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.All Trips / Europe / France
A visit to Normandy: magnificent Mont St. Michel!!
As we drive through the pretty farmland of Normandy, with its pleasing apple orchards and pastures dotted with sheep and dairy cows, it’s easy to forget this region’s turbulent past. Normandy’s geography, situated on the stormy Atlantic coast not far from England, put it in the path of repeated war and conflict dating back to the days of William the Conqueror (who was born here). More recently Normandy was the site of the largest naval invasion in history, but more about D-Day in a future post.
Today’s destination is Mont-Saint-Michel and its iconic abbey, perhaps the most photographed in the world. As we leave the expressway we finally see the silhouette of the Mont in the distance. …
.All Trips / Europe / France
The Fortress and Medieval town of Chinon, France
There are few places in France of greater historic importance than Chinon. You wouldn’t know that by what you see when you drive into it today as it seems a small sleepy rural town. You’ll see little evidence of it’s past prominence except for the ruins of a fortress on a hill, only partially restored. Between the fortress and pretty Vienne River is sandwiched a small medieval village within which you’ll find dozens of beautifully restored buildings and — best of all — a place in France that is virtually free of tourists. The newer portions of the Chinon have grown beyond this, mostly to the riverbank opposite the historic district. And beyond the town lies the vineyards and greater …
“Pic of the Week”. June 28, 2013. The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg
It’s very easy not to visit Luxembourg. Not much large than a postage stamp on most maps, with a population of only a half million, the Grand Duchy quickly slides by on your rail or road-trip through the larger countries between which it’s sandwiched, namely France, Germany and Belgium.
We tacked on a brief visit to Luxembourg while in Europe, en route from France to Belgium, and were pleasantly surprised by the what a great place this was! Luxembourg City is recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage site for its historic core and the extensive remains of its fortifications (at one time it was one of Europe’s fortress strongholds), so this is where we focused our time. It’s a wonderful …
Jun 26, 2013
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.All Trips / Asia / Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: A Land Like No Other (Part 5) Sigiriya
“You absolutely must go to Sigiriya!”, Arthur C. Clarke insisted during my first visit to Sri Lanka. “There are other countries with beautiful weather and beaches, but there’s only one Sigiriya.” I think Arthur loved this place more than any other in his adopted homeland — with perhaps the exception of his favorite beaches and diving spots — to the point where he featured it as one of the two peaks central to his book, “The Fountains of Paradise” (the other being Adam’s Peak, also in Sri Lanka and to be discussed in a future post). In his office Arthur had large aerial photos of both Sigiriya (showing …
