Saturday, December 13, 2008

Rodez: a basic street scene. What do you see?

I have so many photos of Rodez on my computer that I think it would take me a lifetime to post them.

When trying to capture the spirit of Rodez, I often put up scenic shots, or quirky takes. But I am also stocking a mounting collection of photos like this one that I don't quite know what to do with. It seemed interesting at the time, but...why again?

Now that I take a closer look, there are a few intriguing details:

  • The two very pale pink buildings are what stand out the most to me. That's a color which is fairly frequent in Rodez, but yet is never really associated with the town.
  • The street is empty, even though the shot was taken during the afternoon. You can find plenty of empty streets in the center of Rodez if you get away from the rues commerçantes.
  • The photo is marred, of course, by the big cable running between two buildings. What are those all about, anyway? I see them everywhere, but don't know why they still exist. I'm sure one of my readers can offer a cogent explanation -- I'm not much of an electricity geek.
  • The curved roof on the bottom right house is intriguing, and not very typical of the area.
What do you see?

13 comments:

spacedlaw said...

Electricity, telephone. Could be anything. They are everywhere ruining sceneries. Same in Italy. My camera was so happy in Holland, where most lines are interred...

(and very aptly, the recognition word is UNTERbn)

Rebecca Ramsey said...

I know they're so common in France that they're taken for granted--and after four years of oohing over them I should be over it by now--but I'm just a fool for shutters. Wood or metal, freshly painted or crackling, they look so romantic to me. I'm not sure why that is, but it's what I notice.

Betty Carlson said...

spaced -- It does seem pretty low-tech for a modern country like France. I also wonder a little about the safety of the connections on each side, hmmm...

Rebecca -- The different shutters are fascinating, aren't they? I almost mentioned them but thought I'd better leave something for my commenters to say!

tut-tut said...

I wouldn't say the wires mar the photo, Betty! And what is that vegetation at left--a tree, or something on someone's roof?

Betty Carlson said...

tut-tut -- A close look shows what to me is just some random vegetation growing out of somewhere in between the two houses. You can click on the photo to enlarge it and see what you think...

Le laquet said...

Shutters - I love shutters whatever the colour. I also see you'd walked up the hill to take the photo - well up the slope at least.

Betty Carlson said...

Le laquet -- I had to smile at your last comment -- Rodez is built on a huge hill and walking in it is all about walking up and down! This photo is nothing slant-wise -- I hadn't even noticed I had walked up a slope. That's the way Rodez is. For that reason, it's not a very good biking town.

deedee said...

I was struck by the pink first, and then the duo paint job on the bottom of the house with the curved roof.

Betty Carlson said...

poppy -- I hadn't even noticed that. And it does stand out a bit, doesn't it?

Anonymous said...

Other than others have mention, I see some good old TV antenna on the roofs ..... and (regarding your comment on my last post:) no snow :-)

Wishing you a great week ahead!

Betty Carlson said...

Yeah, Renny the snow hadn't come yet when I took this picture. I went into Rodez Sunday and there wasn't that much snow around -- just slush. Here in the outskirts we still have quite a bit, though.

Le laquet said...

I suppose that makes sense - I have to go up/down plenty of hills to get to/from the airport ... never been to the town itself though.

Tinsie said...

It reminds me a lot of Avignon. I have tons of similar photos from my holiday there a couple of years ago. Nice shot, shame about the cable, but what can you do?