- Mont Blanc
First view of Mont Blanc when arriving from Aosta Valley. - Beaune
Usually one would not want to connect driving school and vineyards. Usually. - Vézelay Abbey
Basilica of Sainte-Marie-Madeleine was under repair, so we only saw a part of it. - Château de Chenonceau
Every room had its own fireplace, making the castle rather cosy. This is a detail on the fireplace in Chambre de François Ier. - Château de Chambord
The residences of François Ier include a large wardrobe and closet. They surely dressed ... royally. - Château de Chambord
Wallpaper in the 18th century apartments. - Puy de Pariou
Plenty of butterflies around here. - Puy de Pariou
A crowded thistle. - Mont Blanc
No, don't look at this rock in the front, look in the back, way back. There is Mont Blanc, above the clouds, almost 100 km away. - Royal floors
Pattern in the pavement, marking the reign of Queen Isabella I and King Ferdinand II. - Iglesia del Sagrario
The church next to the Cathedral, built in 1704. - Granada Cathedral
The Cathedral tower, as seen from Plaza de la Romanilla. - Local art
Some interesting local art. - Fuente de los Gigantones
The fountain was built in the 17th century. Moved several times, it now ended up in Plaza de Bib-Rambla. - Carmen de los Martires Gardens
Entrance to the Gardens of Carmen de los Martires. Fuente de la Ninfa de la Gruta. - Magnolia Grandiflora
The majestic magnolias blossoming all over town. - Ferdinand VI
The inscription on the statue ends with "Rex Cat". While I'm sure this doesn't mean "King Cat", it surely looks like it :-) - Carmen de los Mártires
These are some headless statues... - Monasterio de San Jerónimo
A very very busy renaissance church. - Granada Cathedral
- Granada Cathedral
The ceiling of the Cathedral. Very pure. - Granada Cathedral
The interior of the Renaissance cathedral. Built between 1523 and (officially) 1704. This place is big. - Granada Cathedral
The interior of Granada Cathedral. Another very heavy church. - Mexuar
Tiles on the wall of the Mexuar Council Hall, which served as the entrance to the Nasrid palace. Plus Ultra was the motto of king Charles V. - Zellij in Mexuar
This style of mosaic tilework is called zellij. Charles V was not only King of Spain, but also Holy Roman Emperor, Archduke of Austria, and Lord of the Netherlands. Maybe I missed some titles. Anyway, the double-headed eagle represents the Holy Roman Empire. - Mosaic in Nasrid palace
- Hall of the Ambassadors
The Nasrid palaces are very crowded. Very crowded indeed. - Hall of the Ambassadors
Wall decorations in the Salón de los Embajadores, which is the largest room in Alhambra. The inscriptions are Qur'anic verses and poems. - Hall of the Ambassadors
Detail on the Hall walls, part of a larger inscription in Kufic script. One can still see traces of blue colour, as these arabesque and geometric motifs were originally painted with bright colours. - Court of the Myrtles
Patio de los Arrayanes is the center of the Comares Palace. The reflective pool is 34 m long! - More mosaic
Mosaic in Comares Palace, part of the Nasrid Palaces. Begun by Isma'il in the early 13th century and modified by Yusuf I and Muhammad V. - Court of the Myrtles
Court of the Myrtles with the Comares Tower in the background. The name of the Court comes from the myrtle hedges. Built in the 14th century. - Court of the Lions
The Lion Fountain that gives the name to the Court. On the rim of the fountain, there's a poem by Ibn Zamrak, describing the beauty of the fountain. - Court of the Lions
The Court was built by Muhammad V around 1380. - Hall of the Abencerrajes
The ceiling in the Hall of Abencerrajes. The decorations are called muqarnas, and in the museum is a very instructive exhibition on how such a ceiling was made. Basically a lot A LOT of tiny pieces (alveoles) put together. - Court of the Lions
One of the pavillions in the Court. - Ornaments
- Another ceiling
Ceiling in one of the side halls, covered in muqarnas. - Zellij in Alhambra
More wonderful zellij pattern in the palace. - Stucco in Alhambra
Detail of stucco on the wall indicating that the decorations were indeed colourful. - View from Alhambra
Wonderful view towards Albaicin and Sacromonte. - Church of Santa María de la Alhambra
The only way to take pictures without the crowds it so hide them behind the bushes :-) - Window shopping in Granada
This is a very bold dress. - Traffic sign
Traffic sign for a campaign against domestic violence. - Window shopping in Granada
Take a look at these merengues! Below are some normal-sized cakes. They must be around 20 cm tall! - Granada
The streets look pretty even when the shops and restaurants are closed. - Window shopping in Granada
- Puerta de la Justicia
The southern entrance to Alhambra palace, built in 1348 by Yusuf I. - Alhambra hammam
Ceiling in the Alhambra's public hammam, constructed under Muhammad III. - Alhambra hammam
Every room you enter has more holes in the ceiling. The rooms follow a standard layout: changing room, cold room, hot room, boiler room. - El Bañuelo
These baths are very similar to the Alhambra baths. - Iglesia de San Nicolás
Yes, an unusually trippy church ceiling indeed. - Málaga Cathedral
- Frangipani!
I just love frangipani (plumeria)! - Alcazaba
Interesting multifoil arches in the Taifa palace (11th century). - Patio de la Alberca
Patio de la Alberca (Pool courtyard) in the Nasrid palace. - Alcazaba
What lovely patterns! - Mont Blanc
Mt Blanc as seen from Chamonix. We stayed in Camping de la Mer de Glace and walked to the town centre. - Dôme du Goûter
If Mont Blanc is hidden in the clouds, there is always Dôme du Goûter (4304 m) to admire. - Grand Hôtel des Alpes, Chamonix
The Grand Hotel in the centre of Chamonix. - Chamonix
The town centre was crowded as the Marathon du Mont Blanc was taking place. And the white mountain was hiding in the clouds. - Modern times
Modern times in campsites. - Aiguille du Midi
Aiguille (3,842 m)as seen from our campsite early in the morning. - Flégère
We took the cable car up the Flégère (1877 m) and started our hike to Lac Blanc. With spectacular views: from Grandes Jorasses over to Mont Blanc. - Mont Blanc
What a great view of Mt Blanc (4809 m) and Dôme du Goûter (4304 m). - What a view!
The prominent mountains from the left: Aiguille Verte (4121 m), Grand Dru (3754 m), Grandes Jorasses (4208 m), Dent du Géant (4013 m), Aiguille du Grépon (3482 m), Aiguille de Blaitière (3522 m) and Aiguille du Plan (3673 m). Thanks to Peakvisor. - Le Lac Blanc
I was hoping to see a reflection in the white lake... But there is a reason the lake is called white. Oh well. Le Lac Blanc (2352 m). - Alpine chough
- Alpine chough
It is so dark, it almost looks like a crevasse in the ice. - Grandes Jorasses
From Grandes Jorasses/Pointe Walker (4208 m) to Dent du Géant/Pointe Graham (4013 m). And Aiguille du Grépon (3482 m) on the far right. - Le Lac Blanc
Still quite a lot of snow around the lake. - Grandes Jorasses and Mont Blanc
One just cannot have enough of this view. So so majestic. - A marmot!
Despite the crowds, there was a marmot running around the cottage. - Le Lac Blanc
Not much of the lake visible. - Le Lac Blanc
View of Aiguille de Chardonnet (3824 m) and Aiguille d'Argentière (3901 m). A bit of Argentière glacier is also visible. - Le Lac Blanc
Le refuge du lac Blanc with Aiguille de Chardonnet (3824 m) and Aiguille d'Argentière (3901 m). - An ibex!
- Mont Blanc
Mont Blanc and blooming Rhododendron - Panda Bâ
Panda Bâ by Julien Marinetti, it was placed here just two weeks prior to our visit. - Tapestry
A magnificent almost 8 m long "thousand flowers" tapestry is from the 16th century. What an interesting motif... - Beaune Polyptych
Closed altarpiece shows Nicolas Rolin, Chancellor of Burgundy, and his wife Guigone de Salins, who founded the hospice in 1443. In the center are St. Sebastian and St. Anthony with the Annunciation on top. While the wife has a 'proper' white angel, the red angel of Nicolas looks quite devilish to me. - Basilique Notre-Dame de Beaune
A magnificent stained glass window. But I have no idea how old it is. May be old, but my uneducated guess would say quite recent. - Vézelay Abbey
This Benedictine abbey, which is a well-known pilgrimage church, was constructed between 1120 and 1150. Here stood initially a Roman villa, then two Carolingian convents, then then reformed Benedictine order of Cluny. Built to accommodate pilgrims, and extended to accommodate even more pilgrims... - Vézelay Abbey
- Château de Chenonceau
One of the many chandeliers in the Gallery across the river. - Château de Chenonceau
Another magninficent fireplace, this one is in the Salon Louis XIV. The salamander and the ermine are the symbols of Francis I and his wife Claude of France. - Château de Chenonceau
La tour des Marques The only remaining (and renovated) part of the medieval castle owned by the Marques family. - Château de Chenonceau
What a wonderful black room. And matching white flowers. - Château de Chambord
Chambord is the largest château in the Loire Valley. Built in 1519–1547 as a hunting lodge for François Ier. A hunting lodge! - 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. - 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 chandelier in the royal ceremonial apartment. - Château de Chambord
The magnificent stairs go all the way up to the castle roof. - Bayeux Cathedral
Here is where the famous Bayeux tapestry was exhibited until 1793. Possibly from 1077. - Bayeux Cathedral
The ceiling in the Bayeux cathedral choir shows various local bishops and saints. The whole cathedral is indeed a stunning place. - Arromanches
- Pegasus Bridge Café Gondrée
First house to be liberated in France on the 5/6th of June 1944, located in Bénouville. - Mont Saint-Michel
What a perfect architecture. - Mont Saint-Michel
Well, hello! Bonjour! - Pointe du Grouin
Some art on a WWII bunker.