Hills of Bordeaux

 Pentax K5, Sigma 10-20mm, 1/180, f5.6, ISO160

On a recent trip to France we were very fortunate to spend some time in Bordeaux visiting a few Grand Cru estates and tasting their fabulous wines.  We stayed a night in an old Chateau surrounded by rolling hills & forests - perfect for wild boar & mushroom hunting.

St. Jean-de-Luz

Pentax K5, Tamron 18-250mm, 1/160, f5.6, ISO160

Due to the tremendous Atlantic storms, St. Jean-de-Luz harbour in the south of France has immense ancient walls to protect the town & bay from harm.  On the far right in the distance you can see Spain, and on the left the distant Pyrenees mountains.

Guggenheim - Bilbao

 Pentax K5, Sigma 10-20mm, 1/100, f7.1, ISO80

  

 Pentax K5, Sigma 10-20mm, 1/50, f7.1, ISO80

We recently spent a few weeks in the south of France on the Atlantic coast, St. Jean de Luz to be precise, and what a wonderful holiday it was.  Situated on the French & Spanish border, we were only 15 minutes away from Spain.  So we made a day trip of Bilbao and I finally had an amazing opportunity to photograph the acclaimed Guggenheim Museum.  Built in the 90's, and covered with a skin of titanium, this is claimed to be one of the finest structures on the planet and I don't believe many would dispute that. I was in my element and spent hours photographing while our hosts' good humour slowly dwindled with each shutter release.  I don't blame them since I did get carried away, but it was a dream come true and I'm very grateful.  Now I just need to print them onto canvas.......

French Sunflowers

PENTAX K5, TAMRON 18-250, F11, 1/180, ISO 160

We just returned from a few amazing weeks holiday in the south of France, and had the luxury of also visiting two top Bordeaux chateaus where strangely enough I photographed these sunflowers amongst all the vineyards.

Honeymoon Days

Barging down Canal du Midi in the south of France..........drifting quietly through rolling hills & forests, vineyards & villages, with plenty of time and love on your side.

Damsel

Far above the madding tourist crowds in the medieval city of Carcassonne, there was a French damsel on a balcony blowing soap bubbles...

The Louvre

Perhaps a not often seen view of the Louvre in Paris.

Medieval

This time in colour, the entrance to the medieval walled city of Carcassonne in France.

Yummy

A fine collection of tarts, pastries & chocolate delights in a small French patisserie in Carcassonne.

Giant Feet

Standing under the foot of a giant, this I think is a unique perspective of the Eiffel Tower.

Liquid Boulevard

 

Another perfect spring day on Canal du Midi....nowhere to go, nowhere to be.....bliss.

The Gates of Hell

The Gates of Hell is a work sculpted by Rodin, it currently stands in the Musee de Orsay in Paris and is based on the characters of Danté's Inferno.  I find this piece fascinating, the longer you stare at it, the more intricacies you discover.  Here are two close-up images of various scenarios found in the work, which is much larger & detailed than one would imagine.

Medieval Night Life

Carcossonne by night.

Medieval Bridge

Ancient bridge to the walled city of Carcassone in France.

Garonne

A lazy day in Toulouse on the Garonne, then again, most days appeared to be lazy in France.

Good Timing

Photographer photographed inside Musee de Orsay in Paris.

Forboding

Entrance to the medieval walled city of Carcassone in the south of France.

No time Toulouse

Toulouse, south of France.

Trebes

On Canal du Midi, in the small village of Trebes, there is a wonderful restaurant right on the lock which serves a great cassoulet.....this is the lonely boat tethered outside.

Different Strokes

Railway tracks in Paris, just fooling around with two very different images of the same thing - as a matter of interest I wonder which you prefer?  (Feel free to comment)