France

Giverny – Monet’s Masterpiece

/ Bulldog Travels / 34 Comments

I came here for the waterlilies and left with a camera full of tulips.  About an hour train ride outside of Paris I found Giverny to be truly magnificent.  It is no wonder that the impressionist Master Claude Monet built this house and garden and made it his muse.  There truly is no reason to go anywhere else.  (That’s big talk from a restless traveler like me.)

It was a smidge early for spring and quite cool and rainy so I set out for Giverny hopeful that anything at all would be in bloom.  Well, to say I was surprised was an understatement.  The tulips were in force and I was enthralled.  I have truly never seen anything like it and I have seen a few gardens in my day.

It’s times like this I forget my camera could be destroyed by the rain.  But, I didn’t even care.  A rainbow of colors and shapes caught my eye for hours.  And thankfully mother nature was merciful enough to hold off the heavy rain long enough for me to get some shots.

It was a privilege to visit this place and I am left wanting to come back in every season.  Wouldn’t it be great to see those water lilies in bloom?  The roses climbing across the central pathway?  The trees in their fall colors?

For now I am so pleased to have spent the day with the tulips.  I hope you enjoy them half as much as I did.

Who wants to plant some tulips?  Has anyone even seen bulbs like this in their home town?

For other France musings please click here…

Paris – Architecture

/ Bulldog Travels / 26 Comments

Surprise!  I went to Paris.  I am back and have finally finished going through all of my photos.  I hope to post some interesting finds over the coming weeks.  I do hope you will enjoy my journey!

Cee’s Fun Photo Challenge gave me inspiration to share my first Paris photo.  That of a very unusual building called the Centre Pompidou in the 4th Arrondissement near Les Halles.  (Hadn’t really figured out how to start so thanks Cee!)  I am not sure this building is to my taste but I give the architects bonus points for having the moxie to build something like this in Paris!  The building houses a public library, center for music, and a Modern Art Museum.  (Appropriate.)

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Cee’s Fun Photo Challenge – Architecture

France is truly one of the most beautiful countries I have ever visited.  For other posts from previous trips to Paris and France please visit my page here!

Mont Saint Michel, Normandy, France

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I can’t tell you the first time I saw an image of Mont Saint Michel but what I can tell you is that I knew I would one day have to visit there.  The need was immediate and strong.  I saw an image, probably on PBS or in a travel magazine, of what I likely thought was a romantic castle on a granite island whose access would wash out twice daily with the tides.

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Only later did I realize it was first an 8th century Monastery, ultimately a Jail, and now one of the most glorious and interesting and beautiful locations to visit in France.  The opportunity to go to France with my husband came up (honeymoon!) and I won’t lie. I was more excited about visiting Mont Saint Michel than I was Paris.  And this Normandy island beauty did not disappoint.

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My first distant glimpse of the 247 acre UNESCO heritage site was from miles away.  I had been staring so hard in the direction of the island I was trying to will it to be closer and nearly jumped out of my seat at the first site of it.  My dream was really coming true.  This was frankly, the main reason I wanted to visit France and the time was finally here.  The land that surrounds the island is moderately flat so one can see it for miles as they drive towards it.  We couldn’t help but stop at the final approach to take a photo of the entire island, still from a short distance away, knowing once we were on the rock we wouldn’t be able to capture its full glory on film.  As sometimes happens the sunset helped make my moment even more perfect.

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While pilgrims once made the journey to the 8th century fortified Monastery, through the mud at low tide, there is now a small road that allows visitors to park their cars at the base of the island.  Visitors must schlep their luggage, on foot, up the steep hill to their accommodation should they be staying on the mountain.  I would highly recommend this because seeing the area lit up at night, largely without tourists, is worth every penny.  The architecture is gorgeous with stained glass, interesting doors everywhere, small single lane cobblestone walkways.  Everything, however, is up hill and uneven.  The island is peaceful and charming and invites you to walk around and explore its soul.

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The monastery tour gives you a lot of history behind the creation, occupation, politics, and present state of the buildings on the island. The grounds are lovely and the view is beautiful.  The island is so small it wouldn’t make sense to miss the tour!  One can take guided tours or take the recorded and informative tour and explore on your own.

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Mont Saint Michel on the bucket list…CHECK! I can tell you that I will never grow tired of looking at this island from any angle in any light at any tide.  It is an amazing idea, an amazing feat of engineering, and most importantly an amazingly romantic dream come true no matter the reasons behind its creation.

Incidentally, I only recently learned that Mont Saint Michel has a similar location in Cornwall, St Michael’s Mount.  You know I am going to have to go check that out some day…

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An unplanned stop in Normandy, France

/ Bulldog Travels / 13 Comments

My husband and I were traveling from Paris to the area of Mont Saint Michel in Western France.  We set out by car,me organized with my navigation plans fully planned out.  My husband noted that we would be driving through the Normandy area. Thinking it was a site not to be missed he wanted to take a “quick” detour.  I had carefully planned out our route and this was going to throw off my plans significantly which immediately set off my anxiety button.  But, instinctively, I knew he was right.  We headed for the Juno and Utah beach areas closest to our previously planned route.  And, I am so grateful we did, despite my fear of missing out on anything at Mont Saint Michel.

It was an honor to visit the area and a few local museums.  The museums were naturally filled with veterans of the war on both sides with honors going to all countries who participated.  How meaningful and moving it must be to come back to the location of the invasion so many years later with one’s children and grand children in tow.  It is really easy to see the area on PBS specials, movies, and books.  It is all very real and very breathtaking standing on the beach and seeing shells of tanks, giant metal obstructions placed in the water to impede boats from coming on shore, and cement bunkers still standing in place.

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I was particularly impressed with an art installation on Juno Beach at the Canadian Juno Beach Center representing the soldiers who fought and who were lost.  I was also equally impressed and shocked to see how far soldiers had to make it from the beach to their varying assignments if they were fortunate enough to survive.  It is a testimate to the bravery of these soldiers no doubt.

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It was a humbling and beautiful experience to visit and I am grateful my husband insisted we go.  Sometimes, the unplanned moments on a trip become the highlight.

For more information on the Normandy invasion click here.

Utah Beach Museum

Road Trip Music

/ Bulldog Travels / 18 Comments

Did you ever make mixed tapes in the past?  Did you ever try and seduce someone with your idea of the perfect set of love songs?  Did you ever create a mixed tape masterpiece for a family member to bring them back to a time to your past together?  Does a song every bring you back to a particular location while on vacation?

Well, a little while back I posted about Road Trip Food.   It got me thinking about Road Trip music.

I vividly remember driving my German friend through California and Arizona choosing appropriate “Road Trip Music” all along the way.  We listened to the Gypsy Kings as we drove through Central California.  We listened to the Beach Boys while traveling through LA.  We listened to U2’s Joshua Tree Album while traveling through Joshua Tree National park in Southern California near Palm Springs.  We listened to Elvis in Las Vegas.  We listened to American Indian mystical music in Sedona.

On subsequent trips to Europe with her we listened to country specific music when traveling through France and Italy.  We also paid special attention to whatever was popular in the country at the time.  I vividly remember a song called “The ketchup song” which to this day I still do not understand.  Europe had to have a flaw and that song was it.  We listened to the Proclaimers in Scotland and Ah-Ha in Germany.  (I was actually fortunate enough to see them in concert while there!)

Traveling through Ireland with my brother I brought Irish CDs with me only to find out the car we rented didn’t have a CD player.  Nonetheless we listened in hotels to Van Morrison, U2, Sinead O’Conner, Thin Lizzy, The Chieftains, Clannad, The Corrs, and Christy Moore.

I was introduced to Ronan Keating who sang, among other songs, “Nothing at all.”  I was familiar with the song from when Alison Krauss sang it and remembered Keith Whitley sang it first.  I pointed this out to a bartender who was singing along to it and he nearly threw me out of the bar for lying to him.  I never did convince him that someone else could have sang it first.

On a road trip with my husband to Utah we knew we would be stuck in the car for two full day’s worth of driving just to get to our main destination.  We ended up getting Farenheit 52 as a book on tape.  It was terrible!  Don’t hate me.  Everyone else in the world seems to love that book…  We had better luck listening to the Serial Podcast about a journalists journey to find the truth behind a murder!  That was an absolutely wonderful way to spend a road trip up and back to visit in-laws in Oregon!

Now-a-days we have Pandora and iTunes and a billion other music options.  It seems mixed tapes are no longer necessary making room for digital “playlists.”  I can tell you I will never bring a physical CD on a flight ever again!  But, I do miss the days where I put a lot of thought in to what music would be played to enhance my trip no matter whether I was driving or flying.

What kind of music do you listen to on the airplane when traveling?  Or what kind of music do you listen to in the car on a road trip?  What songs transport you back in time to a vacation moment you had long ago?

Cee’s Black and White Challenge – Signs – Tapir Crossing and Fox Hunting

/ Bulldog Travels / 5 Comments

Happy Friday everyone,

I see Cee’s weekly black and white challenge is signs.  I seems to recall a few interesting ones in my files…  I hope you enjoy a Tapir Crossing sign from the Belize Zoo and a Fox Hunting sign from France.  Random and funny if you ask me.

So, wherever your travels take you please, whatever you do, be aware of tapirs and hunting dogs as you cross the street.  😉

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http://ceenphotography.com/2015/04/30/cees-black-white-photo-challenge-signs/