Under surveillance

As you all (should) know, we've had/have a terrorist problem. Contrarily to the US, where terrorists are mostly white male trump cultists or politicians trying to make America great again (mega BS!), here in Europe, they are actually "Muslim"  terrorists, although their "faith" has absolutely nothing to  do with Islam.
Anyway, the cathedral here in Strasbourg is under heavy guard: army, police, guards... You have to open your bag to enter, and there restricted visiting times. I'm not going there often anymore, as the queues are always long, and I can't "faire la queue", do the queue, due to my disability.
I was lucky a few weeks ago, on a rainy day: no queue, alleluia! This is the main altar

Proud flag

LGBT flag on a boardwalk, in front of the Council of Europe

A Monday Mural

Yesterday morning, I ventured into a semi-abandoned industrial zone, looking for today's mural. This is what I found.
More Monday Murals here.

City Daily Photo monthly theme day: spirit

December 25th, June 25th...We-hey, we passed the half year mark!!! Do you feel the spirit of Christmas growing in you yet??? No??? No worries, it's gonna be here soon enough! Meanwhile, enjoy the summer. Or the rain down under.

Skywatch Friday

One early morning last Spring...
Click here to check more Skywatch photos.

Aliens...

Already 20 years since they landed, and still no sign of fantastic artifacts... Didn't they come to save the world from the human infection???
More b&w here.

Have a seat...

...and watch people go by, at the Vasco de Gama shopping center in Lisbon, Portugal.

Orangerie

Crikey!

The albino wallaby at the small zoo in the Orangerie Park.
Btw, smoking is now forbidden in any park here now. Strasbourg is the first french to introduce this municipal law. Yeah mates!

Esperando pelo metrô...A Monday Mural

Oriente, probably the nicest metro station in Lisbon!
More Monday Murals here

Don't push!

Weird name for a restaurant: granny in the nettles. It is based on an old french expression, don't push granny in the nettles, ne pas pousser mémé dans les orties, which means don't overdo it.Not sure if I want to eat there...Although, it could mean the exact opposite. Well, we'll see.

The sky above

Amazing sky, 2 days ago

Harley days

Old picture from my Barcelona blog.
The weekend is, of course, black and white! Just click...HERE!

Family outing

Exploring the surrounding, with mum and dad to protect us!

European Court of Human Rights

RIP, human rights.

Aaron Lordson, aka post 700

I came across this togolese singer this morning... Now, there are many street entertainers in town, some good, some rather awful. But this guy stands definitely out, with the soul in his voice!
You can find many videos on YouTube... Go for it, he is really good!

A monday mural, ay caramba!

A mexican-themed restaurant in Olhao, Algarve, Portugal. Well, not sure about storks in Mexico (probably) but there are thoudands in the Algarve, thousands! So, I guess the artist wanted to add some local color to his mural.
As usual on monday, you can see many more Monday Murals here.
Good dentist, btw.

Rue des Tonneliers

English: cooper street. One of the oldest streets in town, near the Ill river. Making wine barrels since at least 1240 AD, big ones. No coopers left in town nowadays, as far as I know.
I'm quite happy with my work today, so, very exceptionally, I'm including the original photo.

Bredele anyone?

We call them bredele, small breads. A small part of a nearly infinite variety of biscuits or cookies you have here. They are traditionally eaten at Christmas, but you can enjoy them all year long. There are shops that sell nothing else. If you love butter and sugar, go for it!

The way to...

The way to a windy beach, under grey and threatening Portuguese skies...
Weekend in black and white is here. Click!

Light

Gorgeous light in the cathedral a few weeks ago

Last summer...

...aka 2 weeks ago, before the big gates holding back the huge, giganormous amounts of rain opened. Floods everywhere now, even some whole vineyards washed away. WHAT WILL WE DRINK THEN?????

Olhao by night

Well, another shot from the Algarve, the lovely town of Olhao.

Cliché day, monday murals day :-)

Well. I just came back from a mostly grey, windy and wet week in Portugal. Had a good time though.
In Portugal, everybody knows people eat and live from PEIXE, fish. 365 cod recipes, as the saying goes. A friend of mine has a restaurant at the Ribeira market in Lisbon, specializing in cod. He created many more recipes, as you can do about anything with cabalhau, cod. According to him, there are many more than just miserly 365 recipes.
My personal favorite is bacalhau com natas, Heavy, but sooooo good!
Monday is mural day, Monday Murals. I took this photo in Faro, Algarve, last Friday. Now, the time CLICK has come!

Chuva, rain

Well, my holidays, vacaçoes, finish where they started, in (still???) rainy Porto. Going home north tomorrow, where it is warm!!! Porto is beautiful in the rain!

Welcome to the Oriente!

Several train stations in Lisbon, Lisboa, are architectural masterpieces. There is beautiful Rossio station...Well, this where I arrived today, a gare do Oriente, the Oriente train station. Well, you'll find it on many blogs, websites, postcards, and so on.This is my take.
This is a scheduled post, as I am busy for the rest of the day. Sorry, flks, will be back live tomorrow!

Bones aplenty

Faro is the capital of the Algarve region, and also the main airline hub for the area. Most tourist fly into Faro, but don't stay there, preferring their beach resorts.
As for me, having been there countless times, I like Faro! And there are things to see there that you wont see in your beach resorts. Like this chapel made of human bones... Part of the town's very very richly decorated cathedral. Actually really over the top to my taste.
And yes, the skulls are real!

Blue

Well, what can say? Here is where I spent my day.
I could have called this post: red. I look like a cooked lobster, despite of the 50 sun cream...

Futebol!

High time for me to find a desert island, with no internet, no phones, no TV, no radio, no newspapers... And NO FOOTBALL!!! It's starting soon, be warned!
Anyway, a cow on a skateboard??? Might be for something else, who knows...

Out and about, and on a walkabout

Well, this is not Strasbourg...I needed a break, after this dreary winter. A beach break. A portuguese beach break. So, here I am in Olhao, Algarve, southern Portugal, just above Africa, yet another of my old homes. Seville is nearby as well. More about my portuguese adventures tomorrow, when I go (re)discover the Ria Formosa

A Monday Mural

Spanish cutie, all the way from Barcelona!
Click here to see more Monday Murals
BTW, that's me, taking the photo:

A new friend

How much that doggy in the bookshop???
That cutie is really sticking to his stick!

Weekend in b&w

Spotted in front of a old haunt of mine, in a German city nearby...
More b&w for this weekend right...here!

This month's CDP theme day is about...me!

This is me, on my first birthday, a short(ish) while ago. Well, I changed. BTW: not a selfie.
More photos and posts about...me, here! Go on go on go on, just click!

The hidden bookshop

A few meters from the cathedral, away from the tourist hordes... A bookshop, hidden in one of the many inner courtyards in town. Selling rare books.

Calm before the storm

Summer in the city. Wish I could join them, but I was in a hurry.
Violent thunderstorms predicted for later today. We'll see.

La sonnette

I am among the first occupants of a brand new building. Which has many perks: clean, sunny, airy, everything works, etc. But I would gladly swap for a flat in the building which has this doorbell!

Beauty and the beasts

An old photo, taken in Barcelona a few years ago, during Gay Pride.
More Monday Murals right...here!

The museum's garden

One of many hidden gardens or courtyards in Strasbourg. This one is at the cathedral's museum

Harryyyyy!!!

Aren't you forgetting something???

There be (monochrome) dragons

Taken from my old Barcelona blog, for the Weekend in black and white.

Global warming

I love oleander!!! One of the few flowers I can recognize and name. I've seen a awful lot of them in places like Greece, Lebanon, Turkey, Israel, places where I feel at home. Imagine my surprise this spring when I noticed them in Strasbourg. They are not growing wild like in the south, but still: what does a middle eastern flower have to do here, so far north??? They are everywhere now. So, global warming deniers, how do you explain this???

A bridge to the Neustadt

Probably the nicest bridge in town! A bridge between the old town, aka the city center, aka la grande ile, big island, and the new town, German: Neustadt, the monumental area built by the German occupiers around the 1870es. Which passes as new hereabouts.

Into the green

What a nice, bucolic, romantic, warm, etc,  day yesterday was, in the Petite France, along the river Ill!

De Pijp mural

A ray of sunshine in cold and grey Amsterdam, last month., near the Albert Cuyp market, in the Pijp area
Click here to see more Monday Murals.
You also might like this gem, from 2 days ago.
Which brings to wishing a blessed Ramadan to those who follow it!

TV? Internet? Chores?

Here is another idea for your Whitsunday. Being a danger for others and myself on a bicycle, I went for a walk.

Hidden

Hidden away in a leafy courtyard, behind a bookshop, in an over 2000 years old street... Mother Teresa, of Skopje, Macedonia, and of India. One of my personal heroes, since first I met her in the 80es, and a huge influence in my life. I was lucky enough to meet her several times, in India and elsewhere, Saint Teresa of Calcutta/Kolkata.

36 shades of grey

Quiet street in the city center.
Join us, like almost every weekend, to see more b&w. Where? Here, of course!