Lyon

Lyon is located in the Rhone Valley and is UNESCO world heritage site.

Lyon

Lyon claims to be the gastronomic capital of France; it's a very happy place to be if you're hungry.  This photo was taken at a market that runs daily until 1 pm or so; a little longer on Saturday.

Bruges, Belgium

We'll let this be the sign-off photo from the northern Europe adventure - tomorrow we'll start in on some photos from Lyon.

Amsterdam

This building has an almost Disney-esque look to it iut seems to me.  It looks like it would be at home on some southern plantation, don't you think?

Amsterdam

The streets of Amsterdam are shared by cars, bikes and streetcars; in almost equal number it seems.  I was working on my slow shutter speed panning skills with the G11 when I got this shot.

Amsterdam

The first time I had a Hoegaarden was on a very warm day in Saskatoon.  It has formed the basis of my work plan for many warm days since.  Hoegaarden is a Belgian white beer that has a slight citrus taste; just the ticket when the mercury rises.

Amsterdam

Here's an urban abstract photo taken with the iPhone.  I have no explanation or words of wisdom to go with this image; I just like it.

Amsterdam

Foreground objects makes for an interesting photo I think; this fallen branch was a handy find in that regard as we strolled along the canals of Amsterdam.

Bruges, Belgium

I think this is carved in Flemish so you'll need to get a translation elsewhere; I can tell you it's been around for awhile - 1578 to be exact.

Bruges, Belgium

If I remember correctly, this ornate decoration was on the front of the city hall in Bruges.

Bruges, Belgium

By painting the trunks of these trees white they are protected against sunlight damage.  So in addition to looking really cool there is a botanical advantage too.

Bruges, Belgium

Lace is amongst the many things for which Bruges is known.  This lady was set up in what appeared to be the doorway to her home.  Those passing by seemed welcomed to watch - and to buy - if the mood should strike.

Bruges, Belgium

 

I was struck by the way these bright red umbrellas stood out against the plainly coloured brick background.

Bruges, Belgium

Bruges is an awfully long way to go for a waffle; but when in Rome....

Bruges, Belgium

I always seem to come home with a load of photos similar to this; doors and windows.  I like the symetry of this photo in particular.

Bruges, Belgium

This odd little icon describes how I felt after two days in Bruges; stuffed beyond belief.

Bruges. Belgium

Here is another photo of the Béguinage of Bruges.

Bruges, Belgium

 

My wife's godson Declan was with me when I took this photo and he was watching what was going on via the LCD screen on the camera. He said 'you like those double photos'.  When I aksed him what he meant he said 'one photo with two things in it'.  Pretty good term I think; I may use it myself from time to time.

Ghent, Belgium

This is one of my favourite photos from our trip to Belgium.  This is a detail shot of the interior of St. Bavo Catherdral in Ghent.  The light effect is the result of sunlight shining through stained glass windows to the right.

St. Bavo is home to Flemish artists Hubert and Jan van Eyck's work 'The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb' c 1426; sometime called simply 'the Ghent Altarpiece'.  You can read more about that at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghent_Altarpiece

Bruges, Belgium

The Béguinages in Belgium is much like a convent.  Wikipedia states: 'The beguines were a religious movement of women. Their success, according to the Belgian historian Henri Pirenne, was due to a surplus of women occasioned by violence, war, military and semi-military operations, which took the lives of many men. Great numbers of women had no option but to unite and collectively secure the aid of rich benefactors'.

Bruges, Belgium

Anyone who saw the 2008 movie 'In Bruges' will recognize this tower.  At the end of the film a rather dramatic even occurs in this tower.  If you want to find out the old fashioned way you can watch the film; but if you can't be bothered then ask me and I'll tell you.

Brussels

The cupola atop this building looks good against the blue sky I think....might be regarded as kind of an odd crop by some folks but I like the somewhat unusual look of this photo.

Amsterdam

Many of the older buildings along the canals of Amsterdam are coated with shiny black paint with white trim.  Depending on the angle of the sun it can look grey or even silver due to the reflectivity.  So for this image I converted it to black and white and used Oloneo Photo Engine's tone adjustment for the inky black look that represents the true 'Amseterdam Black'.

Brugges, Belgium

There are small fresco's on many of the facades in Brugges; this one is about 60cm by 90cm.

Brugges, Belgium

This is a detail photo of one of the many churches in Brugges.  Canon G11 RAW capture converted to JPEG with Adobe Lightroom.  Perspective correction made with Adobe Photoshop and Black and White conversion made using Oloneo Photo Engine.

Brugges, Belgium

This is a detail photo of a banner hanging over the street in Brugges

Gent, Belgium

Someone told me that if you want a fastidious housekeeper hire a Dutch person.  Evidently there are no Dutch people in Belgium!

Lyon, France

Here's the last of the daily posts from Europe. I had a few technical challenges with posting these photos but I was able to sort that out; getting the photos off the camera and onto the iPad, editing them and then posting them to the blog took some time to sort out.  The plan was to post a daily shot edited on-the-fly; now that we are home I'll post more photos edited with a little more finesse.

We saw many wonderful things on this trip; we ate and drank way too much, but we also walked for miles.  There were some new experiences; boat journeys on the canals of Amsterdam, seeing the great Leonard Cohen in Gent, being toured around Brussels by my wife's former classmate from Regina, Segway tours...all and all a great trip.  We have happy memories and we are glad to be home.

Huge thanks to our Belgium and Holland fellow travelers Declan, Dugald, Colleen and Alistair and our companions in France; Maria, Alex and Ginette.  You all rock and we were glad to have had the chance to spend time together.  Mostly though, thanks to my international touring pharmacist/educator wife Terri for, well, everything there is really.

Lyon, France

Lyon has two rivers running through it; the Saone and the Rhone.  This is the Rhone.  At home there is alway a desire for grass in a public park but in Europe they favour hard paving which seems more practical.  This park extends over a great distance and is a popular spot for biking, walking and just hanging out.

Lyon, France

Most of my blog followers know that photography is not my real job; as I senior architectural technologist I look at structures like this and wonder 'how can this not leak?'

Canon G11 edited with Photoshop Express for iPad.

Lyon, France

r

The Roman Theatre complex was built by order of Augustus in 17 BC - the oldest Roman ruins in France.