Paris blanche

Just when I think Paris can't be any more beautiful, it snows.

SPQR

 The ruins, the frescoes and mosaics, the ceilings--good god, the CEILINGS! I think I spent half the time marveling and the other half just trying to process everything. (Rome really does have everything: from ancient to medieval to renaissance to baroque. It was a lot to take in in just 4 days.) My favorite sites were the Roman Forum, the Vatican Museum (THE GALLERY OF MAPS!), and Saint Peter's Basilica. I also really loved the Museo e Galleria Borghese and the Plazzo Daria Pamphilj. SPQR (Senatus Publicanusque Romanus) was written all over the city, even on the waste bins, and it was fun to test out--without much success--my limited Latin knowledge.

Oh, and the gnocchi, the pizza, and the gelato! Can't forget those either.

Paris II (Autumn)

Touristy photos along the Seine.

Paris I

Finally took my Nikon into Paris. Most of these are from the Rodin museum, with a couple from Parc Butte Chaumont & Les Tuileries mixed in.

Provence

two weeks in Provence: wine, antiques, markets, and hillside medieval towns
(sorry about the obvious slant in the second photo, it was taken from a moving vehicle on a likewise perilous cliff!)

photos from Gordes, Isle sur la Sorgue, Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, & Bonnieux