Tag Archives: historic

The Gentle Beauty of Granville in Normandy, France

It was late in the afternoon and the appearing-then-disappearing sunlight streamed through each intersection in sporadic bursts. The two main streets of the Haute Ville section of Granville are lined with beautiful old stone houses, many dating back to a period between the 15th to 17th Centuries.

Stone buildings line the Haute Ville (high town) section of historic Granville in Normandy, France

The upper portion of the town is surrounded by an ancient fortified wall from the 15th Century and is perched high atop a hillside overlooking the latter portions of Granville built on reclaimed seafront.

The jumbled rooftops of the lower town section of Granville in Normandy, France

Coastal overlook with World War II bunkers visible in Granville, Normandy, France

This part of Normandy hugs the curving coastline and has some of the loveliest towns in all of northern France. Granville has much to recommend it both historically and visually and can easily be visited on a one-day outing.

Pastel colours of the seacoast on a sunny day at Granville in Normandy, France

Photo Of The Day: A Classical Corner

Today’s photo is from a visit to the historical Castle Howard in Yorkshire, England.

This elegant statue, sitting alongside a glowing stained glass window, is in the corner of an art-lined passageway in the castle.

Statue and stained glass window in Castle Howard, Yorkshire, England

Photo Of The Day From London: Trajan’s Column at Victoria and Albert Museum

This close-up of a section of a reproduction of Trajan’s Column was taken in the Plaster Cast room at the V&A (Victoria and Albert) Museum in London.

I’ll share some more images from that splendid gallery in the museum in the coming days. And please remember, these are ALL copyrighted images that have tracking attached to them!

Detail shot from the massive plaster cast of Trajan's column at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, England

Photo Of The Day: Living In The Past

There were no smiles as they passed us and all four of them concentrated deeply on the task at hand. They took themselves quite seriously, these local Frenchmen of a 20-something age.

Garbed in pseudo-medieval clothing, faces dabbed with fake blood, and carrying handmade arrows, they positioned themselves outside of the somber gray walls of the fortified castle in Fougeres in Brittany. Again and again they shot those arrows into the sky and then shouted unintelligible phrases whilst one of their companions filmed it all on a tiny hand-held movie camera.

If you look carefully you can see that the man on the left has just shot a blue-fringed arrow into the air above his head.

Archers outside the walls of the fortified medieval chateau at Fougeres in Britanny, northern France

They could have been actors or they could have been what they call in the USA re-enactors — well organised groups of enthusiasts of a particular time period who spend large amounts of free time re-enacting past events. Then again, they could have simply been four local lads who longed to live in a time long gone which is easily summoned up by the atmosphere of this fortress-chateau.

Photo Of The Day: Let’s Do The Time Warp

Heads down, deep in conversation or deep in concentration, the three men walked through the historic passageway and probably never gave a thought to the juxtaposition of time periods that they represented.

This shot was taken in Dresden, Germany and it is quite likely that the two men in costume were employed by one of the historic tourist sites.

Enjoy!

A clothing 'time warp' in Dresden, Germany

A Wanderful Life

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