- Falaise
View from the falaise of the Falaise castle. - Château de Falaise
From the Loire valley - via Le Mans - towards Normandy. First stop was Falaise, where William the Conqueror was born. The construction of this castle started in 1123 by Henry I of England. - Château de Chambord
Chambord in all its beauty. The keep was finished under François Ier in 1519, the wings were added later on. The castle was first open to visitors in 1821. - Château de Chambord
Lapidary deposit. This is a part of the original lantern tower. Obviously showing more salamanders. - Château de Chambord
The NE facade of the keep. It was here that we realised that we 'lost' our younger son somewhere in the castle. It's just the largest castle in France, no biggie. - Château de Chambord
Am I repetitive with these pictures? Maybe. But the castle, pardon, the hunting lodge, is splendid. - Château de Chambord
The view of the French gardens. Louis XIV had a similar view from his bedroom. Not bad. - Château de Chambord
All the details of the castle become visible from the terraces. - Château de Chambord
Ah, the castle terraces. The lantern tower is topped by a royal crown with a fleur-de-lys. - Château de Chambord
The magnificent stairs go all the way up to the castle roof. - Château de Chambord
Laurel bedchamber was refurbished in the 18th century. Parquet floor was added and the walls covered with wallpaper. I love love love this pattern. - Château de Chambord
The almost perfectly symmetric castle. - Château de Chambord
The castle chapel. Started under François Ier, continued under Henry II and finished under Louis XIV. It is quite uncommonly oriented towards west. - Château de Chambord
Governor's bedchamber. Charming. - Château de Chambord
The chandelier in the royal ceremonial apartment. - Château de Chambord
Louis XIV's ceremonial apartment. While Francoise's bedroom looked cosy, this one is too grand for my liking. - Château de Chambord
The queen's bedchamber is furnished as a 17th century bedroom. - Château de Chambord
The residence of François Ier, built between 1539 and 1545. This is how the rooms looked like when the king came to stay. Super cosy. - Château de Chambord
One of the famous Flemish tapestries commissioned by Francis I in 1532. It depicts the story of Scipio Africanus, the Roman General who defeated Carthage. The oxen are taken to the temple of Jupiter to be sacrificed, while the elephants and camels carry the wealth brought back from Africa. - Château de Chambord
The centre of the spiral staircase has a lantern at the top. - Château de Chambord
The 18th century castle kitchen. - Château de Chambord
The double-spiral staircase in the centre of the castle. The castle is so wonderfully symmetric, it's quite easy to lose orientation. - Golden cape (Zlatni rt) in Rovinj
- Golden cape (Zlatni rt) in Rovinj
A lovely climbing spot close to Rovinj. - Sunset
A lovely late afternoon in Rovinj. - The Adriatic sea
Beach in Fažana - Ilha do Baleal
Northern tip of Ilha do Baleal and Ilha de Fora. - R. do Pôr do Sol
The street name says it all: sunset street. - Peniche from Baleal
Sunset in Baleal. What a wonderful place. And yes, I saw some dolphins there as well. - Ilha do Baleal
There are some oddly specific signs in Baleal... - Óbidos
Calcada da Misericordia - Óbidos
View of the town from the castle walls. - Óbidos
13th century castle, and one can walk on the walls. - Sunset
A wonderful sunset on the way back home. - Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore
Last view of the duomo ... until next time ;-) - Fountain of Neptune
Designed by Baccio Bandinelli and created by Bartolomeo Ammannati between 1560 and 1574. - Palazzo Vecchio
Another one of the many Austrian towns: Graz. - Palazzo Vecchio
This court is full of Austrian towns, painted in 1565 by Giorgio Vasari for the wedding celebration of Francesco I de' Medici to Archduchess Johanna of Austria. This is obviously Vienna, with Stephansdom. - Footpath towards Piazzale Michelangelo
This is one way of repairing collapsing stairs :-) - View from Piazzale Michelangelo
- View from Piazzale Michelangelo
- View from Piazzale Michelangelo
- Footpath towards Piazzale Michelangelo
A wonderful pathway up the Piazzale Michelangelo. - Porta San Niccolò
Stone gate in fortification walls from 1324. The walls are gone now, but the entrance tower remains. - Detail
Street lamps in Florence have very interesting bases ;-) Oh, and they are of course three-legged. - Very colourful Florence
Across the river Arno. - Arno
- Ponte Vecchio
THE brige across Arno. Built/destroyed several times. This one is from 1345 and still holds. Butchers used to have their shops here, but were replaced with goldsmiths because of the smell. - Rape/kidnapping of the Sabine Women
English wikipedia: Rape, also known as kidnapping. Slovenian wikipedia: Kidnapping, also known as rape. Oh well. By Giambologna (1583). - Medusa
Medusa's head from the statue Perseus with the Head of Medusa by Benvenuto Cellini (1545-1554) located in the Loggia dei Lanzi. - David, of course
A copy of Michelangelo's David. The original (1504) was moved to Galleria dell'Accademia in 1873. - Hercules and Cacus
Hercules and Cacus by Baccio Bandinelli (1525-1534). - Palazzo Vecchio
Grotesque or not, I like them a lot. - Palazzo Vecchio
Officially, such decorations are called grotesque. - Palazzo Vecchio
A lion in the Palazzo Vecchio. No, this time we didn't enter it, just walked around the palace a bit. - Fountain of Neptune
Designed by Baccio Bandinelli and created by Bartolomeo Ammannati between 1560 and 1574. - DSC 9615
- Giotto's Campanile
Daedalus by Andrea Pisano. Here I can actually understand why the marble is called 'green'. - Giotto's Campanile
Giotto stared building this tower in 1334. He combined white marble from Carrara, green marble from Prato, and red marble from Siena. The tower was completed in 1359. - Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore
The cathedral was built between 1296 and 1436, but the facade was added 1887. I feel like I have been lied to. - Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore
- :-)
Two doggos watching the Florence Cathedral. - Basilica di San Lorenzo
Here used to be a super-old church (from 393), then another 11th century romanesque one, and in 1470 this one was completed. - Giovanni delle Bande Nere
Giovanni delle Bande Nere (1498–1526) was the father of Cosimo I de Medici. The statue is by Baccio Bandinelli (1560). - Basilica of Santa Maria Novella
One of the many sails on the facade, which was added to the church in 1456–1470. - Basilica of Santa Maria Novella
Just a quick stroll through the city. Starting with Santa Maria Novella, built in 1276-1420. - Civita di Bagnoregio
What an interesting location for a town. - View of Orvieto
- View of Orvieto
- Orvietto
- 12-sided bell tower
Coat of arms on the 12-sided bell tower, next to Chiesa di Sant'Andrea. - Chiesa di Sant'Andrea
- Chiesa di Sant'Andrea
- Chiesa di Sant'Andrea
Frescoes on one of the columns. - Piazza del Popolo
Well, now ... There must be another way of renovating windows, right? - Palazzo del Popolo
Is this a dog with a helmet? And a cow sitting on top of it? - Old Testament
A very surgical removal of Adam's rib. - Old Testament
Stories from the Old Testament, starting with The apple. - Cathedral
Insanely beautiful details on the facade. - The Last Judgement
Bas-relief of the Last Judgement was installed around 1331. - Zebra church!
Wonderful black and white church walls, made from white travertine and black basalt stone. - Cathedral
- Cathedral
The cathedral is dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. - Cathedral
The Orvieto Cathedral was built in 1290-1591, probably designed by Lorenzo Maitani. - Local art
- Pozzo di San Patrizio
The well has is 62 m deep and has double-helical stairs around it. - Pozzo di San Patrizio
There are 70 windows in the well. - Pozzo di San Patrizio
This well was commissioned in 1527 by Pope Clement VII and designed by Antonio da Sangallo the Younger. - Etrurian Temple of Belvedere
Remains of an old Etrurian Temple. A wonderful windy location at the top of the cliff. - Tender clouds
Fairy clouds above La Blanche (2954 m) and La Rouya (2751 m) - Tender clouds
More playful clouds over La Blanche (2954 m) and La Rouya (2751 m) - Madame Carle
Statue of Madame Carle by Christian Burger (2017). Plenty of legends about the Madame Carle, but basically she lived here in the early 16th century as the wife of Geoffroy Carle, Président du parlement du Dauphiné. Now Pré de Madame Carle up the valley is a very touristic spot. Next time. - Edward Whymper mural
A graffiti of Edward Whymper, FRSE (1840-1911). When climbing Mont Pelvoux (3946 m), he realised that there was a taller mountain nearby: Barre des Écrins (4102 m). He was the first to climb the Barre des Écrins (4102 m). Also, the first who climbed Matterhorn :-) And - the one who invented the A shaped tents :-D - Saint Etienne Church in Vallouise
Church of Saint Etienne, a 15th century church. Fresco of Saint Etienne partially covers the painting of Saint Christophe (of whom only legs are visible). - Saint Etienne Church in Vallouise
The bell tower with an octagonal spire - Saint Etienne Church in Vallouise
What a lovely pretty ceiling. - Saint Etienne Church in Vallouise
The main nave of the church. First row of pillars is rectangular, the rest is cylindrical. Someone changed their mind during the construction! A baptismal font from 1518. - Saint Etienne Church in Vallouise
Pietà in the Altar of the souls in purgatory (16th century). Apparently there are: Pentecost, God the Father, Saint Paul, Saint Anthony, Saint Sebastian, Saint John and Saint John the Baptist... - French pattiserie
I wish we could have taken more... - Ca d'oro
Ca d'oro or the Golden house. One of the best examples of Venetian Gothic architecture. It used to be gilded, therefore its name.