Summer fun

With friends from Atlanta, we had a lovely day floating on tubes down the Blackwater River in NE Florida. It's a shallow slow lazy river with a white sandy bottom. The water is the colour of tea making the white sandy bottom rather hard to see.
The stretch of river we floated was four miles long and took up a good four hours, with a few stops along the way onto some of the sandy beaches. There were also canoes and kayaks available for longer trips, which we will do next time. We didn't see any water moccasins, just a few turtles and some small fish. We were told that the water wasn't swampy enough for alligators which made me relax just a bit! We were on a constant watch for "danger". It was all unbelievably peaceful and beautiful - and if you were brave, it was relaxing.

Creepy

I admit, I hate spiders, especially huge spiders....and living in the south it is hard to avoid them. You can imagine the scene when I almost walked into this web this morning. I should be used to them by now, they are everywhere and beautiful webs are created in a matter of hours. A path clear of webs when you go to bed at night only to be decorated in the morning, and on your walk down to get the paper you have to be on constant watch.






Warning!! scary photos below!

these ladies are not poisonous.

Some welcome rain storms

We woke up to a thunderstorm on Friday morning. The thunder was so close it shook the house, the type that makes you jump in surprise. This dead branch got such a shock, it jumped out of the tree. Along with a fresh supply of Spanish moss.

Taken away this morning by the city garden trash truck

Maybe there were other branches jumping out of trees, as it looks like our backdoor neighbours were getting some trimming done, I guess that is what we need to do too.

A New Orleans weekend

There is no doubt that New Orleans is a colourful place......

fill of interesting details,

but this past weekend I found the softer side of those colours

large sculptures that caught my eye

homes on the edge of the French Quarter

when you look down the small spaces between some homes you almost feel that you are in Europe

the odd voodoo shop reminds you where you are

In the central business district a contrast in colour ....the warmth of the old and the cold of the new

leaving that mighty Mississippi behind, you head home crossing the newly opened bridge over Lake Pontchartrain. Driving on the wrong side of the road, we guess that it is intended to allow for hurricane evacuation while the other span is completed. The old bridge is to our left.

we took the scenic route home along highway 90 where we saw the calm Gulf beaches on one side and on the other, the remains of hurricane damaged homes

and a quick stop to pick up the makings of a good fresh dinner

A little bit of home

No matter where you go, there is always a little something to remind you of home.


a poster in a shop window in Paris

inside Notre-Dame cathedral, Paris


the flag flying in a side street of Copenhagen.

300 km and 6 million R.I.P.

The Catacombs: The underground world of Paris hides many strange things, a few of which are open to the public. We joined a small crowd one morning outside this ordinary looking entrance to descend into the underground.

Below us are hundreds of km of passages quarried for the stone to build the city. In the 18th century the abandoned quarries of Paris were put to a new use. Cemeteries throughout the city were condemned and the remains of all condemned cemeteries would be moved discreetly to a renovated section of Paris's quarries.


The passages contain the remains of 6 million bodies, stacked neatly to save space.
Flash photography is not allowed, so my photos are only of areas where there was a small source of light.

The exit located down a small side street was nothing more than a plain door in a wall with no markings. You could walk past the door without knowing what lies below.


This link contains a good description of the experience of visiting the catacombs

http://itotd.com/articles/206/paris-catacombs/

and the link from Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catacombs_of_Paris

It's not all bad underground

La

with entrances like those, why wouldn't you step down to see what is there?

you might come across some Gypsy music

or your train car might have it's own little concert ...he played French tunes...

the walls visually interesting

even crested

the posters were framed

ceilings covered in art work

and some colourful steps on departure!

and what was down here? This underground entrance wasn't for la metro! Built by the pig-keeper establishments in 1905. Click on the photo to see the detailed mosaic

why I love Paris # 2

Not your average corner bakery!

perfection!

check out the size of those, that's a standard baking sheet they are sitting on!

I'll have the orange macaron please.

a box of watercolour...mmm...chocolates anyone?

I am thinking these might be chocolate covered macarons.

and I am still thinking that I should have eaten many more!