Shelagh's Lens
Bringing Vancouver and the world to inspired travellers
Visions in White: Bridal Bridge
While I’ve recently published some images of French military members after this year’s Bastille Day formalities, there was so much more to the day, including these happy young newlyweds crossing the city’s Pont des Arts following their ceremony.
They were kind enough to pause mid-bridge for a few pictures. The graceful bride, seen above gathering her skirts, made me think of swans I’ve recently photographed.
With the image of this young pair literally strolling off in the sunset on their wedding day, here’s wishing them a long and happy marriage.
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Bastille Day: Military Bonhomie and Panache
With this year’s Bastille Day just passed, here’s a collection of some post-parade images. 
Some of the shots of troops relaxing were taken literally around the corner from our hotel, while others are the result of our stroll across the street to the Palais Garnier, the Paris Opera House, which was built between 1861 and 1875.
There, members of the military engaged locals and tourists alike; little ones and adults posed proudly with the forces.
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At Ease
Here, after Paris’ Bastille Day parade, these colleagues in arms relax while awaiting their ride.
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After the Parade
We’re back to early afternoon on Bastille Day. The parade is complete, and it’s time to relax.
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Timeless
We were in Paris for Bastille Day 2014 and, post-parade, there were displays of military pride and – this being the City of Lights – style in abundance. To our good fortune, the blocks around our hotel appeared to be a gathering point following the ceremonies.
Here’s one of a few images I caught. Again, am publishing the image below the header for a fuller look at the shot than the header permits.
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Let’s to the Woodland Glade
Deep in the forest, and off the trail, what will you find?
A graceful ring of verde: ferns, evergreens and trees whose branches are clad solely in moss. All of them are joined in circling and even guarding, it might seem, a small, sun drenched glade.
Where will you find this glade? On BC’s Sunshine Coast.
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All that Glitters
… is not necessarily gold. While love is a many splendoured thing, we’re learning that romantics’ padlocks are not good for bridges.
In June of this year, word came from the mayor of Paris’ sixth arrondissement that the thousands of padlocks meant to signify couples’ love are creating structural problems for the 155-meter foot bridge between Saint-Germain and the Louvre.
The weight of the padlocks is estimated at 10 tonnes and, in early June, a 2.4 meter section of a parapet collapsed inward under the weight. The padlocks are openly sold on the bridge, and the city’s Culture Secretary has been charged with finding an appropriate alternative for those wishing to declare their romances.
Even as Parisians are dealing with their locks, romantics in other locations have begun adding padlocks to other locales. At Cap de Formentor, in northern Mallorca, a couple of padlock “chains” are on full display on the cliffs over the striking Mediterranean waters, below.
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A Great Right Arm
I’m presenting this photo twice, once in the header and again in the body of this post, since the header format of this blog template is kinder to horizontal images, and I’d like you to see the full image.
If only statues – in this case, Daphne, by Coutou – could talk.
We were in Paris’ Jardin des Tuileries, and took shelter from a summer rain shower in the park’s La Terrasse De Pomone. As the deluge exhausted itself and the sun began to return, a plump pigeon decided this lovely statue was a good place to perch. After a brief stint on the nymph’s head, our fine feathered friend shifted to Daphne’s right hand … from which it would appear the bird is about to be lanched.
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Truly Blue
Truly blue waters, that is, which make the twisting road to this view point more than worth it.
In addition to their remarkable colour, these waters also serve as inspiration for infinity pools: you have a seemingly unbroken expanse of blue ahead – so much so that one has empahy for earlier peoples’ belief that those travelling to the horizon were in danger of falling off the edge of the earth.
If you’ve had opportunity to enjoy waters as striking as these, you’ll understand that we consider ourselves fortunate to have experienced the beauty of Mallorca’s Cap de Formentor. The Formentor Peninsula, at the northern most tip of Mallorca, Spain is roughly a 13.5 kilometre / eight+ mile drive from Port de Pollenca, and is situated just beyond the final stretch of the Sera de Tramuntana, which in 2011 was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The road is winding, and to describe it as narrow in places is to practice the art of understatement; the trip is, however, well worth the careful maneuvering. This image is only one of the multiple views from Mirador del Pass, where you are a stunning 350 meters above the Mediterranean Ocean. Carry on up an even narrower road after this view point, and then walk 200 meters, and you’ll have reached the pinnacle: a lighthouse, no longer in use, that was built in 1892. A look around the cliffs will reveal beauty at every turn, including Platja de Formentor, a beach (cala), wrapped around a stunning bay housing boats and weekends of which many may only dream.
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Walk in the Woods
Do you have an abundance of trees, forests and ferns where you live?
We do and, if you grew up reading lore of woodland creatures, you can also likely imagine one or another intriguing character just around the corner.
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