Iris - Bagatelle Gardens

One of the most beautiful gardens in Paris. Located in the Bois de Boulogne. Bagatelle has not only an atmosphere of poetic beauty and serenity on the edge of the Bois de Boulogne close to the bustle of Paris, but is also a place of great historical and horticultural interest. Its history stretches back almost three centuries including a château which is an 18th century 'folly'. Since 1905, it has belonged to the City of Paris and is used for exhibitions, concerts and cultural events. The Scottish gardener Thomas Blaikie was commissioned to lay out the grounds.

Snow in Paris

Snow on the carousel in Parc Monceau, February 2009. Known as one of the most attractive parks in Paris, Park Monceau, the brainchild of the Duke of Orleans in the 18th century, has become a favorite resting place for those looking for some peace and quiet away from the busy city.

Opéra Garnier

The Palais Garnier, also known as the Opéra de Paris or Opéra Garnier, but more commonly as the Paris Opéra, is a 2,200-seat opera house on the Place de l'Opéra in Paris, France. A grand landmark designed by Charles Garnier in the Neo-Baroque style, it is regarded as one of the architectural masterpieces of its time.

Stairs in Camondo Musée

One of the world's finest collections of decorative arts and a tragic story of the Nazi occupation of France during WWII.

Espace Albert Kahn

Albert Kahn (1860-1940) supervised, on his property in Boulogne, the creation of landscapes (Japanese, English) that reflected the world of his dream. He had an overarching objective : to bring nations closer together, to bring about a deeper understanding of other realities throughout the world. From 1909 to 1931, he sent photographers and cameramen in 50 countries to take pictures of daily life which promote tolerance.

Vineyards in Beaujolais

Beaujolais Region, just north of Lyon is one of the smallest wine regions by area bus is one of the biggest wine producing regions volume wise Beaujolais wines are well known throughout the world, but the smooth, mellow, fruity tones of the Beaujolais wines are a clear favorite of not only the locals who produce it, but the French as a whole. The locals and the entire country (as well as wine connoisseurs the world over) eagerly anticipate the release of the Beaujolais Nouveau on the third Thursday of November every year.

Brittany - Roscoff

A delightful seaport town in Brittany.

Lunch at Chez Jacky

An incredible small restaurant overlooking the estuary of the Belon River at Reic in Brittany.

Salvatore Dali Statue in Cadaques, Spain

Salvatore's wife, Gala, lived in Cataques. A narrow road leaves the village and takes you to the cove called Port Lligat, an old fishermen's refuge. When Dali met his wife Gala, he bought up a number of little houses belonging to fishermen in order to turn them into one dwelling. The strange building, immaculately white and topped with what look like imposing ostrich eggs is now open to the public as a museum-house. Dali's presence is everywhere in the series of little rooms in the house. When Gala died, he left Port Lligat and never went back. A lot of the furniture and many objects are still sitting there, as if the master should one day return.

View of Collioure

Collioure is a fishing village, somewhat commercialized but still quite attractive. Matisse "discovered" the town in 1905 and, attracted by the light, the sun and the blue of the sky and sea, persuaded other painters to join him. It soon became an artists' mecca, attracting Derain, Dufy, Dali and Picasso.

Leonardo Da Vinci in France

Leonardo da Vinci ended his life in France in the Clos Luce Manor house , near Amboise in Loire Valley. The King Francois I during his wars in Italy was seduced by the New Art of Renaissance and invited Leonardo da Vinci to France in 1516. Leonardo da Vinci was given the "Manoir du Cloux".

Leonardo da Vinci , great artist and scholar of the Renaissance, universal genius : painter , engineer , architect, drew monuments, machines that were realized only many centuries later.

Church of the Jacobin - Toulouse, France

This true jewel of the Southern Gothic style was part of the former monastery of the Dominicans, a mendicant order founded to fight the Cathar religion. It is an exceptional monument in which the relics of St Thomas Aquinas are worshipped. The 28-meter-high ribbed vaults comprising the famed and gigantic “palmier”, one column whose ribs fan out resembling a palm-tree, are not to be missed. The large cloister, a marvel of Gothic art, has been respected and has kept its medieval aspect.

Reims Cathedral

Notre-Dame de Reims (Our Lady of Rheims) is the Roman Catholic cathedral of Reims, where the kings of France were once crowned. It replaces an older church, destroyed by a fire in 1211, which was built on the site of the basilica where Clovis was baptized by Saint Remi, bishop of Reims, in AD 496. That original structure had been erected on the site of the Roman baths. As the cathedral it remains the seat of the Archbishop of Reims.

Pruning Vines in Champagne

Lots of hard work in the winter. Pruning helps to sustain the health and vigour of the plant, while controlling the quantity and quality of fruit, and directing the size, shape, and height of the vine to positive effect. Pruning helps to cut out diseased and damaged branches, averting the spread of decay and channels the all important sap back into productive parts of the plant. Controlling shoot growth will direct all the vines reserves to fruit production, promoting greater fruit quality.

Valley in Champagne in Winter

It gets cold in Champagne!

Memorial to Rabbi Rashi - Troyes (Champagne), France

Rabbi Shlomo Yitzhaki, better known by the acronym Rashi was a rabbi from France, famed as the author of the first comprehensive commentary on the Talmud, and comprehensive commentary on the Tanakh (Bible).

Ronda, Spain - Plaza de Toros

Outside the Plaza de Toros in the town of Ronda in Andalusia, Spain, is the large statue of a bull marking the entranceway to this bullring. The Plaza de Toros was built in 1785 and is one of the oldest bullrings which still hosts bullfights.

Mezquita - Cordoba, Spain

The Mezquita (Spanish for "mosque") of Cordoba is a Roman Catholic cathedral and former mosque situated in the Andalusian city of Córdoba, Spain. Originally built as a church, after the Muslim conquest the building was confiscated for use as a mosque and greatly expanded until it became the second-largest mosque in the world. It is regarded as perhaps the most accomplished monument of the Umayyad dynasty of Cordoba. After the Spanish Reconquista, it was returned to its original use as a church. Today it houses the main church of the diocese of Cordoba in Spain.

Le musée d'Art et d'Industrie de la ville de Roubaix

La Piscine is a museum of art and industry, located in the city of Roubaix in France. It is more formally known as La Piscine-Musée d'Art et d'Industrie André Diligent or Le musée d'Art et d'Industrie de la ville de Roubaix, but its common name derives from the fact that it is housed in a former indoor swimming pool, with a notable art deco interior.

Hercules in Naples

The heroically-scaled Hercules is one of the most famous sculptures of Antiquity, and has fixed the image of the mythic hero in the European imagination. It quickly made its way into the collection of Cardinal Alessandro Farnese, grandson of Pope Paul III. Alessandro Farnese was well placed to form one of the greatest collections of classical sculpture that has been assembled since Antiquity.

German WWI Submarine Pen at La Rochelle

This building was reinforced so heavily that it cannot be demolished.

Monet's Pond at Giverny

Late fall visit to Monet's home and gardens at Giverny.

Venice in November

A mailman coming from the flooded San Marco Square.

Frozen Versailles

December visit to Versailles to see the King Louis XIV Exhibition.

Christmas 2009 at Galeries Lafayette

The Paris department stores outdo each other decorating their windows for Christmas.