The Road Home Pt. 1 Bordeaux - July 7/8

Just prior to leaving Provence, the lavender was in full bloom, in the backyard, attracting butterflies...

 The pool, last day 84 degrees F

 View to the East terrace

 West terrace

 So long La Cerisaie - it was grand.

 The long and winding (narrow) road.

 Any room for people in here?  Oh no, here comes Christine with more bags (actually happened)

 Cathedral at Bordeaux, begun in 1096, with most of the work done in the 1300s.  Of course Bordeaux also a major wine region in france with many many many vineyards producing famous wines such as medoc.

 Tour Pey-Berland the bell tower located next to the cathedral.

 Bordeaux has an extensive and very modern light rail system - not sure but these might be Bombardier trains.

 evening light.

 Place de la Bourse, seen from the Mirror d'eau.  The Mirror is a splash pad with about 2 cm of water in it, which periodically drains, and then produces mist from hundreds of jets embedded in the surface of the splash pad.

 looking down the Mirror d'eau towards a church spire.

 The Dune du Pyla.  This sand dune is enormous, at 107 metres in height it is the highest in Europe.  The dune moves about 4m per year and has swallowed a pine forest, and a hotel.

 Keep moving girls or the sand dune'll get ya.

 Look down....way down

 Big doesn't really explain it.

 Travellers disappearing over the dune

 Even the light fixtures on the boardwalk in Bordeaux are cool.

 Kind of says it all....

June 22 - Gordes

Off to the hill-top village of Gordes, another of the Provençal villages listed as one of the most beautiful villages in France.  Along the way we find signs for a Bories village.  A borie is a "dry stone" hut.  Dry in terms of no mortar, not in terms of a nice place to live without dampness.  Unfortunately despite a sign that said that they were open, the gate was closed and nobody was around; so we had to settle for pictures taken  from the other side of the fence.

The village of Gordes, showing the Chateau, and the hills of the Luberon in the background.  Like all hilltop villages in Provence, it has been there a long time.  The village dates from prehistoric times (code for beats me), and yes the Romans were here.  The castle (chateau) dates from the 10th century.

View towards the hills of the Luberon.

According to the town web-site, during the second world war, Gordes was an active resistance centre.  On August 21, 1944 resistance fighters attacked a German patrol, killing at least one soldier.  This did not endear the town to the Germans, and on August 22, 1944 they bombed the town, destroying at least a dozen houses.

A short distance from Gordes is the Abbaye Notre-Dame de Senanque.  The Abbey was founded in 1148, and is home to Monks of the Cistercian order.  The Cistercians follow the Rule of St. Benedict, and are essentially a splinter group of the Benedictine monks who also follow the Rule of St. Benedict.  So clearly they are very different.  The emphasis of daily life is on manual labour and self-sufficiency.  The monks of the Abbey of Senanque grow (and sell) Lavender, and tend honey bees for their lively hood...Ohh, and there is also the gift shop.

The lavender in Provence was in full bloom, but here in the Luberon, slightly further north we had a "Purple Haze"

Mason marks on the interior of the Abbey church.  Somewhat unusual to see spiral, and round mason's marks as they are more difficult to carve.

A short drive from the Abbey is the Village des Bories, which was actually open.  All of the various residences, and stables are made by stacking stones at just the right angles so they don't collapse.  Not good for an earthquake zone.

A wide view of the Village des Bories.

The Lavender in Provence - Just down the road from our villa.

June 16 - 20 Venice

OK, Here it is.  The monster Venice Post.

If you have never been to Venice (the one in Italy, not the 1000s of places with little more water than a puddle that call themselves Venice) GO.

Take an afternoon, leave the map, walk, getting lost will take care of itself.
We had an apartment just off the Piazza San Marco, and while steps away from the crowds, was very quiet.
St. Marks Cathedral, one of the showcases of Venice.

A Venetian street at "Rush Hour"

The Grand Canal as seen from the Rialto Bridge.

Piazza San Marco, with the Cathedral and the Bell Tower.

The Cousins.

The tunnel and alley that lead to our apartment.

Detail of the towers, and mosaics on the Right side of  St. Marks Cathedral.

The Doge's Palace (Ducal Palace)

The Astronomical Clock, with the winged lion, the symbol of Venice.

Mosaic on the entrance to St. Marks.

Door to St. Marks with the lion door knockers - the lion is the symbol for St. Mark.

Venice at dusk, looking from the Piazza San Marco, across the grand canal to the basilica santa maria della salute.  This church was built as a great big "Thank You" by those Venetians still alive after the plague.  The flying buttresses are all spirals ... very cool.

Glass from the famed factories of Murano

The Piazza San Marco as seen from the bell tower

Our family as seen from the front of the camera.

The public entrance to the ducal palace, the grand staircase in the background.  Yes that's another winged lion.

The often photographed bridge of sighs, so named as it connects the prisons to the law courts in the Ducal Palace; convicted prisoners got their last glimpses of freedom from the two square windows inset into the bridge.

Omnipresent Venetian masks - We thought this one looked like the "Evil Queen"

Venetian sunset, taken from the Venetian water bus - or Vaparetto.

On the island of Murano, a show(off) piece.

The understated elegance of a Murano chandelier.

The island of Burano, famed for it's lace making and the ability to use up everyone else's 1/2 empty cans of paint.  There must be a by-law that no two houses can be painted the same colour.

The courtyard inside the Ducal Palace, that borders the south façade of St. Marks Basilica, which used to be the private church for the Doges.

Mars and Neptune, welcome you to the Doge`s palace.  We`ll be here all century, enjoy the veal.

The golden staircase inside the palace.

SIGH.

Sometimes you just have to go with the flow.

Marble tile work on the floor of St. Marks Basilica, very intricate, very hard to do, very expensive...and that was the point.

Nice Knockers!

Our Gondola, and Gondolier.

Alexandra et. al.

Rachel is _very_ pleased to be on the Gondola.  Sarah is about to burst out laughing.

The Rialto bridge - this used to be the point of tax collection for all goods coming into Venice by land (the Customs house near the Piazza San Marco, was the one for goods coming by sea).  Now it is the place to spend, spend, spend...and of course pay tax.

Marco.........Polo.........Houseo.

Cassanova`s place, now the post office.  There is something very wrong about that.

Murano glass ....orchestra

Murano glass....bugs.