was wrong about the Eiffel Tower. I had heard it on CBS news, which is replayed here on Sunday mornings. Then I looked at FranceTV Info and saw it was a lightning strike in the Parc Monceau. I changed by post. Did you have strong storms in your neighborhood? They are having a tropical storm in the Carolinas.

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    1. We had rain, but I didn't hear anything. But, as you know...

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    2. I hope your Ma is safe and sound. Has she completely recovered from her earlier ailments?

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    3. I don't know about "completely" but my impression talking to her last Sunday was that she sounded very good, and she said she was doing well. The storm is more a rain than wind event. It will hurt local businesses over a big holiday weekend. Heavy rains are a fact of life in Morehead City, compared to Saint-Aignan, so I doubt there will be any danger of flooding.

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    4. The tropical storm, Bonnie by name, is really a squall line. 40 mph winds forecast, and some rain and cloudy skies. Some slight flooding, I-95 awash in some places. I think the only people getting het up about it work at the weather channel.
      NOAA thinks it will pass your mother by about Tuesday midday.

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  3. Ken, these balloon pics are glorious. Some of the nicest you've posted here. Op art, pop art and surrealism floating overhead.

    Sorry the flights were cancelled due to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJvYo5pZEfE

    Kind wishes for those who were at Parc Monceau.

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    1. Thanks for the Lena Horne video clip. LOL.

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    2. Diogenes said it perfectly. I keep looking at those gorgeous colors!

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  4. On an unrelated subject, I just came back from the Intermarché store over in Noyers-sur-Cher. Their pumps have signs on them saying they are out of gasoline/essence, both 95 and 98 octane — at least the ones I could see. They still seem to have have gazole/diesel fuel.

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  5. Yikes! That poor family, seeking shelter under a tree!

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    1. I know, people have to re-learn the lessons with every new generation. Lightning like that is fairly rare in France, and especially in Paris, I think.

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  6. Oh how sad ... growing up in the Southern US ... lightening was common and so were the warnings from our mama ... stay away from trees !! we used to tease my cousin, he was tall ... we would run away from him telling him he attracted lightening.
    Now I am in Florida ... lightening and storms and .. oh my.
    The skies are bright blue and there is nothing but sunshine here in Jacksonville Florida .. I hope the storms avoid us.

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    1. I just checked the local weather, we are due to get hit with the storms starting tomorrow and looks like lasting for days ! Stay safe !

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  7. Great photos again today. I surely wouldn't want to be in a storm with lightening in one of those balloons! I think it's rare for so many people to be injured like the ones in the park. I hope they all recover.

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    1. We just had another 30 mm, more than an inch, of rain between noon and 6 p.m., but no thunder or lightning. The whole landscape is running water.

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  8. Your balloon pictures are so clear. Did they all have logos or sponsors? I see one that says Something-gruppe, Bern.ch. And another promoting Haute Vienne.
    So sorry about the people in the Paris park. Hope all recover.

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    1. The balloons were so close and the morning was so clear and bright that the photos did come out very sharp. Not all of them had obvious logos.

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