The Pont Neuf, oddly enough, is the oldest standing bridge across the river Seine in Paris, despite its name "new bridge"
Approaching the Louvre.
The Louvre from inside the pyramid.
The Winged Victory of Samothrace, also called the Nike of Samothrace - amidst the throngs of tourists.
Notre Dame from a distance.
Inside the Gothic marvel.
Penny and Matt at Notre Dame de Paris at night.
Details around the doors of the Notre Dame. A whole lotta cherubs...ok maybe angels.
One of many stained glass windows at Notre Dame.
The Seine at night.
Napoleon being crowned...a detail on the Arc de Triomphe.
The Champs-Élysées from the Arc de Triomphe
Believe it or not this is the ceiling inside the Louis Vuitton store...$26,000 trunk anyone?
My good friends Liam and Kevin.
A small market near our Rive Gauche hotel, open twice a week.
Staircase from one level of the deck to the next.
From the top deck of the tower a nice view of the Arc de Triomphe
View down from the top deck.
Just one of those Paris moments.
A promenade leading from the tower.
They have some weird cars in Europe - this one is a FIAT. The Renaults are really strange as well.
Typical nice Paris cafe with seating facing outwards for optimal people viewing.
Apparently one can parallel park and fuel up at the same time.
Wikipedia alert: Les Invalides consists of a complex of buildings containing museums and monuments, all relating to the military history of France, as well as a hospital and a retirement home for war veterans, the building's original purpose. It is also the burial site for some of France's war heroes...including Napoleon's tomb.
Napoleon's tomb...great use of stained glass to create amazing color effects.
One of a select number of art nouveau metro entrances in Paris. I saw another near the Moulin Rouge
The Musee d'Orsay. A really great museum and where did my chin go?
Inside the Musee d'Orsay...formerly a train station but now one of the world's great museums.
A really nice rococo room preserved in the museum.
Claude Monet, somewhat maligned because water lilies are too saccharine for the artsies but this painting feels like a great abstract work.
Whistler and I don't mean BC.
The cafe in the museum with a fun back of clock setting.
La Basilique du Sacré Coeur de Montmartre to be formal.
A gargoyle at Sacré Coeur.
Artists plying their wares near Sacré Coeur.
The Moulin Rouge. Quite the seedy neighbourhood.
Our el cheapo hotel in Paris. Great location and price but the communal shower kinda sucked.
Then a TGV from Paris to Avignon, followed by a car rental and a drive to the Blanche Fleur near Châteauneuf de Gadagne in the Luberon. This was a true highlight of the trip. It was hard to find, including me chatting in French with the local baker (the only place that was open during the “siesta”) to try to figure out where it was.
It seems that this farm was significant enough to have its own chapel, which made the place that much more special.
Our room shared a common living room with one other; luckily that room was not occupied, so we had the place to ourselves. It was nicely cool during the day…chalk another one up for vernacular architecture.
The old farm house on the property.
L'Isle sur la Sorgue has several canals running through its center from the river Sorgue. It is not far from the Blanche Fleur, which also has several canals/streams running around and through it. One disappears right under the old farm house on the property.
The local Jack Russel.
Day trips in the Luberon. Built on the foothills of the Monts of Vaucluse, Gordes is one of the most well-known of the hill towns of the Luberon.
Gordes at night.
More Gordes at night.
Poppies abound in Provance.
Wine tasting at Domaine de Terra near Lacoste, I believe.
Roussillon is on what was one of the most significant ochre deposits in the world. It colours the buildings of the town.
The ochre quarry with several different shades.
How the other half live.
A window in Roussillon.
Windows of the Luberon.
Doorways of the Luberon.
View of Lacoste on the hill.
Wine tasting in a cellar in Lourmarin. In the Luberon but not on a hill. A very picturesque town.
A 2CV in Lourmarin.
La Ferme de la Huppe...our second place in the Luberon, near Gordes. Really nice and dinner was the best we had in France. Best service I have ever had in a restaurant.
Sitting by the pool, waiting for my glass of Riesling.
Breakfast with fresh squeezed strawberry juice and home made bread...yummy.
Châteauneuf-du-Pape area and its famous wines.
Arch in Orange (not far from Avignon).
Amphitheatre in Orange. The best preserved amphitheatre in Europe; the only one with the back wall intact.
On our way to the Palais des Papes about a five minute walk from our hotel. Wikipedia alert: Avignon became the residence of the Popes in 1309, fleeing the violent chaos of Rome. The Palais was built between 1335 and 1364 on a natural rocky outcrop at the northern edge of Avignon, overlooking the river Rhône.
Palais des Papes
Inside the cloister of the Palais des Papes. They were preparing for a rose festival at the time.
The square from the top of the palace.
The Pont d'Avignon, also known as the Pont St-Bénezet. The bridge had great strategic importance as the only fixed river crossing between Lyon and the Mediterranean Sea.
Pont du Gard: designed to carry the water across the small Gardon river valley, it was part of a nearly 50 km (31 mi) aqueduct that brought water from springs near Uzès to the Roman city of Nemausus (Nîmes). The full aqueduct had a gradient of 34 cm/km (1/3000), descending only 17 m vertically in its entire length and delivering 20,000 cubic meters (5 million gallons) of water daily. Apparently the second highest Roman structure built.
Taking a break from driving near the impressive hill town Les Baux.
Our cute diesel Peugeot.
Church in Arles.
The colosseum in Arles.
Inside the colosseum.
Van Gogh’s sanatorium.
Cafe in Arles painted by Van Gogh: "Café Terrace by Night" (1888)
We drove all the way from Avignon to Colmar, (Alsace) in one long day. The only really bad day of weather while we were in France was experienced during driving, so a good time for it. A long drive and a couple surprisingly expensive tolls later we got to see the half timbered buildings of Colmar.
Old customs house (the "Koïfhüs") dating from about 1480 when taxes were levied regionally and if you were bringing goods through.
In the cloister of the Unterlinden Museum, home of the famous Isenheimer Altar by Matthias Grünewald. The museum found its home in the former Dominican convent which was built 1269 - 89.
The carved portion of the Isenheimer Altar.
A painted portion of the Isenheimer Altar. The paintings were done by Grünewald.
" Maison des Têtes " or " House of Heads "of 1609 with its rich decoration (of 105 masks), a wonderful oriel window rising two floors high and topped with a balcony, of Renaissance style.
One of the "heads," note the pigs feet.
"Petite Venise"
Wine tasting in Alsace.
Le Corbusier’s Ronchamp Cathedral (Notre Dame du Haut) from a distance.
The approach.
On the inside. A very contemplative place.
Looking up from a side chapel.
