Brantôme is encircled by a sweep in the river Dronne, is home to a Benedictine abbey and was originally founded in 769. There is no doubt that Brantome is very beautiful, even if it was overcast and drizzling the first time we visited. It is what I imagined a "typical" Dordogne town to be. Forgetting about the weather, we had a wander around the town. We managed to find a nice little cafe and using my very rusty French managed to successfully order some food, followed by a waffle with chocolate sauce and whipped cream for dessert. Delicious.
Kelly spotted some aquatic life which we later managed to identify as a Ragondin, also known to non-French speakers as a Coypu. Unfortunately, on this occasion, I didn't have my big lens with me so this is the closest shot I could get of it.
The second time we visited turned out to be an afternoon for wildlife rather than the gift shops we had originally gone for. This was mainly due to the fact that, as soon as I'd got out of the car, a Kingfisher decided to show himself on the opposite side of the river. This time I did have my big lens with me and the sun was shining, affording Kelly and I an opportunity to sit and watch him fishing. He was absolutely gorgeous.
Granted, the Kingfisher wasn't going for the subject of my next photo but it was very clear to see how clean and healthy the Dronne is from the amount of fish, both small and large, to be seen.
Whilst walking up to the abbey I spotted a Hummingbird Hawk-moth. This was fantastic to see, as Kelly's aunt had mentioned that they're regularly spotted back at the house. It was amazing to see it flying from flower to flower, not once stopping for a rest. As an aside, the next photos were taken with a shutter speed of 1/250 sec, showing just how quickly those wings are moving. I later found out their wings beat at 85 beats per second.
It looks as though the spiders had been busy as well.
Ace photos!! The Hummingbird Hawk-Moth one is incredible!
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