Postcards from the Road

BoxesToul

2011-07-16T08:09:00.000+10:00

Boxes not of ticky tacky, filled with steel things.

Toul

France
© postcards from the road

FactoryNancy

2011-07-05T19:41:00.000+10:00

The TV crew looked puzzled as I aimed my camera at the abandoned factory.

The reporter asked me what I had seen.

Just an old building.

Nancy.
© postcards from the road

Mr Dumand's Motorbike

2011-04-16T03:55:00.000+10:00

Lagarde

Moselle
France

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Tractor

2011-04-15T03:53:00.004+10:00

We always get a giggle out of seeing monster tractors driving through the towns and villages, so it's only fair we should find one in the wild.

Lagarde

France
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Autumn Hues

2011-04-14T05:41:00.002+10:00

I shall have to remember to return in Summer to see if the drapes are changed to match the leaves when they return to the vine.

Lagarde

France
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Dandylions

2011-04-13T05:28:00.010+10:00

I think I'd paint my shutters blue too.

Lagarde

France

Spring Planters

2011-04-12T04:24:00.001+10:00

Newly planted boxes ready to thrill.

© postcards from the road

Maggie's House

2011-04-11T04:21:00.001+10:00

Building renovations underway.

Lagarde
France
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Forest Drums

2011-04-10T02:22:00.001+10:00

This is not quite what it looks like, the drums have been employed all winter supporting boats on dry land, and now that the spring is upon us, the boats are in the water and the drums stacked in the thicket where they will quickly be covered in undergrowth until next autumn.

A quite nifty storage solution really.

Lagarde

France.

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Postcard from Home

2011-04-06T16:26:00.000+10:00

Something to remind us that wherever we are in the world, home isn't too shabby either. Sunrise over Twoway Creek, Dicky Beach or is it Moffat Beach? I think the creek marks the divide.

© postcards from the road

Dreaming of escape.

2010-11-07T17:28:00.006+10:00

High above the harbour, a kitchen maid washes and dreams of what could be.

Tea Rooms in Conwy.
Wales
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Chance of Precipitation

2010-11-06T17:23:00.000+10:00

Time to bring the washing in methinks.

Conwy

Wales

View From a Castle

2010-11-05T17:21:00.001+10:00

Pirates Ahoy!

Conwy

Wales

Broken Dreams

2010-11-04T17:16:00.005+10:00

Perhaps there's a little bailing to do before we can take her out again.

Conwy
wales
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The Castle Again

2010-11-03T17:18:00.007+10:00

Conwy Castle is inescapable. A few minutes' visiting turns into hours poking through it's towers and chambers.

Wales
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Conwy

2010-11-02T17:12:00.011+10:00

I love the uniform drab of Welsh villages. Conwy less than many because of it's splash of whitewash and colour, but there's something that attracts me to the unattractiveness.

Conwy
Wales
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Conwy Castle

2010-11-01T17:08:00.013+10:00

I suspect the English have never forgiven the Welsh for deleting the "a" from Conwy, and the Welsh have never forgiven the English for building a castle there in the first place.

The castle has been there for seven hundred years and seems abandoned. Perhaps the Welsh are winning the battle after all.

Conwy
Wales
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Window Shopping

2010-10-31T17:04:00.010+10:00

London Lamborghini have a shop in Kensington, which seems to attract as many people to its window displays as Selfridges does.

Old Brompton Road
Kensington
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Monkeys!

2010-10-30T17:02:00.006+10:00

High above the crowds, the fossils fly.
Museum of Natural History
London
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Dinosaur!

2010-10-29T17:01:00.002+10:00

Entry Hall, Museum of Natural History.

London
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View from a Cafe

2010-10-28T16:59:00.000+10:00

View from our breakfast table while drinking hot apple juice and ginger.

Bristol.
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Altered View

2010-10-26T03:53:00.007+10:00

Anish Kapoor’s mirror sculptures will sit altering one's perspective in Hyde Park until next summer.

London.

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On a clear day

2010-10-25T03:51:00.009+10:00

On a clear day, one can see the top of the Monument.

London
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Millenium Bridge

2010-10-24T03:48:00.008+10:00

Just across the river is the Tate Modern. We wanted to cross, but the nice man said "come back tomorrow", so we went the long way round.

London.

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Hunger is the best sauce.

2010-10-23T03:43:00.001+10:00

The Gamble Room in the Victoria and Albert Museum was designed as a place to partake of refreshment, and to this day one can still enjoy a nice cup of tea (or a passable coffee) from within.

The inscription on the frieze is a quote from Ecclesiastes II, 24 and reads 'There is nothing better for a man than that he should eat and drink, and make his soul enjoy the good of his labour.'

Indeed.

Victoria and Albert Museum

London

Autumn in London

2010-10-22T02:30:00.000+10:00

St Paul's from Southbank, Autumn 2010.

London

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The light at the end of the tunnel

2010-10-18T06:31:00.000+10:00

Or in this case, a Parisian street.

Somewhere in Paris.

Pharmacy

2010-10-17T06:30:00.000+10:00

I've heard it said that France is distinctly visible from space, made obvious by the green glow of all the pharmacy illuminations. Certainly they seem to be in abundance, but then Optometrists are in proliferation as well, but when a Pharmacy is also an Optometrist, one can only be in Paris.

2010-10-03T17:15:00.000+10:00

Rainbow

2010-09-21T19:18:00.000+10:00

Somewhere near Portobello Road

London

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London Morning

2010-09-20T19:06:00.000+10:00

Sunrise below the curtain.

Kensington

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View from a small window.

2010-09-19T19:02:00.001+10:00

The number 23 trundles past the gallery.

London.

Perfect Reflection

2010-09-18T19:02:00.002+10:00

On a still Paddington evening, there is barely a ripple in the glass facade.

London

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Communication

2010-09-08T20:55:00.000+10:00

The Pizza shop in Dettwiller may have been there for half a millennium, but it seems to be embracing the new electronic era.

Dettwiller
France

Rural Texture

2010-09-07T20:53:00.000+10:00

With just a hint of satellite dish, because I have a thing about them and the way they don't intrude except in photographs.

Lutzelbourg
France
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Texture

2010-09-06T20:51:00.000+10:00

A barn sits minding its own business somewhere near Hoheyerstein.

France

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Canals

2010-09-05T20:47:00.000+10:00

The Canal de la Marne au Rhin, at it's eastern end travels through mountains, actually through them, but this is just a windy bit along the edges of one of them.

Near Saverne
France
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Sun at last!

2010-09-04T20:46:00.000+10:00

I've wondered at how few photographs I've taken of late, but between cleaning things and waiting for the weather to break, there have been precious few days for wandering.

Perhaps now that the sun is out and the washing done, we may see some more.

Arzvillier
France
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For Julie

2010-09-04T05:13:00.000+10:00

To answer your question: "That thing" as you so unkindly put it, would appear to be a flower, wearing sunglasses and singing into a microphone.

I'm fairly certain, that if one were to play some sort of a tune, "That thing's" hips, insofar as a flower can actually have hips as opposed to being thus described, would move in time to the music.

And you wonder why I don't watch tele.

© postcards from the road

Ripening

2010-09-01T03:32:00.001+10:00

Things are ripening, cottage at an ecluse, Canal du Marne au Rhin.

Alsace
France

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Shame

2010-08-31T03:28:00.001+10:00

To my great shame I didn't get back to find the name of either building. There's always next year.

Strasbourg

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Smoked Salmon 5€

2010-08-30T03:23:00.000+10:00

It's almost enough to make one stop and eat.

Strasbourg

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Cinema Six

2010-08-29T03:19:00.000+10:00

Facade: Cinema Six
Strasbourg

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Strasbourg

2010-08-28T03:06:00.000+10:00

The problem with trying to capture images of Strasbourg and many other places in the Alsace region, is that the buildings just sit there and pose, like supermodels on their days off. There's no art required, just snap and there you have it, another multicoloured image of ancient timber framed buildings with shutters and flower boxes.

Oh well, someone has to do it.

© postcards from the road

Ecluse 43

2010-08-27T03:16:00.002+10:00

Right there at the ecluse, Snow White, if you look carefully enough, is entertaining a bunch of little people under the tree.

This is how fairy stories are inspired methinks.

Fiddling

2010-08-26T14:56:00.000+10:00

The cap suggests he's a tradesman, contracted to repair the fire damage.

So does the fact that he's leaning on the window, watching the passing traffic on the waterway.

Strasbourg

Just another old sign

2010-08-25T14:54:00.000+10:00

It could be anywhere in the world I suppose, but it's not, it is in Strasbourg.

Little France

2010-08-24T14:54:00.000+10:00

In Strasbourg there is a district with a name that translates literally to "Little France". The history of the name has thus far eluded me, but it no doubt evolved during one of the times when the city was part of another country. In any case it's a very pretty district, lined with what once were tanneries and wash houses.

Petite France

Strasbourg

Communication

2010-08-21T23:26:00.000+10:00

It was nice of them to leave room for the satellite dish when they built the place in the eleventh century.

Strasbourg

© postcards from the road

Wagon Wheels

2010-08-18T01:43:00.000+10:00

No matter where in the world one may find oneself, an old wagon wheel makes a zany window from a barbecue area. I have carefully chosen the word "from" rather than "to" as it doesn't do a thing to hide any untidiness from passers-by.

A salutary note for those contemplating a similar installation, and just part of the service!

Lutzelbourg
France

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Reflecting some more

2010-08-13T04:51:00.000+10:00

I don't know, I just thought it was a postcard sort of photograph. These sorts of days are particularly magical on a boat, as we glide across the sky at 6 kph, accompanied only by the sound of a....a.... well OK, a Perkins diesel, but the view is nice!

Somewhere near Pont-a-Mousson

On a clear day

2010-08-12T04:48:00.000+10:00

On a clear day, you can see not only forever, you can see power stations and barge loading cranes and industrial reserves, but none of that seems to have a negative impact on the view.

Moselle River, towards Nancy.

© postcards from the road

Reflecting on the Moselle

2010-08-11T04:02:00.000+10:00

It was late morning when we came to a bend in the river where the morning's mist hadn't quite lifted beyond the hills. We were both struck with the similar tones to a photo I'd taken in Mallacoota earlier this year, and turned on the radio to make sure we were still in France!

Somewhere between Metz and Nancy.

© postcards from the road

2010-08-10T05:17:00.000+10:00

Metz has been in more countries than I have, but it's also been around a lot longer. It's made me more comfortable with the thought that today's population shifts are just another form of invasion, there will be winners and there will be tourists.....

Spanish food, French ideals, Mexican beer.

Metz

France

Pas de Publicite

2010-08-09T12:23:00.000+10:00

We usually ask for junk mail to be delivered elsewhere when we are away.

Oops. Perhaps this is elsewhere?

Toul

France

Vogue Living

2010-08-08T12:20:00.000+10:00

If Toul had been designed by Vogue Living, it would look like this.

Toul,

France

© postcards from the road

Disneyland

2010-08-07T12:17:00.000+10:00

If Walt Disney had designed Toul as a stage set, it would look like this.

Toul, France

Postcard from Toul

2010-08-06T22:06:00.001+10:00

Toul as cities go is a bit old. Old enough to be completely fortified and for one of the cathedrals to have been commenced in it's fourth iteration in the 12th century and time enough for every last skerrick of living plant like thing to have vanished from within the bounds of its walls. This wasn't noticeable at first as everything was in its ancient context, but the main square, which is actually a circle, has a monster fountain and garden as its focal point, and buried deep within the flowers are clusters of vegetables and fruit growing, cleverly trellised upon mock fruit boxes.

Is this an exhibition of the plenty that surrounds the city, or a mocking comment on the tragic results of the siege of 1870?

I don't know, but it's beautifully done, and worth a postcard.

Toul

After midnight

2010-08-05T02:00:00.008+10:00

I'm sure I could have improved this photograph if I'd taken the time to ... well adjust the exposure setting for starters, but although it's barely visible, as we wandered down the back streets of Toul, I couldn't help but wonder how they set the louvres in the shutter in parallel with the footpath and the road pavement.

Toul

France

Why I need a tripod

2010-08-04T01:56:00.009+10:00

When I see something I want to take a photograph of at ten o'clock at night, it's just too hard to keep the camera still by hand.

I just loved the warmth from below and the icy blue from the apartment above. It made me wonder if the bloke running the shop would be game to go upstairs when he finished work!

There's one in every crowd

2010-08-03T06:34:00.000+10:00

As we wandered through the streets of Nancy, we talked about how the street scapes had a consistency of proportion and texture and colour without the need for any heavy handed planning legislation, it just happened.

And then someone comes along who wants to be different. Where we come from, you'd need a planning permit to plant red flowers in a window box.

© postcards from the road

Patisserie

2010-08-02T06:31:00.001+10:00

Because I love the textures, and I can't get a handle on the weird perspective, and the lettering is really cool.

I'd have bought my baguette from there the day I took this photo if they hadn't been closed for lunch.

Nancy

New Lace

2010-08-01T06:21:00.001+10:00

If you are far too cool to have lace curtains, and you happen to have a whole swag of little white dots lying around, well....

Nancy

The upside of travel.

2010-07-31T04:41:00.000+10:00

As we chugged through the backwaters of Nancy, he was painting the window reveals and she was telling him what to paint. They stopped to stare as though we were the only bright blue fibreglass boat with the roof open they had seen driving down their river today.

Nancy.

A thing of beauty.

2010-07-30T04:39:00.005+10:00

Beauty in the streets of Sommerviller.

Salt Mines

2010-07-29T04:35:00.007+10:00

The salt processing plants at Dombasie-sur-Meurthe could pass for a cluster of ski resorts were it not for the conveyors and general give away industrial clutter below the first level.

Cannabis in Nancy

2010-07-28T03:31:00.000+10:00

Entering Nancy, I wondered if the person who masterminded this stunning witticism was in his or her right mind at the time.

I am not sure how they matched the paint colour to match the sky, but they gave it a good go anyway.

Sommerviller

2010-07-27T04:31:00.001+10:00

It's been a while since we wandered for the purpose of taking photographs, so here are a couple of windows on the world of Sommerviller which I hope is in Lorraine in France.

Motorway Bridge

2010-07-09T09:38:00.000+10:00

Somewhere across a French Motorway, there's a footbridge connecting the fuel sales part with the food part on the other side of six lanes of traffic wooshing by at 130 kph.

This is what it looks like.

Underneath the Arches

2010-07-07T15:45:00.007+10:00

I'm sure a lot of "dreaming dreams of you" goes on underneath the arches on the Bournemouth Prominade.

Bournemouth

A 60p view of Bournemouth.

2010-07-06T15:41:00.001+10:00

For as little as 60p one can walk out on the Bournemouth pier from whence this view becomes apparent.

Bournemouth

Helter Skelter

2010-07-05T15:36:00.015+10:00

"Price's Giant Helter Skelter" proclaims the sign. "Take a Joy Ride for fun". While it did indeed look like it could indeed have been fun, in the absence of anyone small to enjoy it with, we were content to simply watch this time.

Bournemouth Pier

Greetings from Bournemouth

2010-07-04T15:35:00.001+10:00

It's rather a different beach from those that I am used to photographing each day, but when all is said and done, a beach is a beach, and there's nothing like the sounds of the water and children playing mixed with the smells of tanning lotion and fish and chips to let one know one is alive on a summer's day!

The Madding Crowd

2010-07-02T05:15:00.001+10:00

Spectators on Court 18 at the Wimbledon Championships watch intently.

Wimbledon 2010

Putney High Street

2010-07-01T00:50:00.001+10:00

Putney High Street, where men drive buses and cyclists are terrified.

London SW15

Another Mallacoota Sunset

2010-03-20T18:15:00.000+10:00

The colours at times reminded me of the colours on a cheap Hawaiian shirt, but I kept snapping away anyway.

Flying High

2010-03-19T15:55:00.002+10:00

A seagull slips by at my eye level.

Sunset at Mallacoota.

Sunset Mallacoota

2010-03-17T17:50:00.000+10:00

The Fire Authorities are doing a lot of burning near here, and last night (as is happening again as I type) the view from our tent was simply spectacular as the sun disappeared for the day. Perhaps I will spare you from a week of sunset photos, but indulge me once or twice....

Burning Off

2010-03-16T17:56:00.000+10:00

Driving near Orbost today (enroute to Marla if you must know and have access to Google maps), the paddocks were fluorescent green after recent deluges and constant irrigation. The sky was a milky white, filled with smoke from controlled burning of Gippsland's forests, turning the hills beyond a spooky blue.

Well we like it!

Altona

2010-03-15T00:25:00.005+10:00

Waiting for chips.

And the sky is finally how we like it.

Altona

Narrawong Sunrise 3

2010-03-14T01:15:00.001+10:00

Then the pink is gone and the sun starts to assert itself.

What I don't get in this photograph, is the asymmetric reflection. I can't find an explanation in any of my physics text books, but it looks pretty postcardy.

Narrawong Sunrise Two

2010-03-13T01:13:00.000+10:00

A few minutes later and the pink is more pronounced, the blue in the sky starting to make its presence felt.

Sunrise Narrawong

2010-03-12T01:09:00.005+10:00

I admit it, I'm fascinated by the way the light changes so rapidly during the sunrise event. For the next three days, three postcards taken in a time frame of no more than fifteen minutes, with colour ranging from the subtlety of this one, to almost bizarre.

Anyway, here's a spot of morning fishing happening.

2010-03-11T02:56:00.002+10:00

Windfarms are not universally loved, and for the life of me there seems to be more than enough wind in Victoria without having to create more in these things. To those who would do away with them, I would simply retort "after you have done away with mains electricity".

On the other hand, they are decidedly creepy. Like invading aliens, they seem to be spying on us, there's just no escaping them. To see more of what I'm getting at, browse my latest Flickr upload.

Backpacking

2010-03-10T20:02:00.000+10:00

It's astonishing how much actual backpacking is subcontracted out to cheap hire vans these days. The cheaper they are, the cheaper the graphics. The ones with stripes to match their power cords are not cheap. They even have hubcaps on their wheels.

More Seaweed

2010-03-10T00:07:00.000+10:00

A bit of weed floating serenely past the Beachport jetty early in the morning. The water is green because it's cold, and it's oh so clear!

Beachport Seaweed

2010-03-09T02:03:00.000+10:00

Just some weed on a mooring line on the Beachport jetty, but it would make some Mermaid a mighty fine necklace.

Triffids

2010-03-08T06:48:00.000+10:00

I love these little dune plants, but I'm not sure they can be trusted. We are currently camped among a sea of their cousins, but they are all bright green, the way the books say plants are supposed to look. Perhaps these were getting ready to attack!

Beachport - Five Mile

Twenty minutes later

2010-03-06T18:28:00.001+10:00

Twenty minutes after yesterday's photograph, we decided to leave the beach while we could still see the tracks. A postcard from Beachport SA in autumn!

Seychelles

2010-03-05T18:27:00.000+10:00

Celine said this photograph is wrong, it looks like the Seychelles in summer not chilly windy Beachport in autumn, but the horizon is a hint. In less than half an hour the beach will be engulfed in fog, the sun will be obliterated and the complexion of the beach will be quite different!

Box 243

2010-03-04T12:06:00.002+10:00

A long time ago Australia Post was proudly run by the Commonwealth Of Australia. In Beachport some of the original boxes, complete with keyhole in the "O" are still in place in the old post office, if not in service, suffering almost no ills from exposure to the salt laden air.

Parkes

2010-02-28T18:23:00.001+10:00

It feels pretty good to be back on the road after a few rather intense months and I thought I should kick of this intermittent series of postcards with a picture of the "cricket pitch" at Parkes, made quite famous in the movie "The Dish".

This is just a small part of CSIRO's Parkes radio telescope, which, according to the people at the Australia Telescope National Facility, and they should know because after all it's their machine, is now ten thousand times more sensitive than it was when it was first commissioned in 1961, which wasn't all that long before it relayed that incredible footage of the first moon landing around the world.

Coming or Going?

2009-11-20T06:00:00.003+10:00

All being well, we will be at home as you read this, unsure of where we are, or perhaps who we are even. The arrows in our minds are running in lots of conflicting directions at the moment, but I think it's fair to say we have a plan!

There may not be as many postcards for a month or two, but if we can acclimatise to the good old heat of home, I've got a bit of a revamp planned for this and most of my other sites, so stay tuned, and thanks for sharing the ride with us, it's been a joy to receive all those comments and feedback!

© postcards from the road

Winter Green

2009-11-19T06:00:00.000+10:00

We'll miss the spring.

2009-11-18T06:00:00.000+10:00

One of the great things about going home, is that we'll miss the depth of winter. One of the sad things about not coming back until mid year, is that we'll miss the spring. We'll just have to leave that for another time!

© postcards from the road

Barge

2009-11-17T06:00:00.001+10:00

Winter Arrives

2009-11-16T06:00:00.002+10:00

Time to pack the boat away till next year I think. Two days till the next round of airport xrays and body searches begins!

In three days time it will be summer.

© postcards from the road

Silo

2009-11-15T06:00:00.003+10:00

Autumn Arrives 7 of 7

2009-11-14T06:00:00.003+10:00

Sure, I could have shown you the reds, the oranges, the cars and the kiddies frolicking in the leaves, but I ididn't!

© postcards from the road

Autumn Arrives 6 of 7

2009-11-13T20:45:00.001+10:00