Bayeux: Tapestry and Cathedral

The city of Bayeux, in the province of Normandy, France, has three main tourist attractions. The first is a famous tapestry that tells the events surrounding the Battle of Hastings in 1066, William, Duke of Normandy’s successful campaign to invade and take over England. William became king of England, later passing the throne to his […]

FOTD: D-Day Garden Flowers

At Arromanches, Normandy, France, a garden, including flowers and sculptures, was created for the 75th anniversary of D-Day. These flowers constituted the “ground cover” of 1/2 of the garden. More of the garden: On the left side, are the flowers and remembrance. On the right is the stark reality of war, with obstacles, half-sunken ships, […]

Thursday Doors: Caen Chateau

(June 17, 2019) For Norm’s weekly feature, Thursday Doors, I am splitting our visit to Caen, France into two posts. We weren’t planning to visit Caen, but ended up spending half a day there because we had to get our rental car exchanged. Actually, Caen is a rather interesting city. After we took care of […]

Square July: Flags Against a Blue Sky

My entry for Becky’s July Square Blues today was taken at Omaha Beach in Normandy, France. This is the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Normandy, which lasted 100 days. But it all started on D-Day, July 6, 1944, when the secret organized invasion of northern France via the beaches of Normandy took place, orchestrated […]

July Squares: The Blue Mediterranean Sea

Becky’s July Squares topic is Blue. My blue square for today is a photo of the Mediterranean Sea, as viewed from the ancient Roman city of Caesarea Maritima in Israel, taken during our trip there in January. In the distance you can see a building on a peninsula (top center of photo). This allegedly is […]

Question Fun: On Adventures, Travel & Explorations

I know I’m late for this one, but I just didn’t have time to do it before now, and then I saw “Bipolar Barb”‘s answers and got inspired. This is one of my favorite topics, so please forgive me!!! Welcome to Question Fun The Twice Weekly Game! An easy game, and more so if you […]

Journey to Egypt: Temple at Kom Ombo

December 31, 2018 Kom Ombo Temple is probably my favorite of all the ancient Egyptian sites I saw on this trip. It has several interesting features that make it unique. About 30 miles north of the city of Aswan, Kom Ombo is located in a region that has a large Nubian community that was resettled […]

Journey to Egypt: Horemheb’s Temple & Gebel Silsila Quarry

December 30, 2018 This afternoon we arrived at the narrowest stretch of the Nile, an area that the Egyptians called “Khenu” or the place of rowing. At Gebel Silsila, high sandstone cliffs come down close to the water’s edge. The Temple of Horemheb is small and not well-known. Nile cruise ships don’t stop here because […]

Journey to Egypt, Part 8: Luxor Temple

December 26, 2018 Luxor Temple, in the heart of Luxor city center, is much smaller than Karnak, making it easier to see and digest. We visited after dark, around 6:00 pm. Mohamed said it is more striking at night and he was right. Luxor Temple was almost right across the street from our hotel, Sofitel […]

Biblical Layers: Tels in Israel

Dutch Goes the Photo has a weekly Tuesday Photo Challenge; the theme this week is Layer. Israel is full of archaeological layers, called tels. We saw several of these when we toured Israel last month, including Hazor, Meggido and others. These were cities or communities built over time one on top of the other. The […]