- Mausoleum of Galla Placidia
Deer drinking water. At first I thought they were eating watermelons :-) And then there are two more apostles around the chi-rho-alpha-omega sign. - Mausoleum of Galla Placidia
My favourite part of the ceiling. So intense. Unfortunately, the illumination of the whole mausoleum was almost nonexistent... - Mausoleum of Galla Placidia
The Mausoleum of Galla Placidia was built between 425 and 450. Galla Placidia was the daughter of the Roman emperor Theodosius I. - Ravenna
Not a window, actually a roof. - Basilica of San Francesco
Alabaster windows in the basilica. - Basilica of San Francesco
The submerged crypt in the basilica, dating from the 9-10th century. There are living fish in the crypt! - Quadrarco di Braccioforte
The sarcophagi date from the 5-6th century and belong to rich Ravenna families. This one is of the Pignatta family. - Basilica of San Francesco
Initially built in 450, rebuilt in the 9th and 10th century. Handed over to the Franciscans in 1261, now the basilica is dedicated to Saint Francis. - Marlene Dietrich
Super-Marlene by LeDiesis - Ravenna
- Casa Matha
Casa Matha is a guild of fishermen, one of the oldest in the world. - Ravenna
Spirito e Bellezza by Luisa Valentini (2013) - Mecato Coperto
The old market is now occupied with modern restaurants and bars. - Ravenna
After two days of sightseeing in the town, one recognises almost all the street-sign mosaics. - Ravenna
- Ravenna
Wonderful street signs all over the town. - Ravenna
What a wonderful depiction of Dante! - Beatrice
Super-Beatrice by LeDiesis - Pomposa Abbey
Some of the frescoes are even older, from the 10th century. - Pomposa Abbey
The church is full of 14th century Bolognese school frescoes, depicting Old Testament, New Testament and the Apocalypse. - Pomposa Abbey
Ah, the Last Judgment. The Hell is interesting as there are people actually being tortured. Often they are just being taken by all sorts of cute creatures. - Pomposa Abbey
In the apse, Christ sits on the throne surrounded by musician angels and saints. Below is the procession opened by the Virgin Mary with St. Benedict. The Abbot Andrea, who ordered the work in 1351 is kneeling down on the left. The bottom part tells the story of Saint Eustace. Fresoes by Vitale da Bologna. - Pomposa Abbey
Another fresco in the Chapter House, this one depicts Saint Benedict. - Pomposa Abbey
The Chapter House with early 14th century frescoes by a direct pupil of Giotto. In the center is Saint Guido, the Abbot of Pomposa (970-1046), on the left Saint Paul and on the right a pair of prophets, Moses and David. Note the horns on Moses :-) - Pomposa Abbey
Frescoes in the refractory. - Pomposa Abbey
This Benedictine monastery dates probably to around 600. It was definitely already big and super important in 874. It is built like a typical Romanesque abbey. The campanile is from 1063. - Pomposa Abbey
What a lovely peacock. A peacock is apparently considered incorruptible, representing the yearning for heavenly beatitude. - Le Mauvais Pas
A steep descend towards Italy - and then home. - :-)
Ah, this is what low pressure does to the food :-) - Le Col de l'Échelle
Being a fan of Alex Hugo, I wanted to see Vallée de la Clarée. This is already towards Italy, behind Col de l'Échelle. Oddly enough, the border is not on the col but in the valley below. - Col du Galibier
Col du Galibier has a special place in my heart. I've cycled up the Col twice (once from each side), and driven up so often... I cannot possibly remember how many times I've been up there. But it never disappoints. - Col du Galibier
This eagle sign on the Col du Galibier must be new. Never seen it before. Lovely view of Barre des Écrins through it. - Barre des Écrins
Barre des Écrins (4102 m) and Dôme de Neige (4015 m). In the front: Pointe Louise (3668 m), Pointe Xavier Blanc (3677 m) and Roche Faurio (3730 m). On the left: Roche Paillon (3636 m) and Barre Noire (3751 m). - Col du Galibier
View towards Les Pointes d'Orient (2942 m), Crête de Lacha (2938 m), Aiguille Noire (2869) and Pic du Thabor (3207 m) on the right. - Col du Galibier
Roche de la Gardette (3050 m), Pic Est de Combeynot (3145 m), Pic Ouest de Combeynot (3155 m), Roc Noir de Combeynot (3112 m); in the back Pic de Neige Cordier (3613 m), Roche Paillon (3636 m), Barre des Écrins (4102 m), Sommet Sud-Est de la Roche d'Alveau (3619 m), and Pointe Nérot (3537 m). Thanks to Peakvisor. - Le Galibier
Le Rabel (2539 m) and Roche Olvéra (2662 m) - Pointes d'Orient
View from the Galibier road towards Les Pointes d'Orient (2942 m) and Crête de Lacha (2938 m). - Valloire
Notre-Dame de l'Assomption in Valloire. A 17th century baroque church. - Valloire
I love the tree shadow on the church. Must be even lovelier in the winter. - Crème brûlée
The dessert in Valloire, L'Asile des Fondues. - On the road
We returned to the Alps on the way back. And this is a lovely sign, from here you can go to Paris (obviously), Bordeaux, Montpellier, and Lyon. - Puy de Pariou
What a lovely and tranquil place this forest is. - Puy de Pariou
Dianthus (pink) on the sunny side of the volcano. - Puy de Pariou
I'm happy we chose this path for the way down. - Puy de Pariou
Puy de Pariou with Puy de Dôme in the background. Of course once we decided not to climb the Dôme but the Pariou, the skies cleared. - Puy de Pariou
What an interesting fence. - Puy de Pariou
What a lovely place for a walk. We climbed up the hill from the back side, returning down the stairs. - Puy de Pariou
One of the most photogenic volcanoes around there. Unfortunately the weather was quite meh so (this time) we didn't climb the Puy the Dôme. - Puy de Dôme
Well, there they are: Vingegaard and Pogačar, Nr. 1 and 11. - Puy de Dôme
They did not let the spectators uphill on the volcano, so everyone gathered around ... here. - Puy de Dôme
It was a super hot day. And we were there waiting for them from before they even started racing... - Puy de Dôme
What a season for Jumbo Visma. Not quite what I would have wanted, though. - Puy de Dôme
But because we were standing so close to the cyclists... I got splashed by the water from Alaphilippes' bidon :-D - Puy de Dôme
The buses were slow and I could take pictures. The cyclists passes by us so quickly, "impossible à attraper". - Puy de Dôme
Pogačar's bus. In almost three weeks travelling through France, we never met one Slovenian. The first one we saw was Mohorič :-) - Puy de Dôme
We rushed through Dordogne to catch Le Tour de France at Puy de Dôme. - Rocamadour
Spectacular place. Already inhabited in the Paleolithic. The town peaked in the 12th century. 12th century! - Rocamadour
One could go down the stairs. And up the stairs again. Or not. - Rocamadour
How green the valley of L'Alzou is! - Rocamadour
Another fascinating place: Rocamadour. - Calès
This might be a hotel, it might be closed. But it may be something completely different. In Calès. - Château de Montfort
- La Roque-Gageac
A lovely shade indeed. - La Roque-Gageac
A lovely place to rest and enjoy a drink. Especially in such a heat! - La Roque-Gageac
What a charming old town. - Ack!
Nope, nope, nope. - Le fort de la Roque-Gageac
I mean... how cool is that entrance? - Le fort de la Roque-Gageac
This are the stairs I was talking about. Hot hot hot. - Le fort de la Roque-Gageac
What an interesting curtain. And one of the modern pillars, keeping the fort stable. There were way too many collapses in recent past. - Le fort de la Roque-Gageac
Occupied since prehistoric times, the fort was built in the 12th century. - Dordogne river
- Le fort de la Roque-Gageac
Unfortunately, I have very little information about the castle... - Dordogne river
Climbing the exposed stairs might be scary for some. For me it was just insanely hot. But the views are rewarding. - Dordogne river
- La Roque-Gageac
The old picturesque village as seen from the fort. - La Roque-Gageac
Le manoir de Tarde from the 15th century. - La Roque-Gageac
Yes, it's right up there. A troglodyte fort. The wall's been occupied since the prehistoric times and the fort built in the 12th century. - La Roque-Gageac
- La Roque-Gageac
I can imagine these are some old stairs... - La Roque-Gageac
The main street in La Roque-Gageac. Well, the only street in La Roque-Gageac. - Le fort de la Roque-Gageac
The ancient medieval fortification dates from the 12th century. It does have a spectacular location. - La Roque-Gageac
A truly spectacular village. - La Roque-Gageac
If you have the time, hire a canoe. We unfortunately didn't. Next time :-) - La Roque-Gageac
- La Roque-Gageac
Oh, another spectacular village. - Beynac
The whole village is fascinating. - Château de Beynac
The oldest part of the castle is a large keep on the right. Unfortunately, I could not convince other members of the family to visit yet another castle... - Château de Beynac
The castle was built in the 12th century by the barons of Beynac, and later remodelled and enlarged. - Château de Montfort
There are numerous castles along Dordogne. The Montfort castle was first destroyed in 1214. And three more times. So far. - La Dordogne
Dordogne river. What an interesting place this part of France is. View of the river from our campsite. - Serpent d'ocean
Unfortunately, there was high tide so we could not walk to the serpent. - Serpent d'ocean
... to see the Serpent d'ocean. Made by Huang Yong Ping in 2012. - Pont de Saint-Nazaire
We stopped just south of the Saint Nazaire bridge... - Pont de Saint-Nazaire
Well, it is a beautiful bridge. - Le Croisic
One of the many crêperies. I think we counted six just here. Within a two minute walk. - Le Croisic
What a lovely place Le Croisic is. - Manoir de Kervaudu
I get the door. I get the open upper part for ventilation or light. I even get the cat door. But why do you need two cat doors? - Manoir de Kervaudu
Close to Le Croisic close to the Guérande salt marshes. - Manoir de Kervaudu
The manor was built in the 15th century and belonged to one of the first Protestants here. What a lovely house it is. - Pointe du Raz
The word "raz" means a strong current of water. Well, yes. I've never seen such strong *tidal* currents in the sea. Two lighthouses, La Vieille and La petite Vieille can be seen. And the Île de Sein in the background.