- La citadelle Saint-Elme in Villefranche
Roof of the remparts at the citadel. - L'île Sainte-Marguerite
Carpobrotus, also known as (according to Wikipedia) pigface, ice plant, sour fig, and Hottentot fig. To me it is just a very very pretty succulent. - Valbonne, Rue Grande
Rue Grande in Valbonne. A lovely stroll in rain before a delicious dinner. - Valbonne
Another lovely street in the "Manhattan" of Valbonne. - Place Garibaldi in Nice
- Nice
Corsica ferry leaving Nice. - Heavy rain
Heavy rain season already started. - Good morning sunshine!
- Place de l'Église in Biot
Recently renovated Place de l'Église in Biot. Perfect imperfection. Dating from 15th-17th century. - A letter box in Biot
Letter boxes in Place de l'Église in Biot. Is one hole for letters and the other for pigeons? - Église Sainte-Marie-Madeleine in Biot
Some frescoes in the church of Saint Mary Magdalene in Biot. - A gargoyle?
I actually don't know what or who his is, but he surely looks scared. Or scary. - Antibes
One of the lovely streets in the old Antibes. - Dilbar in Antibes
Dilbar on Quai des Milliardaires. Where it belongs. - Map of Antibes
Map of Antibes on Rue Thuret - Hermes
These Hermes perfume bottles remind me of Magritte's The Son of Man. - Sunset in Venice
A wonderful sunset in Venice, as seen from Fondamente Nove. - Lunch!
Plat du jour at the Restaurant d'altitude L'Etoile des Neiges. Potatoes with vegetables and (plenty of goat cheese). - 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. - Saint Etienne Church in Vallouise
What a lovely pretty ceiling. - Biot
A very picturesque house in central Biot. A lovely detail is the missing paint on 'dog's corner' ;-) - Chambre d'Amour in Valbonne
- Le Cirque Bleu by Chagall
Marc Chagall, Le Cirque Bleu (1950-1952), detail. Moon playing a violin, but of course. - La Création de l'homme by Chagall
Marc Chagall, The Creation of Man (1956-1958). - Le Paradis by Chagall
Marc Chagall, Le Paradis (1961). Eve's creation on the left and the Temptation on the right. - Adam et Ève Chassés du Paradis by Chagall
Marc Chagall, Adam and Eve Expelled from Paradise (1961). Self-portrait in the top right corner. Animals look away but the mother with the child "confirms this rather optimistic vision of the Sin". - Paysage Méditerranéen by Chagall
A tapestry by Chagall (1971). He claimed he was born for the second time once he moved to Côte d'Azur (Vence). The left sun is above St. Paul de Vence and the right sun above Nice. - La Création de l'homme by Chagall
Marc Chagall, The Creation of Man (1956-1958), detail. And just like that, there's someone hanging upside-down on a pole, while God is creating Adam. - Adam et Ève Chassés du Paradis by Chagall
Marc Chagall, Adam and Eve Expelled from Paradise (1961), detail. My favourite part of the painting. - Carpobrotus
I just have a special affinity for this plant. - Traudl and Franz
- Il Castello di Perchia
Our hotel was actually a castle, dating back to the 14th century. - Il Castello di Perchia
A wonderfully renovated castle. We were the only guests in the whole castle ;-) - Local art
- Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta
Frescoes (1477) - Spoleto underground
Spoleto has an interesting (and very practical) underground. - Spring in Umbria
- Spring in Umbria
- Spring in Umbria
- Monte Pradafitta
I may be wrong, but my guess would be wild orchids. A lot of them. - Collegiata di Santa Maria Assunta
Old Testament by Bartolo di Fredi (~1360). - Collegiata di Santa Maria Assunta
New Testament by Barna da Siena and/or Lippo Memmi (~1345). - Basilica Cateriniana San Domenico
There were several flags in the church, including this one with an angry-looking fish. Actually, the flags represent different districts (contrada) of Siena. This one represents Onda, a district of carpenters. And that is a dolphin. - Siena souvenirs
Unfortunately they didn't have the right size ;-) - Siena Cathedral
Detail of Pinturicchio's Mount of Wisdom (1505): Crates of Thebes who is throwing jewels into the sea. - Siena Cathedral
The divine interior of the Cathedral. - Siena Cathedral
Floors in the Piccolomini Library. - Eroica bike race
It kind of looked ... familiar ;-) - Eroica bike race
Plenty of retro knitted jerseys. - Palazzo Vecchio
Officially, such decorations are called grotesque. - Palazzo Vecchio
Grotesque or not, I like them a lot. - 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. - Sunset
A wonderful sunset on the way back home. - Monte Capanne
Early morning start towards Monte Capanne. The bird-cages did not run yet. - Hermitage of San Cerbone
Saint Cerbone moved here in the 6th century, this church is from the 15th century. There is a lovely pique-nique area behind the church. - Night in Caparica
View from our hotel room. - Caparica sunset
Another sunset in Caparica. But the Sintra hills are already cloudy. - Room of discoveries
Ceiling in the Room of Discoveries by Bernardo António de Oliveira Góis (c. 1770-c. 1820) and Cyrillo Volkmar Machado (1748-1823). - Cloister
What a lovely cloister this is. - Palácio Nacional de Mafra
One of the largest royal palaces, this one was commissioned by João V and built in 1717-1755. And yes, there is wildfire smoke in the background. - Palácio Nacional de Mafra
- Monserrate park
I think this is some kind of cycad, but I really can't figure out which one. - Chalet of the Countess of Edla
Ferdinand II built this for the opera singer Elise Friederike Hensler, later Countess of Edla. The chalet is alpine like - but dressed in cork. - Carpobrotus edulis
The whole Cabo is covered with carpobrotus. This one is yellow. - Chiesa del Santissimo Redentore
- Levico Terme
Some artificial flowers in the town centre. - Sweets in Levico Terme
Some delicious sweets from a local patisserie. - The Christmas market
The Christmas spirit at the Christmas market in the Dome Square. Even the recycling bins are in festive mood :-) - The Cat's House
Well, here I regretted not carrying my proper camera. Because I couldn't zoom in to the statue of the cat on top of the roof. - Christmas decorations
A giant moon in Bastejkalna parks. - Christmas decorations
The inside of the moon :-) - Christmas decorations
Bastejkalna Park and the wonderful Christmas decorations. The key is the symbol of Riga. - My favourite mornings
- Duck duck lamp!
These lanterns actually float on water. - Untitled
Art in Zagreb airport: Untitled by Emre Namyeter (2022). There's something about this installation that I just love. - 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
- 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. - Zellij in Alhambra
More wonderful zellij pattern in the palace. - Window shopping in Granada
This are some superbly executed fruits, veggies, plants, flowers, birds ... - Granada
The streets look pretty even when the shops and restaurants are closed. - Centro Cultural Fundación Unicaja de Málaga
A palace in the Plaza del Obispo in front of the Cathedral. - Spanish art
- Málaga Cathedral
Another very heavily decorated church. - Frangipani!
I just love frangipani (plumeria)! - Hôtel-Dieu de Beaune
View of the glazed-tiled hospice roof from the cour d'honneur, the main inner court. The roof type probably has central European origins, but is now a trademark of Burgundy. - 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. - Château de Chenonceau
La chambre de Catherine de Médicis The rooms were quite cosy with fireplaces, wooden ceilings and the walls covered with Flemish tapestries. - Château de Chambord
The centre of the spiral staircase has a lantern at the top. - Bayeux Cathedral
Plenty of old windows in the cathedral as well... These are from 1260, showing the local bishops Exupère and Loup. - Bayeux Cathedral
One of the many angels in the crypt. They play all sorts of instruments. - Bayeux Cathedral
15th century fresco of angels in the crypt. - Mont Saint-Michel
Well, hello! Bonjour! - Cap d'Erquy
It was insanely hot walking here, no shadow in sight. But it was worth it. - Pont de Saint-Nazaire
We stopped just south of the Saint Nazaire bridge... - Puy de Dôme
What a season for Jumbo Visma. Not quite what I would have wanted, though. - Crème brûlée
The dessert in Valloire, L'Asile des Fondues. - Ravenna
Wonderful street signs all over the town. - Ravenna
Not a window, actually a roof. - Fly me to the Moon
A sculpture by J. C. Farhi (2011) at Venice airport. Is it just me - but I see Pikachu :-)