Au Revoir France

We finished our tour of France with three days in Nice.

Nice is a seaside resort.

This is a shot of a private beach,

identified because of the matching chairs and beach umbrellas.

This is a public beach, just next to the private one.

Kate and me enjoying a night time stroll along the beach.

Nancy in front of Villa de Rothschild.

Views from the Rothschild Villa.

Note the pink facade of the villa.

It was Madame Rothschild's favorite color.

The flower market in Nice.

Scenic drive from Nice to Monaco.

This is the cathedral where Prince Rainier and Grace Kelly

were married and are now buried.

The palace at Monaco.

The changing of the guard at Monaco's Palace.

The casino at Monaco.

Marina at Monaco with no shortage of yachts!

Monaco is very dense...

...and our tour guide told us they were always building more there.

So we bid the fondest of farewells to France.

It is a beautiful country,

with wonderful people,

and for us, so many memories now.

When can we go again?

Summer is Officially Over...

...because the calendar says so.

But, also because we've returned

from our beach vacation.

We spent a week at Hilton Head this year.

This is the view from our back deck

which overlooked a small pond.

One of the things I like about Hilton Head

is that it has so many very natural settings

and you can see so much wildlife.

One afternoon I counted eight turtles

of fairly good size.

Making eye contact with the turtles.

I swear, they would actually look at my face!

The property where we stayed was a bike ride from the beach.

The nice thing about a beach trip in September,

is the lack of crowds.

Very "Summer of '42."

This is the Lighthouse at Hilton Head,

a local landmark, but not really a

totally functioning lighthouse.

This is a favorite spot to visit when at Hilton Head,

The Greenery.

It's actually a gardening center

but has a first rate antique and gift shop on the grounds.

The staff was busily preparing displays for fall.

"Bistro 843" where we had a lovely lunch one day.

We happened upon some one's creative sand art

one evening during a walk on the beach.

Goodbye beach condo,

goodbye summer.

Home again to a full blown remodel of the upstairs bathroom.

We discovered Nancy's tub had started leaking when

spots began appearing on my bedroom ceiling below. 

The demo took place while we were away.

I'm trying to keep those serene beach scenes

in my head as I listen to the hammering, sawing, drilling

and constant coming and going of the construction crew.

How About a Day Trip to France?

Strasbourg, France to be specific?

We think of visiting France and it's a major undertaking.

If you live in Stuttgart, Germany
it is only a couple of hours drive to reach Strasbourg.
Which is exactly what we did!

As soon as you cross the border from Germany into France
you are aware that you are in another country.
Of course all the signs are suddenly in French, not German.
But the architecture changes too.

Strasbourg is a lovely city
filled with charming shops,
so French!

Many of the shops had beautiful decorations
above their entry ways.

A pretty tablescape inside an equally pretty shop.

Lace curtains were everywhere.

A whimsical building decoration.

This is Strasbourg Cathedral de Notre-Dame,
known as one of the most beautiful
Gothic cathedrals in Europe.

So, you can have a day trip to France!