- Torch Lily
A lovely pharmacy garden in the hospice. - Beaune
Usually one would not want to connect driving school and vineyards. Usually. - Château de Chenonceau
Everywhere in the castle were huge bouquets of wonderfully arranged flowers. They give the castle a royal touch :-) - 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. - Château de Chambord
My kids were fascinated by the 'minecraft trees'. - Château de Chambord
View of the castle from the road. - Mont Dol
An almost 400 years old chestnut tree. - Plage de Cherrueix
Such an impressionist view! Hot air and water reflections do their magic. - Route D673
One cannot not stop here. What a lovely place. On the road D673 just south of Calès. - Claustro Real
The royal cloister was built by architect Fernão de Évora in 1448-1477. - Praia da Gigi
Early morning walk on the beach. - Traditional Korea
- Buddhist Temple
- Water lily
- Water lily
- Korean design
- Botanical gardens
- A peacock
- Tree ferns at the Incheon airport, Seoul
- Flying over Siberia
- Capo di Stella
View of the Lacona beach - Porto Azzurro
Passegiatta Carmignani - Porto Azzurro
- Chiessi
- Capoliveri
- La Calcinaia
- Agave blossom
- Splednid hotel
The hotel had a private gondola landing stage. If you're in Venice, do it with style. - Basilica di San Marco
A detail on the southern facade of the Basilica - Giardini Reali
A man reading a book in the middle of the Royal Gardens. Bliss... - Giardini Reali
The Royal Gardens were built under Napoleon in 1806. - Libreria Acqua Alta
Well, some people call treating the books like this charming. I don't. - Canal Grande
As seen from the Ponte dell'Accademia. - View from Monte Arco (276 m)
View towards Porto Azzurro. - Monte Capanne
Early morning start towards Monte Capanne. The bird-cages did not run yet. - Chiessi
- Portoferraio and Castello del Volterraio
Hike up the Cima del Monte (515 m). A wonderful path with views of Portoferraio and Castello del Volterraio. - Caparica beach
Fishing boats on the Caparica beach. Still a very active fishing port. - Miradouro de Santa Luzia
An angry fish at the Miradouro de Santa Luzia - Quinta Pézinhos no Tejo
A wonderful setting for a wonderful dinner. - Óbidos
13th century castle, and one can walk on the walls. - R. do Pôr do Sol
The street name says it all: sunset street. - Ilha do Baleal
Northern tip of Ilha do Baleal and Ilha de Fora. - Hotel garden
Wonderful tiny garden of our hotel (Silver coast). - Cloister of Silence
This cloister was built under King Dinis I (1261-1325). The Manueline top floor is from early 16th century. - Cloister of Silence
- Claustro Real
- Monastery of Saint Mary of the Victory
What a magnificent cathedral! - Praia da Gigi
- Hotel garden
- Cloister
What a lovely cloister this is. - Monserrate
Triton fountain in the park of Monserrate. - Monserrate park
I think this is some kind of cycad, but I really can't figure out which one. - Monserrate park
Again, no idea what this is. Some sort of blossoming succulent. - African lily
Our hotel garden in the early morning mist. - The unfinished initiation well
- An unnamed lake
The lake in front of the Gruta do Labirinto. - Quinta da Rigaleira
Carvalho Monteiro bought the place in 1892 and built this with the Italian architect Luigi Manini. The construction began in 1904 and was completed by 1910. - Pena park
We decided to take a walk through the Pena gardens (and not visit the palace this time). - Cruz Alta - High Cross
The High Cross is located at the highest point, at 528 m. The first cross was placed here around 1522 by João III. - View of Sintra
View from the castle towards the town. And you can see the fog over the sea :-) - Hotel garden
Another misty morning in Sintra. In the middle of the summer. So refreshing. - Convento dos Capuchos
It's so humid even in the middle of the summer, no wonder everything is so lush green! - Cabo da Roca
The westernmost point of mainland Europe. - Cabo da Roca
The lighthouse began operating in 1772. - Carpobrotus edulis
The whole Cabo is covered with carpobrotus. This one is yellow. - Lisbon Campo Grande
Campo Grande and Entrecampos in Lisbon. View from the hotel. - Mont Blanc
Mt Blanc as seen from Chamonix. We stayed in Camping de la Mer de Glace and walked to the town centre. - 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
Mont Blanc and blooming Rhododendron - Beaune
Remparts de la Comédie, the ramparts around the town is actually a street with some charming houses. - Hôtel-Dieu de Beaune
The reason why we came to Beaune: The hospices. Founded in 1443 as a hospital for the poor by Phillip the Good was in use until 1971. - 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. - Tapestry
A magnificent almost 8 m long "thousand flowers" tapestry is from the 16th century. What an interesting motif... - Meursault
A lovely town known mostly for its wine. - Côte-d'Or
No wonder these (and nearby) parts are called Côte-d'Or. - Pont-Canal de Briare
The water bridge is lavishly decorated. - Briare
What a lovely place Briare is. This is Pont du Rialto, one of the many bridges in town. - 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
View of the castle from the gardens of Catherine de Médicis. - Château de Chenonceau
Such a wonderful lavender. - Château de Chenonceau
The avenue leading to the castle. Great shade in the summer heat. - 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 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
The view of the French gardens. Louis XIV had a similar view from his bedroom. Not bad. - Falaise
View from the falaise of the Falaise castle. - Arromanches
Arromanches beach was the landing area during the D-Day Normandy Invasion. - Arromanches
The endless windy beaches are perfect for flying kites! - Les Roches de Ham
A lovely walk. A wonderful view. Delicious galettes. And cidre. - Fougères
Now THIS is a castle. Built from 12th to 15th century, it occupies an area of two hectares. - Cherrueix
I really like this town. - Mont Saint-Michel
This was my third time visiting Mont Saint-Michel and every time there was a different parking regime. With free shuttles one can finally enjoy the natural surroundings. - Digue de la Duchesse-Anne
The constructions of these dykes started in the 11th and 12th century. The dykes still separate cultivated polders and salty marshlands. And of course offer a great opportunity to hike or cycle :-) - Pointe du Grouin
A lovely walk close to Cancale. And some wild currents in the sea! - Pointe du Grouin
GR34. So so so tempting, but we needed to move on. - Le Fort du Guesclin
As everything in Brittany, this place is also full of history. Romans, destroyed, fortress in 800s, destroyed, fortified castle built by Bertrand du Guesclin in 1100, destroyed in 1598, this one built in 1756... - Cap d'Erquy
If you can, take a walk on Cap d'Erquy. You will not regret it. - Cap d'Erquy
- Cap d'Erquy