DESKTOP  PHOTO  GALLERY

 

I enjoyed taking the pictures on this trip, and am most pleased if any appeal to you.  All pictures may be downloaded, printed, shared, etc as you wish – with the usual limitation that all rights remain with me, that no commercial use may be made of them without expressed consent and blah, blah, blah.

 

The following is a collection of photos which you might consider downloading.  This is especially true if, like me, you are one of these people who likes to change the picture on your computer desktop from time to time.

 

The following pictures (listed in the order they were taken) satisfy my two criteria for inclusion on this list:

1)  It must be in horizontal format  (unfortunately, some of my favorite shots are vertical) with a relatively uncluttered right side (for Mac users) or left side (for Windows users) since that is where the desktop icons usually go.         and
2) I’m fairly pleased with how it came out

 

Pictures on this page are fairly small (about 40 – 50 kb).  Clicking on them will get you a much larger picture (about 280 – 300 kb) which is probably better for downloading

 

 

 

 

The monastery and church/fortress of the Knights Templar in Tomar, Portugal.   A nice example of the Manueline art style.

 

 

 

A view from one of the towers of one of the fortresses that were built along the Portugal/Spain frontier.  This one is at Marvao.  You can make out the neighbouring castle/fortress at Castello da Vide at the top of the distant ridge.

 

 

 

Detail from a larger tilework in the church in Batallha, Portugal

 

 

 

Our accommodation in Evora, Portugal was in a private house with rooms for rent.  The landlord showed us the rest of the house.  This wonderful metal woodburning stove in the kitchen had been what his mother and grandmother had used.

 

 

 

Great black and white storks are to be found in various parts of Iberia.  In southern Portugal we drove down a stretch of back road that had a nest on every power pole.

 

 

 

Mertola, Portugal.  Remains of the Roman harbour wall.

 

 

 

 

Fishing boats in harbour, near Tavira in the Portuguese Algarve.

 

 

 

16th century tapestry  showing Spain and the Mediterranean  (north is down). In the hall of Carlos V, Royal Alcazar, Seville.

 

 

 

In an old palace, now a public works building, in Granada.  This is part of a  set of tiny wooden pieces assembled on the floor of one room.  It might be an art piece in progress, but that’s just my guess.  What’s yours?

 

 

 

On the outskirts of Granada, folks have lived in natural caves for a long, long time.  Traditionally the community was Gitano (Roma – ie: Gypsy) though today there seem to be a lot of international young people moving in.

 

 

 

South of Granada are the Alpujarras.  That’s a hilly area with small white towns based on small scale agriculture.  This town, where we spent two nights, is Valor.

 

 

 

Another shot of Valor.

 

 

 

 

In the hills near Valor, in the Alpujarras

 

 

 

 

Near Valor

 

 

 

Coastline of the Cabo de Gata, the extreme southeast tip of Spain.

 

 

 

 

Trail into the hills above Nerja, on the southern coast of Spain.

 

 

 

One of the wildflowers (don’t ask me what) as seen on the trail above Nerja (that white town out of focus at the edge of the Mediterranean)

 

 

 

 

A house in Cordoba

 

 

 

The Plaza de Maimonides in Cordoba.  He lived nearby.  I don’t know the musician.

 

 

 

Detail of the surviving engraved wall in an old synagogue (pre-expulsion) in Cordoba.

                     

 

 

 

Inside the Great Mosque of Cordoba. The red and white are the natural colours of the stone used in construction, though this particular part has been somewhat restored.  Other parts of the mosque have been gutted to create the Cathedral.

 

 

 

Roman mosaic. Cordoba. This was originally a floor mosaic, but it was discovered in good shape and mounted vertically on the wall of a local museum.  I was told the legend portrayed, but I’ve forgotten.

 

 

 

Barcelona.  View from Parc Guell. The park, especially all those arte moderne buildings, was designed by Antoni Gaudi

 

 

 

 

Barcelona.  Chimney pots on the roof of La Piedra apartment building designed by architect Antoni Gaudi.

 

 

 

 

Biarritz, France.   (Spot the surfer)

 

 

 

 

Sepulcher of the young children of King Francois I.  Cathedral in Tours, France

 

 

 

 

Partial view of Chenonceau castle in the Loire valley, France

 

 

 

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