Small hotels hold their own charm. This one up the hill from the harbour in Porto (green shutters, middle) had 2 balcony doors which overlooked a small square. One of the advantages in travelling light is that you can carry your gear up 2 or 3 flights. It was dead quiet at night.

Signs

Signs that make me happy just to read them

The Atlantic Pyrenees

The Atlantic Pyrenees maybe low but very scenic and it was hard not to stop the car every 10 seconds for another pic. I think you can see how narrow the road and how good to have a (Panda) Fiat with standard gears, the better to not have smokin' brakes!

More of Mont St. Michel

It was an overcast day here and I tried to take pictures without people in then but there were hordes. I can't image what summer must be like if this was October. We parked on the causeway and left after our visit to come back at night. Where we had parked was underwater .

Town and Country

I can never decide if I like the beautiful countryside, the small inns right on the narrow road, the ancient or the jumble of towns

The End of the World

Cape Segres is at the south-western-most point of Portugal (Henry the Navigator et al sailed from here) and Bruce and I drove out from the Algarve town of Salema where we were staying, just to see the sunset one evening. I couldn't believe that in October so many others would be there also. The cliffs were very steep and one settled a derriere on any outcropping. It was somehow very satisfying to say I've seen the end of the world and it's lovely.

The end of our trip coincided with my birthday and we managed to get tickets for the Garnier Opera House 3 weeks before the production (although we were warned that the view was 'limited.' ) So I was surprised when our usher showed us into a loge. Then he said 'there' and up a high step was a tiny two seater! As it turned out the view was fine and only a tiny corner of stage left couldn't be seen. The Bartered Bride was sung in Chech with French subtitles! But pre-wedding histronics are the same in any language, n'est pas?

Normandy

France

You could never see all there is to see in Paris! You pop up from the underground (the Metro) and there is the Arc de Triomphe right in front of you. The view from the top is spectacular. You can see as far as Montmarte here.



The Jardin de Luxembourg is huge (and I have the 50 pics to prove it!)

Notre Dame de Paris -
the heart of Paris

I love the shops which feature the unusual and the traditional

Normandy

A cloudy day for the visit to Mont St. Michel

This small red dot (bottom, centre) is Bruce's hat which blew off when we had climbed to the top

The shinny up and down had to be documented!