Color?

Would anyone travel half the world over to look at colorful dirt? I did. This is Rousillon, France. In the early days they mine this dirt for its pigments but not anymore. Today chemical pigments are cheaper. The world is so full of pretty and wonderful places. The problem is to have the time to visit them all. Each time I read about some wonderful place, I would earmark it and one day plan an itinerary that would link as many of them together in one trip. This way I can check off a few of these places each time. It's a wonderful system.

Lyon, France

Dubbed the gastronomic capital of France. We did eat well here. It was here that I discovered fromage blanc or white cheese. It is actually some coagulated milk curds before being processed into cheese, eaten with lots of sugar, it is a sumptuous treat. There's this beautiful cathedral up on the hill high above the town. The old town is so pretty. Lyon is worth a visit.

Annecy, France

This ranks among the prettiest places in the world. It is right next to Lake Annecy which is huge and has sparkling and pristine water. It flows into the canals in the village and is like a mini Venice. A market was in full swing the day we arrived to visit. I forgot what day it was. We took the bus from Lyon and the trip took 2 hours. It is pictures like these and memories like this that keep me going. While I'm on the eve of another trip, I still enjoy going over the old pictures which are all digitalised and stored in my laptop. Gone are the days when I would have hundred of pictures to show. These days, to see my pictures, one has to log on this blog.

The souk in Fes

This is the oldest souk that is still in use. I've been to souks in Cairo, in Turkey and other parts of Morocco but none compares with this. It is primitive and a little scary and really exotic. It's like being in a time warp. Other souks are sort of sanitized and much too modern. At some moments I was claustrophobic and had to run out of the place. It was too much for me.

I've never seen so much orange blossoms in my life and these are bottles of orange water. The oranges here are so incredible, they are so sweet and orange juice costs next to nothing. It was just wonderful drinking gallons of orange juice.

I'll never forget this place. It has been one of the most memorable.