Have a lovely, peaceful, tremendous and glorious New Year 2012

Wishing you the better and more for 2012... Pick up one single goal and achieve it the best you can...

Visit of Saint Martial Viveyrols - Part III

Some statues are lovely and the view from the Salle d'Armes up to 20 meters at least, is amazing...

Visit of Saint Martial Viveyrols - Part II

Here are a few more photos of the church... inside and out...

Visit of Saint Martial Viveyrols - Part I

PART I :
My favourite place on earth is situated in Périgord. In Green Périgord, indeed. North West of Périgord to be more precise. I guess that this tiny village (less than 300 unhabitants) has a very long history. Proof of antiquity/roman period had been discovered and its church was built whilst the Year 1000, in the Middle Ages. The Church was very famous and quite wealthy in the 11e c. & 12e c. It still is, in the middle of the village, a forteress church. One of the few in the area (along with Siorac de Ribérac & Grand Brassac).

Have a lovely and peaceful Christmas Eve !!

"Nature est éternellement jeune, belle et généreuse. Elle possède le secret du bonheur et nul n'a su le ravir."...  George Sand

Keep on with Mother Nature, right ?

Sometimes, you just have to walk around your area to realize that Mother Nature does it right... Apart from Fashion shooting, Architecture, Churches & Portrays, I like photographing nature... Animals of course, but mainly landscapes.... 
But a few years ago I took this photo around Christmas. It was on the road back home (about 500 m from my home) and I was thrilled when I had a glance at it. It was magnificent ! It was here and I could not put my eyes off it until I took my camera and shot it like it was a character in a show ! 

Then, a few months later, I walked around the same area and saw this one... It was spring and blossoms were   popping up ... I was happy to be able to capture two trees with such charisma...

Nature does it well, very well, indeed...

How nature is a genious !

A few years ago, whilst visiting around my village, I took this photo and I realized that Mother Nature is perfect. I didn't use any kind of artifice or filter, or photoshop... I am not used to that method with photo. I captured a photo, and good or not, I keep it that way...

This one is probably a bit "weird" but it was just the way I saw it through the lenses (and through the car window !)...

Miss that place on earth indeed..

taken nearby Cherval, Périgord (Dordogne), France

Nostalgia...

"Rien n'est plus difficile que de croire en une étoile

lorsque celle-ci luit dans la nuit et que seule assise

au milieu de toutes les planètes, que les nuages voilent quelquefois,

la mélancolie, les regrets me semblent être de mise."

Dédicace spéciale à "whom it may concern". Ce lieu seul suffira à évoquer quelque chose à quelqu'un.

Our decoration for Christmas

This year, again, we decided to decorate our home without too many things... but in a candlelit atmosphere...

Here are a few pictures :

Abbaye Montmajour - A true wonder in Provence, France

Montmajour Abbey (Abbaye Notre Dame de Montmajour) is a fortified Benedictine monastery built between the 10th and 13th century five kilometers north of Arles in the Provence.

The Abbey is noted for its 11th-14th century graves, carved in the rock (an amazingly place), its subterranean crypt, and its massive unfinished church. It was an important pilgrimage site during the Middle Ages, and in the 18th century it was the site of a large Maurist Monastery, now in ruin.

Go and visit that place ! I am sure you will adore that... Actually, I just adore this Abbey... One of my favourite place in Provence.

The abbey is cared for as a historic monument by the Centre des monuments nationaux. It’s an absolute wonder. A true pleasure to visit, a quiet place to relax in…

Crib.... for Christmas....

After my journey to Le Beausset Vieux, here is the crib settled in the Chapel I put photos recently...

enjoy !

credits music Frank Sinitra & Bing Crosby "Have yourself a merry little Christmas"

Moon and back...

I just had a great moment with my darling cousin and we had a wonderful conversation... talked about full moon and I thought that I should share that with you and her...

It's obvious that we are family, because we are quite alike somehow... We are both talented and real artists... (oh, boy !)...

To my fave cousin !

In my "jardin extraordinaire"....

Sometimes, you have a place in your heart where you feel so secure and happy... I like a lot of places, but the only one for me is my family house's garden... My great-great grandparents started the job, and we are keeping on the work... A part from a few "unhabitants" - animals we have, most of the garden is full of trees (about 27) and flowers...
One of the roses tree is quite old, because my great grandmother put it and let it grow... So we are used to call it "Greatgrandma's roses"... It's the first which pops up on spring and the last one too for Christmas... Do not even ask how it comes !

Here are a few flowers we cherish...

 greatgrandma's rose

The sunflower we had a few years ago with some siblings ...

It's my life... writing, reading and photographing...

This photo taken in my grandma's garden a few years ago sums up it all... Writing, reading, photographing.. That's all I love... That's all I need... That's all I want.

Alexander The Great.... Still the greater of all...

Le Louvre shows an exhibition called “Alexander The Great Kingdom – Antic Macedonia” until January 16^th 2012. In a semi-darkness, Le Louvre puts in the light an amazing and gorgeous collection of gold, jewelries, objects from Alexander The Great reign. From Macedonia to Asia, the collection is very incredibly tremendous. The archeologists discovered for instance, around western Thessalonica,  Herakles’ grave (one of Alexander’s sons whom have been murdered after his father to eradicate the family) and it shows some objects. Some of the 500 objects presented are totally new , as they never travelled before away from Greek museums.

Alexander was great in his discovers, battles, empire and stories, but he is probably the Greatest of all kings ever.

Photos from "la Grande Galerie" Le Louvre Magazine - no photos allowed within the exhib.