mont st michel, france

wow, what a place.  history oozes from this magnificant catherdral.  the tour is well worth doing and the island is well worth seeing.  at high tide, the only road that connects the mainland to the island is submerged.  when you park your car there, the attendants will tell you what time you have to leave so that your car doesn't get taken out with the tide.  many a car and bus have been taken away by unsuspecting tourists.  right on the top of the spire you'll see a statue of st michael.  again.. wow.

dijon, france

dijon was another one of the cities that we visited in transit between places.  we had a few more hours than in lyon and were able to walk around and see some of the city.  unfortunately, dijon no longer grows much of its own mustard to make dijon mustard.  instead, it must import the mustard seeds from other regions to make dijon mustard.  dijon is also host to a grand catherdral (much like most of france). 

burgundy, france

it was terrific to travel with a guide who knew what she was doing and where she was going.  not only were you able to get into grand cru wine tastings, but you were also able to go through little villages, walk through some vineyards and see out of the way countryside that you wouldn't see if you were in a large tour bus.  in fact, most of the roads that we travelled on couldn't even fit a tour bus.

westin hotel melbourne

the circle of life.  teen love at the front, budding romance in the middle and divorce and loneliness on either side of the couple at the back.

san francisco

i found it interesting that san francisco doesn't have a graffiti or other anti social behaviour.  if these newspaper boxes were in melbourne, they would be graffiti all over them and that assumes that they wouldn't be damaged in the first place.  yes, SF has a homeless problem and there are many homeless people with trolleys roaming the streets, but they are harmless and still polite. san franciscans are tolerant and sociable. i think i love this city.

one of the iconic landmarks in australia - bondi beach, nsw

this is probably one of my most favourite places in australia, welcome to bondi beach

take a short walk off a long pier - tasmania

a private jetty in tasmania.