A bridge to nowhere

This bridge, Pont Saint-Bénézet in Avignon, France, was built in the 12th century. It was the first bridge in this area to cross over the Rhône river. It also gave Avignon another way to collect taxes, as each traveler or merchant that passed over and entered the city had to pay a toll.

During a massive flood, the bridge was partially destroyed and abandoned. The city still makes money off of the bridge, though. They charge 11 euros for you to walk on the remaining portion of the bridge. It's a great view of the river. I decided to stay below and capture the sight for free.

Food for the stomach, food for the eye

Bonnie and I are in France for the next two weeks. We have been in Annecy for the past few days and enjoying every minute.

Except when the voice on the car's GPS didn't say anything about the direction of an upcoming Y in the road until the last second. By the time she said it and I obeyed it, I had to cross over the solid white line that divided the two paths. We followed the path which took us on a sharp turn that took us up to an overcrossing. We had to slow down because of several cars ahead of us. When we got the the top, two policemen were walking across the street and when it was our turn, they motioned us to pull over onto the sidewalk. He wanted my license, car registration, insurance, and my passport. He said he was watching from up above and saw me pull across the solid white line. I told him, "I know, but the GPS lady didn't tell us anything until we just got there." He said those things tell you of stuff half a mile ahead. I said, "Not this one!" I think he could sense my frustration because he let me go with a warning instead of the $100 fine.

We ate at the La Galejade restaurant tonight. We had some local dish called escalope savoyarde. This is "gratinated chicken in the oven with reblochon cheese" served with french fries. It was delicious. The view of the Le Thiou river was captivating.



For most of the day, we had a storm going through. Around 8:00 pm the sky cleared and we got some great pictures of Lake Annecy with the Alps in the background.

Winter river walk

Our winter wonderland trip is nearing its end, but since we were so close, we took a day trip to Spokane to walk along the river. It is dramatically beautiful. Of course, it didn't hurt that the sun broke through the clouds and gave us a truly beautiful day.

I love the old brick buildings, especially when there is a beautiful reflection caught in the window.



“I wonder if the snow loves the trees and fields, that it kisses them so gently? And then it covers them up snug, you know, with a white quilt; and perhaps it says, 'Go to sleep, darlings, till the summer comes again.'”
~ Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass

A river walk that motivates

Having a river walk as beautiful as the Seine River through Paris must be motivating to those who want to stay in shape. Even in February, on a rainy morning, there were lots of people walking, running, or biking.

In addition, I saw something new this trip. Lots of little "pocket parks" have been created along the Seine where kids from 5 to 10 years old can play. In the one below, kids can practice their rock-climbing skills, with the rubberized surface below to protect them from injuries from falls.

River view

I've been posting a few pictures of the riverbed in Downey lately, so I need to be clear that I'm not in Downey right now. This is the Pont Marie in Paris—where we'll be staying for the next week or so. Even after dark, the bridges and the reflection off the Seine look amazing.

We are staying on a small island in Paris called Isle Saint Louis and just around the corner from our apartment is the most amazing ice cream—Berthillon. Here a man is leaning into Berthillon (they have a walk up counter) to order an ice cream cone.



"Paris is always a good idea." 
~ Audrey Hepburn

Local island adventure

On the west edge of Downey is a finger of land that is known as "the island," surrounded on one side by the Rio Hondo River and on the other by the Los Angeles River. It makes for a different kind of river walk adventure.

According to Wikipedia, the Rio Hondo was once known as the "Old River," because it was the old course of the San Gabriel River. The Old River School was named for it, and Old River School Road was named for the school. The "New River" is the present course of the San Gabriel River.

Down in the valley

Yosemite Valley contains seven square miles of deep valleys, broad meadows, amazing waterfalls, ancient trees, and a wide variety of wildlife.

Along the Merced river that runs through the valley, there are so many colors and textures; the granite formations seem to rise above you in a way that humbles every view. 

We spent hours tramping around the various paths, hiking until our legs were shaky, and still felt like our time here was too short.

We didn't have to go too far to see wildlife. This little guy and the rest of his family met us on an early morning walk. Then, the next day, came by right outside our room to eat and laze around.

"I still find each day too short for all the thoughts I want to think, all the walks I want to take, all the books I want to read and all the friends I want to see."
~John Burroughs

Yosemite: The valley floor

For two mornings now, we've gotten up at sunrise and walked. Today we walked around the meadows and along the banks of the Merced River that cuts through Yosemite Valley.

This morning there was frost on the meadows and fresh ice along the edges of the river. In the spring and summer, the river rushes by and is a favorite for rafters. But right now, it's quiet, with beautiful reflections everywhere.

The meadows are surrounded by small forests and the towering walls of the valley. Before the sun hits the valley floor, the colors are muted. This is the time of day when you would typically see deer grazing or the occasional coyote chasing a rabbit—although we saw neither this morning.

Along the banks of the Seine

After a couple of days of rain and cold, today's warm sun brought out the crowds along the banks of the Seine.

We Downey Daily bloggers truly enjoy our two local river walks on the Rio San Gabriel and Rio Hondo riverbeds. We'll go back to them after we return home. And I know that in southern California, we don't have year-round rivers like the Seine.

But imagine if we had these picturesque surroundings to entice us on a sunny day.

Don't go in Seine

I've taken over a hundred pictures of the River Seine. The view overwhelms me every few steps and I have to take another shot. I might go insane from the beauty.

Paris was built around this river and I can imagine history unfolding before me. Napoleon stood here. King Louis XIV probably crossed that bridge over there to get to the Louvre. Marie Antoinette ate cake here. The Parisi tribe in the first century came to this island from Britain and settled, never thinking that 2,000 years later, someone would be standing in the same spot, watching the river flow by, and wanting to capture every minute of it with or without a camera.