The tree is up!

Every year around this time, the city puts up the tallest christmas tree they find, on place Kleber, our main square. This year, it didn't go as planned... They found a 36 meters tall tree, but it broke when they cut it down. This is plan B, only 30 meters tall, 100 feet. The christmas market opens on the last weekend in november, time for the city workers to make the tree christmassy, by attaching more branches (right now, the tree is...meager), and to decorate it.

Saint Jean

St John church was a former monastery church. Built in 1477, and heavily damages during WW2, it is now home to a monastic fraternity (whatever this means. I saw a nun unlocking the door this morning). I love the simplicity of it!
A close-up of the lion above the entrance:

Big Brother...

...is watching you, from the top of the Uniqlo shop

Reformation

The town is very busy this weekend, lots of protestants from all over France, Germany, Switzerland, celebrating 500 years since Father Martin Luther, catholic priest, augustinian monk, father of 6 with Katharina von Bora, a nun, absconded his "true" faith, to embrace another "true" faith (...).
Now, the region here, Alsace, is predominantly protestant. A few catholics, jews, muslims, others...And our neighbors, Switzerland and Germany are very protestant as well. Followers of a guy who wrote a treatise about jews, Von den Jüden und iren Lügen, "about jews and their lies".  In the treatise, he argues that Jewish synagogues and schools be set on fire, their prayer  books destroyed, rabbis forbidden to preach, homes burned, and property and money confiscated. They should be shown no mercy or kindness, afforded no legal protection, and these poisonous envenomed worms should be drafted into forced labor or expelled for all time. He also seems to advocate their murder, writing "we are at fault in not slaying them". 
What a nice example to follow.
You know the rest: suffering, death, racism, narrow mindedness, hate, intolerance, bigotry, Trump...

Evangelicals are boycotting the celebrations. I wonder why.

Buddha in Paris?

Not really, seen in the window of a souvenir shop near the cathedral in Strasbourg 500 km from Paris.
More black and white photos here.

For rêveurs!

   Rêveurs= dreamers. Moustaches are for dreamers, forever. Or so it says here. I am more of a beard guy myself, but whatever tickles your fancy...

He ho, and a bottle of rum!

Strange things seen in windows, in this case a new rum/pirate bar, Barberousse.Oh well, I guess it's that time of the year. I'll drink to that!
Waiting for Captain Jack Sparrow to buy me a drink!

Love is all around

Hearts are popping up everywhere. Strasbourg: city of love!

A monday mural

I'm no longer accepting the things I cannot change...I'm changing the things I cannot accept.
Angela Davis

More Monday Murals here
Mural by Dan23.

Elsewhere...

An old door at the National Museum in Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain

At the barbershop

Nice beards, guys!

Musica!

Excellent musicians, brilliant classical music!

Have fun and be merry

A modern knight on his noble steed. Looking slightly anxious though.

Lady in red

Mid october, and it is WARM! This lady is dressed accordingly.

Vox box office

Vox seems to be a common name for older cinemas. This one was built in the 30es, renovated in 2015. 6 screens, with the latest technology.
On today: Blade Runner 2049, the latest Kingsman movie, the Lego movie, Coexist (french), Mozart's Enchanted Flute, It...

Pastel

Roaming through town, looking for nice things

The bubble guy

I read somewhere that he is a syrian refugee, trying to build a new life. May the force be with him!

Imagine that!

Wow! A kid without cell phone, Iphone, or other pads! A kid with a BOOK!!! Amazing.There is hope, my friends!

Always be awesome

The local unicorn shop
The weekend is black and white!

A moment in time

Watching people passing by

Monochrome chicken

Or how to sell hats...

Summertime...

Palermo, Sicily

Al cinema

Last summer, I was very happy to be able to spend 24 hours in the italian city of Genova. And I fell in love with, again. Vibrant, multicultural seaside port.

Bring the chevy to the...

... vintage fair I went to yesterday! A feast for my eyes, this 65 Malibu!
Many other wondrous and/or wonderful things and people to be seen.

Autumn flowers

Still quite a lot of flowers left in the streets and the parks

Big baby!!!

Table football, or in french: babyfoot, or baby, pronounced bahby. This is the the biggest baby I've ever seen!

Popping the bubble(s)

Wishing I was ... years younger... LOL

Pink sandstone

Once upon a time, the cathedral, our Lady of Strasbourg, used to be pink. Pink sandstone, from the nearby Vosges mountain range. You can guess what happened: smoke during the last few centuries, pollution, weather, pigeons... She is rather dark now, a dirty greyish-brown. Cleaning the stone is never ending work... You can see the original color in the faces. Pink she was, pink she will be again, one day.
This was all carved on site 700-800 years ago. Totally amazing craftsmanship!!!!!

I want to ride my...

With 330 km of cycle paths, almost 200 miles, Strasbourg is France's most "cycleable" town! Hurrah!!!

A pinup for you! A sensual one!

And Steve looks pretty good too! Photo taken in Paris.

Theme day: sensual

Is it a mermaid??? I saw this... creature a few months ago in Colmar, posing "sensually" with it's ducks..
No, I swear it's not a selfie, lol!
Right, you guessed it, it is theme day again, and here are the other entries.
And sorry for the bad quality of this cropped to death photo!