Nice, an appropriately named city.

Iles st margarite

this image is of a muslim cemetary, it's inhabitants being the prisoners who where brought there in detention never to part during the process of "pacification" in algeria.

As some know (no one is reading this I am talking to myself, which when you do in person is "schizophrenia" but when you do it on the internet it becomes "blogging") I've been living in Cannes for a while, which is an enormous open-air shopping mall masquerading as a city. The main drag of Cannes makes the corner of scottsdale and indian school in 2010 look like the corner of haight and ashbury in 1964. One of the golden shower linings of this city is the fact that it is 10 minutes by ferry to the isle of lerrin, the largest of which is isle of st margarite. The only real claim to fame of this island is that it was the lieu of the imprisonment of the twin brother of louis XIV who was forced to live his life in a steel mask, which was more commonly reffered to as an "iron" mask. I haven't actually gone to the fortress where this took place, because thats boring.

Arles

also included art exhibit that took place in a church and random grafiti

Arles was the trading capital of south central france, back when france was the north west capital of the roman empire. Today it is a sleepy tourist attraction. The Roman Arena still stands and bullfights are held there somewhat regularly, for my taste bloodsports are more tasteful when its christians getting disemboweled, but I guess bulls will do.

The catacombs

Random images of the future

L'Engles

From my last helpx host I met one of her neighbors who bought from her a property ; domaine de l'engles which he bought at the time of his retirement (from what I can tell) as much to keep busy as anything else, from basically a series of ruins he has turned it into a Gite (bed and breakfast, without the breakfast).
Historically towards the end of the 100 year war (which this area served at various times as the front line) after the franks had moved the engles back behind a line that is not far from here, a group of engles who where essentially mercenaries elected to camp out in this little gully to serve as a forward operating base to continue their campaigns of rape and pillage into the nearby frankish territory.
This is all remarkably amusing to me in that the new proprietor of the engles is a devout frenchman, who loaths to speak english and is not terribly fond of "les perfide albions"
Renovations of the place have been proceeding piece-meal for the last 14 years and the Gite is starting to take on a Winchester Mansionion aspect.

various photos in aveyron

The Cathedral of Conques

very difficult doing this place justice with photographs, let alone words.
Hard to imagine it being built today, let alone eleven hundred years ago.

Conques

Visited the 9th century town of Conques, which I can actually see from the place that I am staying.
It is officially listed (somewhere) as one of the most beautiful towns in France, can't say but it is certainly impressive.

The inglorious demise of speedracer.

was ridding a bicycle through the countryside and caught a gleam out of the corner of my eye from the bottom of a ravine, upon further inspection I found this

Spent two weeks visiting my dad in switzerland
left to right
My Dad, My Uncle, My Grandmother, My Uncle.

Crazy cabbage I ate in switzerland, boiled it and it had sort of a brocoli taste but sweeter, awesome to look at.