My wallpaper for this month already gave it away: I'm currently in the mood for France. Very much. And if I'm lucky I may be able to visit this beautiful country at the end of summer. But for now I'm satisfied with curing (or rather nourishing) my wanderlust with the pictures from the last trip southwards - and there are maaaaany pictures. So I decided to finally go through them and bring you a bit of summer (which is hard to find at the moment amidst all this rain and thunder...). 

During the last holidays we finally made it to Nice for some hours. Actually we were staying in Menton (pictures coming soon!), but by bus Nice is just an hour or so away. And this bus ride takes you along the beautiful coast, through high serpentines with wonderful views over the sea on the one side and the mountains on the other. You pass old villages whose houses are cramped around little churches on top of cliffs, as if they are afraid to fall over the edge into the sea if they let go of each other. Or the high-rises of Monaco, similarily close-packed at the cliffs, but with much more confidence as it seems. Contrasts and analogies. And Beauty.

In Nice, we arrived at the port and went on a boat tour that took us along the shore of Nice, and which I would definitely recommend to do. If you don't get sea sick easily. I have been on boats often but this was the one moment that made me greenish, when our boat left the port. The captain told us it is also called the washing machine, this passage, because it's like a spin cycle. And indeed, it is! But it does not take long and if you went through it, you will be rewarded with beautiful views that make you feel like you were catapulted directly into one of these old Côte d'Azur Hollywood films.

We had only some hours to explore Nice and this wasn't even nearly enough to get to know and approach this vibrant beauty with its rough edges. Nice made no false pretences, I loved it!

desktop wallpaper // June

(1920 x 1280)

It's June, which means the official begin of summer, so I chose a wallpaper full of sunshine for this month. It's a view of Nice, which I only visited for some hours, way tooooo short a stay for this beautiful, vibrant city. Hah, Côte d'Azur, you Beauty!!

You can download this picture now: click or on my Flickr: click

I hope you enjoy this view as much as I - have a wonderful June! ♥

analogue friday // throwback to France

Since I'm on holiday at the moment, and it is a bit more complicated here to develop a roll of film than it is in Berlin, this week I show you some analogue ones from a holiday in France some years ago. I think I already showed them to you, but I think it always is a good idea to dig up some gems hiding in the archives and I love these here especially.

I took them with a Revue Flex - a very reliable friend for analogue pictures.

So, come with me to the beautiful south of France, the Côte d'Azur and a bit of Lyon, too.

Greetings from Norderney
 ♥

desktop wallpaper // october

(1920 x 1280)

Sunrise, Autumn 2014

Have a wonderful, golden October!

You can download the picture by right-clicking and saving. If there is any trouble, you can also download it via my Flickr or Facebook.

July to July // Update September

[the lights of Marseille]

September was my month of summer this year. Of long, hot, humid, lazy days in the sun, with nothing more to do than reading, talking and a random glass of wine. Of flip flops clapping on the cobbles of old french villages. Of warm rain and already fresh nights. It was the month of my birthday and my holidays. Of fresh thoughts, of breaking old habits, making way for new ones. As it is often for me with autumn - when the air gets clearer and the wind gets stronger - it is the feeling of reflection and new beginnings. And those fresh thoughts in autumn seem to come with less pressure, somewhat slower and a bit wiser, than they do in spring.

I took my 365 pictures project with me but in a slimmed version. I took a picture everyday, which is obviously easy when you are in new surroundings, but I didn't upload everyday. Just when I really felt like it.  I connected my camera to my ipad, downloaded the picture I liked, edited it a bit with Afterlight or VSCO and uploaded it to Flickr. It was quite easy, stressless and most important it was fun.

[love and the sea]

[can you see the leaf, photobombing my tree picture?]

[I couldn't leave the Côte d'Azur without taking at least one b/w image - don't ask me why...]

[I love palm trees. I would stand in front of people's houses, admiring the palms, the lemons, the oranges. I know it's nothing special for them, like it's not special here to have an apple tree in the garden. But I find it really fascinating to have a lemon tree in front of your window.]

[wine and words]

[soft colours in the evenings]

[A short trip to Italy which was bright and loud and colourful and amazing. And everything they said sounded like something delicious to eat. Everything.]

[Berlin, charming as ever, said hello with a rainy, cold autumn night.]

[I met a squirrel. It lost its nut and blamed me... ]

[and there was a birthday gift]

----------------

The whole album is on Flickr: click 

And here are the

first |  second |  third

parts of the project so far.

Analogue France Detail Snappies {travelogue 11}

Analogue France Snappies {travelogue 10}

As I mentioned some time ago, I'm also trying to photograph with an analogue camera. Unfortunately, the outcome of the film back then was not even worth the thought of a post ...

But this didn't keep me from running through France with two cameras dangling around my neck: the analogue one borrowed from a friend of mine and - as you have already seen prove of - my digital love. 

So this is a reprise of our French holiday, my analogue try to show summer's beauty.