Historically, you could make purchases of wine through the wall of a building in Florence, rather than having to go inside. One of these openings is shown below.
Enhanced Street Signs
Local Florence artist Clet Abraham sells stickers that modify street signs in a variety of humorous ways. Here are four examples:
Mind Your Step
This sculpture is positioned on one of the Florence bridges, and was made by local artist Clet Abraham, who is known for quirky art installations.
A Bridge Over Muddy Water
This is the famous Ponte Vecchio in Florence, well-known for the masses of jewelry shops along its walkway, as well as the masses of tourists buying from them.
Typical Provence Street
This street happens to be in Venasque, but could be in almost any of the hilltop towns in Provence. Crooked, windy, eroded, and very steep.
Ocre Building Materials
This photo of Roussillon shows the ocre tint of its buildings, which were constructed from the ocre-colored rock in a local quarry.
The Ocre Cliffs of Roussillon
The weather was poor, but did not mute the remarkable ocre colors of the cliffs adjacent to Roussillon, France.
Cute Doggie in Street Market
A street vendor in Provence set up this cute little guy to attract shoppers, and then swooped in to make sales. It generally worked.
Wrong Time for Lavender
This is the famous Gordes Monastery, where they grow all the lavender. Not this time of year, though - everything was gray and dry, instead of the usual lush fields of lavender, backed by a very well-maintained monastery. Oh well, wrong time of year.
Pretty Spectacular, But Would You Want to Live There?
Here is a nice shot of the French village of Gordes, which is stuffed with winding streets and leaning houses. Definitely high maintenance. And yes, that definitely looks like a swimming pool in the lower right corner. Could be medieval, but not likely.
All This for Goat Cheese
We visited a farm in Provence that produces goat cheese (including this goat). The facility was astonishingly dirty, so I skipped the cheese eating part of the visit.
Another Glorious Day in Provence
Here is Melissa at a very nice overlook in the Saint-Remy region. There were sailplanes overhead, working the thermals on a gorgeous, sunny day.
Avignon Water Wheel
It took some work to find it (much banging of cell phones that kept changing directions on us), but we eventually found a street in Avignon with a series of old water wheels running alongside it.
Door Needs Some Work
It also might be a bit drafty. This door is adjacent to the papal palace in Avignon.
Avignon Papal Palace at Not Quite the Right Time
If you stand to one side of the Avignon papal palace at just the right time, the setting sun turns the building’s stones to a beautiful golden color. As you can see, we were a bit late, so only the top part of the building has the right color.
Bridge Needs Some Repair Work
This picture of a partially-destroyed bridge in Avignon was taken from a tour boat that runs down the Rhone River next to the city.
The Prince of Wales Hotel
The Prince of Wales Hotel is an old wooden structure located in the Canadian portion of Glacier National Park. We got a room on the drafty fifth floor, which is badly in need of an overhaul. On the plus side, it has a magnificent view. The hotel is near the bottom in the following picture.
Trail Overlook in Glacier National Park
Here is a fine view of a lake and surrounding peaks on the east side of Glacier National Park.
A Completely Bleached Tree
This tree was next to the trail on the way up to a scenic overlook in the northeast corner of Glacier National Park.
Just Before the Storm Hit
We had just returned to the Many Glacier Hotel in Glacier National Park from a hike when a storm rapidly built up and dumped on us - along with a wee bit of lightning.
