France from A to Z

A picture is worth a thousand words.

I'll be taking this old saying to heart next month when I participate in the annual Blogging from A to Z April Challenge, taking place for the ninth year in 2018. My favourite part of the challenge is coming up with a topic for each letter of the alphabet. My recent trip to France has provided me with many new photos for inspiration but still, I may have to stretch things a bit for the letter x.

My Theme for the A-Z Challenge

Travel Theme: Frame

Some of my favourite travel photos are ones where I've included a frame within the scene. Architectural features like arches and windows are great for drawing the viewer into the scene (the older and crumblier, the better.) And sometimes nature helps out with a well-placed reflection or a striking piece of vegetation.

Villefranche Bay, France

Italy from A to Z

Last summer I toured Italy from Rome to Venice with many more unforgettable sights in between: rugged mountains and scenic coastlines; great cities and delightful villages; and the master works of celebrated builders and artists. This diverse land has so much to offer the traveller. And now as April approaches, Italy has also provided me with a topic for each letter of the alphabet.

Travel Theme: Golden

This week's travel theme was inspired by the warmth and glitter of the season. And there's no shortage of golden subjects to photograph in Europe, from the gold mosaic tiles of The Sky Over Nine Columns art installation on the island of San Giorgio Maggiore, to delicate Venetian carnival masks peering out from behind shop windows.

The Sky Over Nine Columns by Heinz Mack

Travel Theme: Colourful

When taking photos on my travels, I'm drawn to vibrant colours. And this week's theme gives me the opportunity to look back on some of my favourite shots. I've always been partial to the colour blue, so I especially liked this little fellow spotted while visiting London in 2010. The Elephant Parade was taking place across the city's parks and walkways to raise awareness of the endangered Asian elephant and raise funds for the World Wildlife Fund.

Elephant Parade, London

Travel Theme: Arches

Centuries ago the Romans perfected the arch, which allowed them to build mighty structures that survive to this day like the Colosseum in Rome.

The Colosseum, Rome

Travel Theme: Numbers

Numbers are all around us and they serve many different purposes. Travellers will encounter numbers in different formats, like Roman numerals on a street sign in Pompeii or a foreign language like a French café sign.

Pompeii Street Sign in Roman Numerals

Travel Theme: Edge

I've been having lots of fun with photo themes on Google+ and Twitter and now I've discovered a series of weekly travel themes on Where's my backpack? This week's theme is Edge, which immediately reminded me of the Giardini di Augusto, the Gardens of Augustus, on the beautiful isle of Capri. The island's stunning views reward visitors who venture to the edge.

Entrance to the Giardini di Augusto, Capri

Travel News: Italy 2014

I've just returned from an amazing and very busy tour of Italy. As expected, the weather was hot. The ticket lines at major sights were long. And we managed to circumvent a railway strike, thanks to our capable tour director. The unexpected can also arise while travelling so if you're visiting Italy this summer, here are some things you should know.

Expect lengthy queues at the Vatican Museum, Rome

A Week of Photo Themes

Destination: Fiction is all about travel and photos and I love an inspiring theme. So when I discovered the wide variety of photo themes and Communities on Twitter and Google+ I had to join in the fun. Here's a small sampling of the themes I've found, celebrating everything from people to food and scenery, for every day of the week from Monday to Sunday. I participate with my travel photos but you can use pictures taken in your own home town.

MONDAY

#PeopleAtWorkMonday on Google+

Yeoman Warders, or 'Beefeaters', at the Tower of London,England

Europe by Colour: A Few More

At the completion of a series of posts which featured my favourite travel photos by colour, I decided to include a few more: pink, purple, orange and black.

The Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild on Cap Ferrat in the south of France is a marshmallow pink confection. The property features nine different theme gardens. The largest is the French Garden, seen here in front of the villa, and it offers stunning views of the Mediterranean Sea.

Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild, Cap Ferrat

Europe by Colour: White

Today's post in a series on my favourite travel photos by colour features white. White is actually the absence of colour but the ribs in the fan-vaulted ceiling in the gothic chapel at the Musée Cluny, the Museum of the Middle Ages in Paris, make up for the lack of pigment with an intricate pattern.

Chapel Ceiling, Musée Cluny, Paris

Europe by Colour: Yellow

The fourth post in a series on my favourite travel photos by colour features the sunny colour yellow.

This little frog was keeping a discreet eye on visitors to the gardens of the Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild from his perch on a cluster of flowers. The lavish belle époque villa is on the Cap Ferrat peninsula on France's Côte d'Azur.

Gardens of the Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild, Cap Ferrat

Europe by Colour: Green

Today's post, the third in a series on my favourite travel photos by colour, features the colour green.

The lush countryside in the Burgundy region of France offers many peaceful scenes like these Charolais cows grazing on the gently rolling hills in the Mâconnais.

The Mâconnais Countryside

Europe by Colour: Blue

This is the second in a series of posts featuring my favourite travel photos in five colour categories: red, blue, green, yellow and white. The first post featured the colour red. Next up is my favourite colour, blue.

The clear skies over the Tuileries Gardens in Paris formed a lovely backdrop for this white marble sculpture by Nicolas Coustou, La Seine et la Marne. The photo was taken on the Bastille Day weekend and the French flag can be seen waving above the treetops.

La Seine et la Marne, Nicolas Coustou
Tuileries Gardens, Paris

Europe by Colour: Red

A photo blogging challenge called Capture the Colour has inspired me to create my own series of posts featuring my favourite travel photos in five colour categories: red, blue, green, yellow and white.

Today's post starts with the most vibrant of colours, red, and this lovely basket of ripe strawberries in a shop window in the town of Tournus in Burgundy.

Dan Brown's Inferno: Venice in Photos

In Dan Brown's latest novel, Inferno, Robert Langdon leads readers on another thrilling chase through the streets of Florence and Venice. I've assembled my own photos of some of the locations in the book. (Update: There are more photos from a second trip to Venice in the post Dan Brown's Inferno: More Venice in Photos.)

After completing his quest in the historic centre of Florence, Langdon boards a train bound for Venice, La Serenissima, and arrives at Santa Lucia Station.

Dan Brown's Inferno: Florence in Photos

Dan Brown's latest novel, Inferno, was released on May 14th, just in time for a rainy long weekend. It was hard to put the book down as I followed Robert Langdon on another thrilling chase through the streets of Florence and Venice. And it prompted me to look up my photos of some of the locations from the book.

Inferno opens with a mysterious character running north from the Arno River, behind a palazzo with a crenellated tower, through Piazza di San Firenze toward the spire of the Badia.

Palazzo Vecchio, Florence

Piazza di San Firenze and the Badia Spire

An Olive Farm & Les Baux de Provence

Arles, July, 2012 - It was the last day of our Rhone River cruise, and when we awoke this morning the Avalon Scenery was docked in Arles. Before visiting the town, we were taking an excursion into the Provençal countryside to an olive farm and the hilltop town of Les Baux de Provence.

Arles on the Rhone River

Memories, Old and New

My grandmother recently turned 99. Physically she’s still spry – she’s one of the more mobile residents of her nursing home. But sadly her memory hasn’t fared quite so well. Ask her about the residents of her rural community from seventy years ago and she’ll tell you lively stories about each one. But she won’t remember last Christmas or her birthday party. Not even what she had for lunch today.