Building outside the Marunouchi station.

Fotos Nuevas Agosto 2012

www.facebook.com/catedraleseiglesias

© Álbum 0527

By Catedrales e Iglesias

By Cathedrals and Churches

Diócesis de Morelia

www.catedraleseiglesias.com

Santa Iglesia Catedral

Av Madero Poniente

Col Centro

Apdo Postal 17

C.P.58000

Morelia,Estado de Michoacán

(443) 312-29-36

Horarios de Misa de Lunes a Sábado a las 6:00 am, 7:00 am, 8:00 am, 9:00 am, 12:00 pm, 5:00 pm, 7:00 pm y 8:00 pm. Domingos a las 6:00 am, 7:00 am, 8:00 am, 9:00 am, 10:30 am, 11:30 am, 12:30 pm, 5:00 pm, 6:00 pm, 7:30 pm y 8:30 pm. Horario de Rosario de Lunes a Viernes a las 6:00 pm. Hora de Confesión durante Misa. Confirmación los Domingos a las 12:30 pm. Bautizos Sábados y Domingos a las 12:00 pm.

La Catedral de Morelia es un recinto religioso sede de la Arquidiócesis de Morelia de la Iglesia católica en México. Se encuentra ubicada como su nombre propiamente lo dice en la ciudad de Morelia, capital del estado de Michoacán, México. La catedral se localiza en el primer cuadro de la ciudad, conformando la traza del Centro Histórico de Morelia. El edificio fue construido en el siglo XVIII en la época de la Colonia Española, es de estilo barroco y esta realizado en cantera rosada que le da un color peculiar y característico.

# Arquitectónicamente la Catedral de Morelia comparándose con otras Catedrales de México, es similar a la Catedral Metropolitana de la Ciudad de México, Catedral de Puebla, e inclusive en su interior a la Catedral de Guadalajara.

# La catedral es la edificación más emblemática y representativa de Morelia dada su altura, ya que cuenta con dos altas torres, que se divisan por todo el valle de la ciudad. Por su altura, las torres de la Catedral de Morelia (66.8 m) son las cuartas más altas de México, después de las torres del Santuario Guadalupano (Catedral Inconclusa) en Zamora de Hidalgo (105 m), de la catedral de Villahermosa (80 m) y del Santuario de Guadalupe, en San Luis Potosí (68 m).

# Cuenta con una Iluminación escénica de singular belleza colocada por la empresa que iluminó la Torre Eiffel de París. Los fines de semana la catedral ofrece un espectáculo de luz y sonido con esta iluminación.

# La catedral está dedicada a la Transfiguración y en su interior alberga dos imágenes muy veneradas, Sagrado Corazón de Jesús que es el santo patrono de la ciudad, y el Señor de la Sacristía un Cristo muy antiguo realizado en pasta de caña de maíz. El cual es muy visitado y querido por la feligresía.

# Su belleza arquitectónica y su historia son otras razones por las cuales se ha convertido en un icono de la ciudad.

# En su interior este recinto dada su belleza, sonorización acústica y espaciosidad, figura como escenario de diversos eventos artísticos y culturales como el Festival Internacional de Órgano de Morelia, y el Festival Internacional de Música de Morelia.

La actual catedral de Morelia no ha sido la única catedral que ha tenido la ciudad, ya que en 1580, cuando los poderes civiles y eclesiásticos de Michoacán fueron trasladados de Pátzcuaro a Valladolid (anterior nombre de Morelia), se inauguró una catedral, muy inferior a la actual en tamaño y valor artístico. Esa construcción se ubicaba en la esquina de las actuales calles de Corregidora y Abasolo. Sin embargo, debido al crecimiento que experimentó la ciudad a finales del s. XVI e inicios del XVII, así como por causa de un incendio que en 1584 afectó severamente el anterior edificio catedralicio, se hizo necesario pensar en otro templo, más grande, sólido e importante. Por ello es que a inicios del s. XVII el cabildo catedralicio comenzó las gestiones para la construcción de la nueva catedral.

Muchos proyectos fueron propuestos, pero hasta mediados de ese siglo fue aceptado el proyecto del arquitecto italiano Vicenzo Barrochio, también conocido como Vicente Barroso de la Escayola por parte del Virrey Francisco Fernández de la Cueva, Duque de Alburquerque el 22 de marzo de 1660 concluyendo continuos trámites y proyectos de construcción durante un largo período de casi 80 años.

El día 6 de mayo de 1660 la primera piedra de la construcción fue colocada por el obispo Fray Marcos Ramírez del Prado. La construcción estuvo a cargo del propio Vicenzo Barrochio hasta el año de su muerte, acaecida en 1692, razón por la cual el gran arquitecto no pudo ver concluida su obra monumental. Sin embargo, solo 52 años después del deceso del maestro, sus discípulos lograron terminar la titánica tarea arquitectónica, por lo que la magnífica obra fue concluida en 1744.

La catedral sufrió diversos saqueos por parte del ejército independentista, en el año de 1810. Hacia fines del siglo XIX se construyó la reja perimetral que delimita el atrio. A finales de los años 90 del siglo XX se efectuaron diversas obras de restauración exteriores e interiores, con lo cual se preservó mejor la belleza del edificio. También, en los primeros años del siglo XXI, se inauguró la nueva iluminación escénica de esta catedral de Morelia.

The Cathedral of Morelia is a religious compound headquarters of the Archdiocese of Morelia of the Catholic Church in Mexico. It is located as the name itself says it in the city of Morelia, capital of Michoacan, Mexico. The cathedral is located on the first frame of the city, forming the trace of the Historic Center of Morelia. The building was built in the eighteenth century the Spanish colonial times, is in Baroque style and is made of pink quarry which gives it a distinctive and characteristic color.

# Architecturally, the Cathedral of Morelia compared against other Cathedrals in Mexico is similar to the Metropolitan Cathedral in Mexico City, Puebla Cathedral, and even inside the Cathedral of Guadalajara.

# The cathedral is the most emblematic and representative buildings of Morelia given their height, since it has two tall towers that can be seen throughout the valley of the city. For his height, the towers of the Catedral de Morelia (66.8 m) are the fourth highest in Mexico after the towers of the Sanctuary of Guadalupe (Cathedral Unfinished) in Zamora de Hidalgo (105 m) of the cathedral in Villahermosa (80 m) and the Sanctuary of Guadalupe, San Luis Potosi (68 m).

# Has a unique scenic beauty lighting placed by the company that lit the Eiffel Tower in Paris. On weekends, the cathedral offers a sound and light show with this lighting.

# The cathedral is dedicated to the Transfiguration and its interior houses two highly venerated image, Sacred Heart of Jesus who is the patron saint of the city, and the Lord of the Sacristy a Christ very old paste made of cornstalks. Which is much visited and loved by the congregation.

# Its beautiful architecture and history are other reasons why it has become an icon of the city.

# Inside this enclosure because of its beauty, sound and spacious sound, set for a variety of artistic and cultural events as the International Organ Festival in Morelia, and the International Music Festival of Morelia.

The current cathedral of Morelia was not the only cathedral in the city has had since 1580, when civil and ecclesiastical powers were transferred from Patzcuaro Michoacan to Valladolid (Morelia previous name), opened a cathedral, much lower the current size and artistic value. That building was located on the corner of the present streets of Corregidor and Abasolo. However, due to growth experienced by the city at the end of s. Sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, and because of a fire in 1584 severely affected the former cathedral building, it became necessary to think of another temple, larger, robust and important. That is why at the beginning of s. XVII the cathedral chapter began efforts to build the new cathedral.

Many projects were proposed, but until mid-century the project was accepted by the Italian architect Vincenzo Barrochio, also known as the Plaster Vicente Barroso by the Viceroy Francisco Fernandez de la Cueva, Duke of Albuquerque on March 22, 1660 concluding continuous procedures and construction projects over a long period of almost 80 years.

On May 6, 1660 the first stone of the building was laid by Bishop Fray Marcos Ramírez del Prado. The building itself was given by Vicenzo Barrochio until his death in 1692, why the great architect could not see completed his monumental work. However, only 52 years after the death of the teacher, his pupils got through the daunting task of architecture, so that the magnificent work was completed in 1744.

The cathedral suffered several raids by the army for independence, in the year 1810. By the end of the nineteenth century built the perimeter fence that marks the atrium. In the late 90s of the twentieth century restoration work carried out various internal and external, thereby better preserved the beauty of the building. Also, in the early twenty-first century, opened the new stage lighting of the cathedral of Morelia.

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The Infinity Room juts out 218 feet (66 m) from the House on the Rock, without supports underneath. The room has over 3,000 windows. This view is from one mile away.

CSX freight trains frequently cross the Pinkerton's Landing Bridge, which spans the Monongahela between Munhall and Rankin, PA. This was once the center of a giant steel mill, and the bridge is named for the Pinkertons that tried to break the Homestead Strike of 1892.

Taken from the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial.

One of the many ornate doors I saw in Israel

720p video sample from the just announced Nokia Lumia 800.

Videos werden maximal mit 720p (1280x720 Pixel)

... Video zeigt die Reichenstraße (Fußgängerzone)

Special Location-Situation of 800 - 1200 m over the sea level , this city is Germany´s highest altitude city.

Füssen is framed in the south of the steep, more than 2000 meters high summits of the Ammergauer, Lechtaler and Tannheimer alps, whereby among mountain climbers the hills are considered to dolomites of the north alps - because of their fastidious climbing routes gladly a goal.

Lage 800 – 1200 m über dem Meeresspiegel Bayerns höchstgelegene Stadt,

Selten ist Natur vielfältiger. Hier begegnen sich gleich drei Landschaftsformen:

sanfte Allgäuer Hügel,

wilde Bergwelt und,

idyllische Seenlandschaft.

Geologisch ist die gesamte Landschaft um Füssen ein Werk der letzten Eiszeit, der wir auch die rund um Füssen gelegene Moore und damit eines der wertvollsten Naturheilmittel verdanken, das in einigen unserer Kurbetriebe zur Anwendung kommt.

www.stadt-fuessen.de/unserestadt.html

April 18, 2015:.

15-474564.

Building at the southeast side of Independence Square.

Robby Thompson

San Francisco Giants: 1986-1996

San Francisco Giants All-Star: 1988, 1993

NL Gold Glove Award: 1993

NL Silver Slugger Award: 1993

"Willie Mac" Award: 1991

Florida-native sprang from Double-A in 1986 to become epitome of Giants second basemen during 11-year career in San Francisco. Named Rookie of the Year by The Sporting News (1986), he led NL in Triples (11) in 1989. In career totals, Thompson stands first among San Francisco Giants second basemen in Games (1,279), Fielding Percentage (.983), Putouts (2,11), Assists (3,704) and Double Plays (873).

*

Rod Beck

San Francisco Giants: 1991-1997

San Francisco Giants All-Star: 1993, 1994, 1997

"Shooter" was Giants bullpen ace in the mid-'90s, establishing Franchise records for Saves, Season (48) in 1993, and Saves, Career (199), later surpassed by Robb Nen. Rolaids Fireman of the Year in 1994, his 416 Games Pitched ranks ninth in franchise history. Beck and his wife Stacey were leaders from the start of Until There's a Cure Day in 1994.

*

The San Francisco Giants inaugurated the San Francisco Giants Wall of Fame, a perpetual tribute to their greatest stars, in September 2008 to celebrate their 50th Anniversary Season in San Francisco. The plaques along this wall recognize Giants players whose records stand highest among their teammates on the basis of longevity and achievements. Those honored have played a minimum of nine seasons for the San Francisco Giants, or five seasons with at least one All-Star selection as a Giant. As of Opening Day 2008, a group of 43 Giants legends qualified for this distinction, forming the charter class of honorees. As present and future generations of Giants players meet the criteria and make their marks in baseball history, plaques celebrating their careers will join this row of Giants immortals upon their retirement.

AT&T Park, located at 24 Willie Mays Plaza in San Francisco's South Beach, has been the home of San Francisco Giants since it was opened by China Basin Ballpark Corp on March 31, 2000. Originally named Pacific Bell Park, then renamed SBC Park in 2003, it was ultimately christened AT&T Park in 2006. Replacing Candlestick Park as the Giants' home, it was Major League Baseball's first privately financed ballpark since 1962.

Jefferson Island / Rip Van Winkle Gardens

5505 Rip Van Winkle Road

New Iberia, Louisiana

Iberia Parish

Atop a coastal salt dome on Lake Peigneur, Rip Van Winkle Gardens is 25 acres surrounding the Joseph Jefferson Home, built in 1870 by acclaimed American actor Joseph Jefferson and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Jefferson purchased "Orange Island" in 1869 and built his winter home here to enjoy the fine hunting and fishing and relatively mild climate of south Louisiana for 36 winter respites from the stage. Though Jefferson performed a great many roles in the theaters around the world, it was the role of Rip Van Winkle, as adapted by Jefferson from the Washington Irving tale that ensured Jefferson's fame. He played the role more than 4,500 times.

After his death in 1905, Jefferson's heirs sold the house and land on March 15, 1917 to John Lyle Bayless, Sr. of Anchorage, Kentucky. His heir, J. Lyle Bayless, Jr., began developing formal gardens surrounding the Joseph Jefferson home in the late 1950's, establishing the "Rip Van Winkle Gardens," named for its former actor-owner. Bayless successfully listed the Jefferson home as a national landmark with the Department of the Interior in 1972 and donated it in 1978 to a foundation which would assure its continued operation for the benefit of the public.

Bayless was widely recognized for his knowledge of and fondness for the camellia. In his writings, he related that he first glimpsed a brilliant red camellia in Natchez, Mississippi, during a stay at an old plantation home there with his mother, while his father hunted on Avery Island. Later, he became enchanted with the "Jeanerette Pink" camellia growing in front of the Jefferson Home in the midst of a bitter winter, when he observed the death of the beautiful pink blossom and its return to life only two weeks later.

In Bayless' development of the gardens, he used large numbers of camellias of a great many varieties and made them floral emphasis of the gardens. He gained distinction for his work with this beautiful southern flower, winning more than 1,000 prize ribbons in the southern states. In 1966 Bayless hired an English horticulturist, Geoffrey Wakefield, to landscape the gardens and the result was a beautiful mixture of camellias, azaleas, crape myrtles and other plants in a series of interlocking gardens.

Bayless continued to collect plants from around the world for his conservatory and a reception area for guests who came to view his gardens. Bayless built a "dreamhouse" right on the edge of Lake Peigneur adjoining the new conservatory and gardens where he planned to enjoy his retirement. This was not going to happen as he lived there for only 9 months until November 20, 1980, when disaster struck. A drilling rig pierced one of the giant salt caverns. Then things began to happen. The water from the lake started draining. The drilling rig and other pieces of equipment were sucked into a whirlpool and disappeared. Men in the mines below noticed water coming in. Miraculously, no one was killed.

Bayless knew soon after the tragic events began to happen that the Island was in danger. He went to the second floor of the new house and watched as the lake drained. The ground under the house was moving and he was forced to evacuate. Upon returning he found his "dream house", the conservatory, the visitors center and 65 acres of the gardens gone - now covered by water in an expanded lake.

The gardens were closed to the public for almost four years.

Bayless died in 1985. The foundation that he had endowed and entrusted sold the property in late 1996 to Carolyn Doerle and her husband, Dr. Ron Ray. They set out to revitalize the site by offering many ways for the public to enjoy the tradition that Bayless and the Foundation started years ago. Doerle ran the property from late 1996 until it closed to the public in July of 2001.

In October 2003 the gardens were sold to Live Oak Gardens, LTD which is owned and operated by Mike and Louise Richard and is located adjacent to the gardens. Gardens' restoration began with the removal of debris and restoration of many buildings. Some of these include the Bayless Conference Center, Cafe' Jefferson, the Caretaker's house, the Joseph Jefferson Mansion, Servant's Quarters and other buildings that were badly neglected for several years.

As per www.ripvanwinklegardens.com/history.html

Lens Nikon16-85mm f/3.5-5.6 VR

Our new home.

The Terrace

The Terrace overlooks the Great Bath and is lined with statues of Roman Governors of Britain, Roman Emperors and military leaders.

The statues date to 1894, as they were carved in advance of the grand opening of the Roman Baths in 1897.

The Roman Baths were not discovered and explored until the late nineteenth century. The view from the Terrace is the first view you have as a visitor to the baths, but what you can see from here is less than a quarter of the site as a whole.

www.romanbaths.co.uk/walkthrough/the_terrace.aspx

The Roman Baths complex is a site of historical interest in the English city of Bath. The house is a well-preserved Roman site for public bathing.

The Roman Baths themselves are below the modern street level. There are four main features: the Sacred Spring, the Roman Temple, the Roman Bath House and the Museum holding finds from Roman Bath. The buildings above street level date from the 19th century.

The water which bubbles up from the ground at Bath falls as rain on the nearby Mendip Hills. It percolates down through limestone aquifers to a depth of between 2,700 and 4,300 metres (8,900 and 14,100 ft) where geothermal energy raises the water temperature to between 64 and 96 °C (147.2 and 204.8 °F). Under pressure, the heated water rises to the surface along fissures and faults in the limestone. This process is similar to an artificial one known as Enhanced Geothermal System which also makes use of the high pressures and temperatures below the Earth's crust. Hot water at a temperature of 46 °C (114.8 °F) rises here at the rate of 1,170,000 litres (257,364 imp gal) every day, from a geological fault (the Pennyquick fault).

In 1983 a new spa water bore-hole was sunk, providing a clean and safe supply of spa water for drinking in the Pump Room.

The first shrine at the site of the hot springs was built by Celts, and was dedicated to the goddess Sulis, whom the Romans identified with Minerva. Geoffrey of Monmouth in his largely fictional Historia Regum Britanniae describes how in 836 BC the spring was discovered by the British king Bladud who built the first baths.

The baths have been modified on several occasions, including the 12th century when John of Tours built a curative bath over the King's Spring reservoir and the 16th century when the city corporation built a new bath (Queen's Bath) to the south of the Spring. The spring is now housed in 18th-century buildings, designed by architects John Wood, the Elder and John Wood, the Younger, father and son.

The thermal waters contain sodium, calcium, chloride and sulphate ions in high concentrations.

The water that flows through the Roman Baths is considered unsafe for bathing, partly due to its having passed through the still-functioning original lead pipes, and up until World War II, it was advertised on the basis of the radioactivity it contained. However, the more significant danger is now considered to be infectious diseases.

The newly constructed Thermae Bath Spa nearby, designed by Nicholas Grimshaw and Partners, and the refurbished Cross Bath allow modern-day bathers to experience the waters via a series of more recently drilled boreholes.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Baths_%28Bath%29

Berlin - Germany

Here's an old balcony shot from January '05 that I had a little fun with last night.

After the Cologne Cathedral the also wellknown church Great Sankt Martin in the old town of Cologne near the Rhine.

The Renaissance residential residential development in Lewisham, south London.

D802_691

24/08/2015 : Bologna, Piazza Maggiore: chiesa di S. Petronio

portale mediano: Storie della Genesi (Iacopo della Quercia scult., 1425-38)

Sacrificio di Caino e Abele

De Bovenste Plasmolen is een midden- en bovenslag watermolen te Plasmolen, in de Nederlandse gemeente Mook en Middelaar. Deze korenmolen is in 1725 gebouwd als papiermolen. De molen maakt gebruik van water uit plaatselijke bronnen.

In 1944 is de Bovenste Plasmolen door oorlogshandelingen beschadigd. Hierbij is de toenmalige molenaar Fons Verouden door een granaatscherf geraakt en om het leven gekomen. Na zijn dood heeft het ruim 50 jaar geduurd voordat de molen hersteld werd. In 1995 werd hiertoe de Stichting Bovenste Plasmolen 1725 opgericht, die ervoor heeft gezorgd dat de molen in 1999 is hersteld.

De Bovenste Plasmolen is bijzonder omdat hij water uit twee molenvijvers op verschillende hoogte kan betrekken, waarbij het water uit de bovenste vijver (gevoed door de Beek van het Groene Water) bovenlangs wordt gevoerd, terwijl het water uit de onderste vijver (gevoed door de bron De Helskuil) vanaf het midden van het waterrad wordt aangevoerd.

De Bovenste Plasmolen is maalvaardig en is tijdens de zomermaanden op gezette tijden voor het publiek geopend.

Germany, Flensburg

Shanghai at night

Another handsome example of 'black and white' architecture in the market town of Ledbury, Herefordshire.

Cragside, previously the home of William Armstrong, ( Lord Armstrong ) first house in Britain to have electric lighting using hydro-electric power he designed and built, Northumberland.

DAY ONE IN FUNCHAL - ON THE TOURIST BUS.

The MSC Armonia from Funchal Marina.

On the official sightseeing tour bus!

Simon Adams 1700, 95 High St

Sign for Up and Up Gift Shop, 1016 Grant Avenue, San Francisco, California. Above that is an old neon ghost sign for Ginn Wall Hardware, which is no longer in business.

Ein paar Kilometer weiter in Kötschach-Mauthen, wo das Gailtal breiter wird, suchen wir Reiseblogger Sissy und Stefanie Sonnleitner auf, die uns ein herrliches Super-Food-Frühstück vorbereitet haben. In lieblich (englische B&Bs lassen grüßen) eingerichteten Hotelräumen wird uns Frühstück auf Basis von Wissen rund um das Wirken von Essen auf den menschlichen Körper serviert. Neue Superfood-Kreationen sowie ein veganes Buffet werden ebenso bedient wie Müslitiger und klassische Frühstücker. Die SlowFood-Schnecke ist als Dekoration überall dabei :)

#visitcarinthia #reisebloggerat #slowfoodtravel #slowfood

The Glasgow City Council towers over George Square in Glasgow.

George Square is the principal civic square in the city of Glasgow, Scotland. It is named after King George III. Laid out in 1781, George Square is today home to the headquarters of Glasgow City Council, and boasts an important collection of statues and monuments. It is generally regarded as the de facto centre of the city,

Jon Reid | Travel & Hospitality Photographer | Portfolio | Blog | Facebook Page

Painshill, Surrey

I’ve been wanting to take a city break in summer, rather than in the cold months for a while, so rather than heading for the Lake District for a week of toil on the fells when Jayne could get a week off, we took off from Liverpool for Paris. Flight times were nice and sociable but it meant we were on the M62 car park at a busy time in both directions – it’s a shambles! I’ve stopped over in Paris a dozen times – on my way to cycling in the Etape du Tour in the Alps or Pyrenees – and had a few nights out there. Come to think about it and we’ve spent the day on the Champs Elysees watching the final day of the Tour de France with Mark Cavendish winning. We hadn’t been for a holiday there though and it was a bit of a spur of the moment decision. Six nights gave us five and a half days to explore Paris on foot. I had a good selection of (heavy) kit with me, not wanting to make the usual mistake of leaving something behind and regretting it. In the end I carried the kit in my backpack – an ordinary rucksack – to keep the weight down, for 103 miles, all recorded on the cycling Garmin – and took 3500 photos. The little Garmin is light and will do about 15 hours, it expired towards the end of a couple of 16 hour days but I had the info I wanted by then. This also keeps the phone battery free for research and route finding – I managed to flatten that once though.

What can I say – Paris was fantastic! The weather varied from OK to fantastic, windy for a few days, the dreaded grey white dullness for a while but I couldn’t complain really. We were out around 8.30 in shorts and tee shirt, which I would swap for a vest when it warmed up, hitting 30 degrees at times, we stayed out until around midnight most nights. It was a pretty full on trip. The security at some destinations could have been a problem as there is a bag size limit to save room in the lifts etc. I found the French to be very pragmatic about it, a bag search was a cursory glance, accepting that I was lugging camera gear, not bombs around, and they weren’t going to stop a paying customer from passing because his bag was a bit over size.

We didn’t have a plan, as usual we made it up as we went along, a loose itinerary for the day would always end up changing owing to discoveries along the way. Many times we would visit something a few times, weighing the crowds and light etc. up and deciding to come back later. I waited patiently to go up the Eiffel Tower, we arrived on Tuesday and finally went up on Friday evening. It was a late decision but the weather was good, the light was good and importantly I reckoned that we would get a sunset. Previous evenings the sun had just slid behind distant westerly clouds without any golden glory. It was a good choice. We went up the steps at 7.30 pm, short queue and cheaper – and just to say that we had. The steps are at an easy angle and were nowhere near as bad as expected, even with the heavy pack. We stayed up there, on a mad and busy Friday night, until 11.30, the light changed a lot and once we had stayed a couple of hours we decided to wait for the lights to come on. This was a downside to travelling at this time of year, to do any night photography we had to stay out late as it was light until 10.30. The Eiffel Tower is incredible and very well run, they are quite efficient at moving people around it from level to level. It was still buzzing at midnight with thousands of people around. The sunset on Saturday was probably better but we spent the evening around the base of the Tower, watching the light change, people watching and soaking the party atmosphere up.

Some days our first destination was five miles away, this is a lot of road junctions in a city, the roads in Paris are wide so you generally have to wait for the green man to cross. This made progress steady but when you are on holiday it doesn’t matter too much. Needless to say we walked through some dodgy places, with graffiti on anything that stays still long enough. We were ultra-cautious with our belongings having heard the pickpocket horror stories. At every Café/bar stop the bags were clipped to the table leg out of sight and never left alone. I carried the camera in my hand all day and everywhere I went, I only popped it in my bag to eat. I would guess that there were easier people to rob than us, some people were openly careless with phones and wallets.

We didn’t enter the big attractions, it was too nice to be in a museum or church and quite a few have a photography ban. These bans make me laugh, they are totally ignored by many ( Japanese particularly) people. Having travelled around the world to see something, no one is going to stop them getting their selfies. Selfies? Everywhere people pointed their cameras at their own face, walking around videoing – their self! I do like to have a few photos of us for posterity but these people are self-obsessed.

Paris has obviously got a problem with homeless (mostly) migrants. Walk a distance along the River Seine and you will find tented villages, there is a powerful smell of urine in every corner, with the no alcohol restrictions ignored, empty cans and bottles stacked around the bins as evidence. There are families, woman living on mattresses with as many as four small children, on the main boulevards. They beg by day and at midnight they are all huddled asleep on the pavement. The men in the tents seem to be selling plastic Eiffel Tower models to the tourists or bottled water – even bottles of wine. Love locks and selfy sticks were also top sellers. There must be millions of locks fastened to railings around the city, mostly brass, so removing them will be self-funding as brass is £2.20 a kilo.

As for the sights we saw, well if it was on the map we tried to walk to it. We crossed the Periphique ring road to get to the outer reaches of Paris. La Defense – the financial area with dozens of modern office blocks – was impressive, and still expanding. The Bois de Boulogne park, with the horse racing track and the Louis Vuitton Centre was part of a 20 mile loop that day. Another day saw us in the north east. We had the dome of the Sacre Couer to ourselves, with thousands of tourists wandering below us oblivious of the entrance and ticket office under the church. Again the light was fantastic for us. We read that Pere Lachaise Cemetery or Cimitiere du Pere Lachaise was one of the most visited destinations, a five mile walk but we went. It is massive, you need a map, but for me one massive tomb is much the same as another, it does have highlights but we didn’t stay long. Fortunately we were now closer to the Canal St Martin which would lead us to Parc de la Villette. This was a Sunday and everywhere was both buzzing and chilled at the same time. Where ever we went people were sat watching the world go by, socializing and picnicking, soaking the sun up. As ever I wanted to go up on the roof of anything I could as I love taking cityscapes. Most of these were expensive compared with many places we’ve been to before but up we went. The Tour Montparnasse, a single tower block with 59 floors, 690 foot high and extremely fast lifts has incredible views although it was a touch hazy on our ascent. The Arc de Triomphe was just up the road from our hotel, we went up it within hours of arriving, well worth the visit.

At the time of writing I have no idea how many images will make the cut but it will be a lot. If I have ten subtly different shots of something, I find it hard to consign nine to the dark depths of my hard drive never to be seen again – and I’m not very good at ruthless selection – so if the photo is OK it will get uploaded. My view is that it’s my photostream, I like to be able to browse my own work at my leisure at a later date, it’s more or less free and stats tell me these images will get looked at. I’m not aiming for single stunning shots, more of a comprehensive overview of an interesting place, presented to the best of my current capabilities. I am my own biggest critic, another reason for looking at my older stuff is to critique it and look to improve on previous mistakes. I do get regular requests from both individuals and organisations to use images and I’m obliging unless someone is taking the piss. I’m not bothered about work being published (with my permission) but it is reassuringly nice to be asked. The manipulation of Flickr favourites and views through adding thousands of contacts doesn’t interest me and I do sometimes question the whole point of the Flickr exercise. I do like having access to my own back catalogue though and it gives family and friends the chance to read about the trip and view the photos at their leisure so for the time being I’m sticking with it. I do have over 15 million views at the moment which is a far cry from showing a few people an album, let’s face it, there’s an oversupply of images, many of them superb but all being devalued by the sheer quantity available.

Don’t think that it was all walking and photography, we had a great break and spent plenty of time in pavement bistros having a glass of wine and people watching. I can certainly understand why Paris is top of the travellers list of destinations