Category Archives: travel

April 25, 2012 · 5:48 pm

We Interrupt the Current Travel Series for This . . .

One of my favorite photo sites is Photobotos.com. There’s some really stunning photography located there for your viewing pleasure. Think you’re good enough? You can upload one of your favorite photographs and see if it makes the cut. But be forewarned—there’s some really stiff competition here.

How good is this stuff? Here are just a couple of samples (please visit them and enjoy even more beauty; after all, it’s free!):

Coral Garden by Floris van Breugel:

Coral Garden by Floris van Breugel on Photobotos.com

Horns of Paine by Ian Plant:

Horns of Paine by Ian Plant on Photobotos.com

How impressed was I? Here’s the review I left in the comment section for Horns of Paine:

There’s a definite, surreal, almost Dale Terbush-like sense to this photograph. The warm vibrancy of the sky colors is stunning, especially in juxtaposition with the cool colors of the vegetation and water. The craggy, angular features of the mountains also lie in sharp contrast to the flowing, dream-like quality of the waters below.

What an absolutely marvelous study in contrast—from textures to colors. Great job.

Starting Friday and following into next week, we’ll continue our pictorial travelogue on a cruise to Europe. Next up—more on Normandy, France; Brugge, Belgium; Brussels.

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Filed under Photography, travel

Tagged as art, nature, photography

April 25, 2012 · 6:00 am

Day Trip from Saint-Malo—Dinan

On Monday we took a look at the first destination on our day trip out of Saint-Malo following our transatlantic crossing aboard Holland America’s MS Ryndam. That first stop was Mont Saint-Michel. Later that day our Cruise Critic group wound up in the port city of Dinan located along the river Rance. Dinan’s main attraction however is not the port. It’s the medieval walls and the enclosed old town situated high above the Rance. Some of the buildings hiding behind this fortification date back to the 13th Century.

Yeah, there’s a photo opportunity or two awaiting you in Dinan. Unfortunately, the weather that was our friend earlier that day in Mont Saint-Michel had turned on us by that afternoon. Skies were gray and intermittent showers dampened our sojourn behind the walls.

Nevertheless, I did manage to capture a few images worthy of display:

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Filed under Photography, travel

Tagged as cruise ship, Dinan, France, MS Ryndam, photography, travel

April 23, 2012 · 6:00 am

Day Trip from Saint-Malo—Mont-Saint-Michel

Our transatlantic crossing from Bermuda ended eight days after it began, in Saint-Malo, France. We met up with our Cruise Critic travel group for a day trip that took is first to Mont-Saint-Michel and then later that day to . . . well, that’s the subject of Wednesday’s blog. As for Mont-Saint-Michel, the name might not be familiar but the images of this small tidal island are iconic. If you ever make it to the Brittany, you owe yourself a visit to this incredible place of enchantment. Unfortunately, that may be difficult for a while. Starting at the end of this month, the one road to this commune will be closed as the final stage in a reconstruction aimed at removing centuries of accumulated silt to make Mont-Saint-Michel a true tidal island once again.

Just how popular is this place? Here’s an interesting pair of statistics: Population in 2006—41 Total visitors in 2006—3,000,000+.

A few words of caution for your visit: It’s a long, high trek to get to the top of the monastery that towers over the residents below. Wear comfortable shoes. Be prepared to take breaks along the way. The least crowded way to make most of the ascent is along the fortress walls rather than through the shops lining the meandering streets. You’ll also be greeted to some spectacular photographic subjects if you take this route. Save the cobblestone streets and the associated shopping for the leisurely gait back toward sea level.

Rather than even attempt to give you some fifteen hundred years’ worth of history on Mont-Saint-Michel, here are some links you may find of interest:

Mont-Saint-Michel—Wikipedia Article
Mont-Saint-Michel travel guide—Wikitravel Article
Mont-Saint-Michel—Official Web Site

Picture? Did you ask if I had pictures? What do you think?