A Photographic Portrait Of Seyssel

The charming little town of Seysell is a town of two departments. 

On one side of the river Rhône lies Seyssel de l'Ain, and on the other lies Seyssel de la Haute-Savoie. 

Connecting the two halves is a fine suspension bridge, built in the 19th century.

Its central tower - upon which stands a statue of Our Lady - is made of the light-coloured, locally quarried Seysell stone. 

This stone was also the stone used to construct much of Geneva, Annecy, Chambéry and Lyon.

I love these gaily painted walls and shutters.

I stayed the night at the Hotel Beau Séjour. As you can see, this riverbank hotel was hard to miss. It offered an excellent room with shower at a special pilgrim rate. At dinner in the restaurant I tried a couple of the regional white wines which excited me a great deal with their fragrance and quality: a Chardonnay (don't think boring, unsubtle, homogeneous New World Chardonnay here - this is quite different) and a local grape variety called Roussette - mineral dry, soft and light as new spring grass in an alpine meadow, flowery and fruity and pear-scented.

    

In the church of Seyssel de l'Ain I found a Black Virgin.

From Seyssel de l'Ain the welcome evening sunshine lit up Seyssel de la Haute-Savoie across the river.

To take this picture I stood under the central arch of the suspension bridge across the Rhône, halfway between Seyssel de l'Ain and Seyssel de la Haute-Savoie.