NB! · London · Mores

The Victorian London Cab

NB! · Architecture · Observations

The Terraces of Amboise

NB! · Architecture · Heritage · Nature

In Amboise, the First Formal Garden in France Appears

The white Château d'Amboise with grey slate roofs and towers above a river, with lawns and an avenue of pollarded trees in front under a cloudy sky.

NB! · Architecture · Monarchies · Heritage

Château d'Amboise as a residence of French kings and the burial place of Leonardo

For a long time the Château d'Amboise was one of the favourite residences of the French kings. How Leonardo's tomb came to be here, I have written about earlier: https://telegram.me/captainpaleo/113

Stone relief with Egyptian hieroglyphs, including shapes that resemble flying machines.

NB! · Archaeology · Science · Humour

Theory of accidental hieroglyph overlay and the helicopters in Egyptian tombs

Helicopters in Egyptian tombs. There is a view that all manner of flying machines and futuristic vehicles in Egyptian wall paintings are the result of the chance overlaying of different hieroglyphs

NB! · Art · Nature · Humour

And this is the mythical hydra that lives in the Nile and crawls into the jaws of sleeping crocodiles, then devours them from within

And this is the mythical hydra that lives in the Nile and crawls into the jaws of sleeping crocodiles, then devours them from within. Yes, the crocodile looks like a red dog with chicken's legs and a webbed spine

Medieval miniature: above, a man and a woman hold stones over a mountain; below, they embrace amid flames.

NB! · Mores · Humour

Medieval belief in male and female flints that produce fire when joined

In the Middle Ages, it was believed that the stones used for striking fire came in male and female kinds. You are in no danger so long as they stay apart, but the moment they are joined, flames break out.

Old fabric banner with a black double-headed eagle under a crown, holding a sceptre and orb, in a wavy blue-green border.

NB! · Museums · Observations · Heritage

One of the oldest surviving French banners, with a double-headed eagle from Rocroi

One of the oldest banners surviving in France. The double-headed eagle from Rocroi. It has no connection with the Russian eagle. I do not know the history or the ownership of this banner. But the Battle of Rocroi was an epic one

Three-panel cartoon: a man walks with a closed book, then an open one pouring out light, then lights his way with beams from his eyes. Caption: THE POWER OF READING.

NB!

Cartoon «The Power of Reading»: a man with a book, light from its pages, beams from his eyes

NB! · Palaeontology · Nature · Humour

A Portion of Silurian Oysters, If You Please

Pinkish paper Moscow Metro ticket in black type: valid 11 May from 5:00 to 5:45 pm, disembarkation at exactly 6 pm. The item is displayed under glass.

NB!

Ticket for a single ride on a Moscow Metro train, valid on 11 May

Cardboard box with the skull, a claw and limb bones of a Haast's eagle on white padding, with a scale ruler beside them.

NB! · Palaeontology · Nature

Bones of Haast's eagle, the largest known bird of prey, native to New Zealand

A box of bones from the largest bird of prey that ever lived: Haast's eagle. It inhabited New Zealand and was exterminated by the 19th century. It weighed up to 15 kg and fed on large mammals, including humans