PhotoHunt: bags

I have endless trouble getting into this blog this morning - and it isn't even morning any more!  I would have liked to have been able to say "Bags I first!" but there was no chance of that.

Some bags are a very important part of my life.

Just waiting for for a refill for the next bout of travelling.  The bags that travel with me come in every shape, size, and colour, but I'm not terribly particular.  As long as they have the capacity required, they'll do.

I'm a great deal more fussy about other bags.

So wherever I go, I make sure I have bags and bags of tea bags.

If you'd like to join in and find other other players, pay a visit to TNchick's site.  I'd like to point out, after a conversation I've had elsewhere during this last week, that as far as I'm concerned this a is not a closed shop.  All comers are very welcome.

Fish, fowl or good red herring?

What is it?

Read more.....

Ten things under $27 I can live without to change the world

I've just received an invitation from Grameen to help get people thinking about how to make a difference, to help end poverty.

The Grameen Foundation's mission is to enable the poor, especially the poorest, to create a world without poverty.  The first seeds of the Foundation were sown by founder Muhammad Yunus when he made a loan of $27 to some Bangladeshi women out of his own pocket.  That small amount helped the women start their own business and lifted them out of poverty.  If we were all to do without for a little while, the money we would save could go to help someone else.  Small amounts of money can truly transform lives.

So what things could I manage without, things that cost less than $27 (approximately £16.50)?

1. Bottled water.
2. Candles
3. Coffee when out shopping
4. Instead of buying a book, use the library.
5. Newspapers - read online.
6. Clothes dryer.
7. Walk instead of drive.
8. Greetings cards.
9. Plants for the garden.
10. A glass of wine with dinner.

Sigh.  Well, that last item was hard. But when you consider that every day, women around the world are living on less than $1 a day and they have to use use ingenuity, creativity and hard work to make ends meet, sending $27 on the 27th seems the least I could do. 

One example of what a loan through Grameen can do to help is the story of Zeinab in Egypt.  With her first loan of 250 EGP (US$46), Zeinab started her business making wooden pots, crafts, and kitchen supplies. Now, she runs her own workshop from her home with three of her children.

What would you do without to change the world?

PhotoHunt: tied

All these beds, two from Fontainebleau and two from Valençay, have hangings which are tied in place.

A bedchamber at Fontainebleau.

This is Napoleon's bed, also at Fontainebleau, my favourite I think.

Another with green hangings, but this time in the less elaborate surroundings of the Château at Valençay.

King Ferdinand's bedroom at Valençay.

While I was preparing this post, I found myself wanting to know more about the history of beds.  I had no idea that there were quite so many differences, how they evolved over time, and why. 

If you'd like to join in and find other other players, pay a visit to TNchick's site. 

Le Damier Fleuri (a patchwork in flower)

In the 18th century, a French garden decorated an area of 2 hectares opposite the west wing of the château of Valençay.

Over the course of time and with changing fashion, in the 19th century it became simple fields providing fodder for farm animals and a pleasant view towards the English garden that Talleyrand wanted. The project wanted to recreate this disappeared French garden respecting both the passage of time and its illustrious owner: to create a garden which could link a rural character to its more recent outlook over an English park.

"Le Damier Fleuri" is a type of garden unique in the Loire Valley, arranged in a patchwork of 66 rectangles arranged in a giant multicoloured mosaic made up of specially selected meadow flowers.  Thirty grassy paths cross the patchwork so that visitors can enter into a flowery labyrinth, a rural and romantic walk, faithful to the spirit of the 18th century.

Even at the beginning of autumn, this area looked pretty. It contains 30 different species of flowers and was designed and put into place by a company called Nova-Flore, which has been helping local communities to make uncultivated patches of land blossom and create flowering meadows.  These areas can be centres of roundabouts, road verges, or just patches of land between cultivated fields. There are different seed mixes for different situations and all conforming to the values of the  company - a passion for flowers, biodiversity and respect for the environment.  The carefully chosen mixtures of flowers are now real tools in the management farmland. All the techniques help towards eco-responsible cultivation of the land.

PhotoHunt: a free choice

I was completely at a loss for what to choose for today.  I need guidelines, I need rules.  But I happened to look out of the window and noticed the effect of the early morning sun on the river, and here you are!

We've had some very cold nights close to freezing and some very sunny mornings.  Today was the first time I ventured out into the cold to take some pictures of the mist rising from the surface of the water.  As usual, they look better if you enlarge them.

If you'd like to join in and find other other players, go and visit TNchick's site.

The Camargue

Blog Action Day 2009

The Camargue, probably best know for its flamingos.....

.... its black bulls....

.... and its white horses.

But it is under threat.

It's a beautiful, wild, different, part of the world.  I was dismayed, though, with some of the efforts being made to cater for tourists.  The white horses may roam freely in some parts but I saw many more of them tethered for hours by roadsides, to attract - possibly - passing holiday makers who might want a ride.  The black cattle pictured above, when they noticed the boat tour approaching, came running over to be fed with bread by the boat owners.  In the bird sanctuary there certainly were plenty of birds to be seen, but there were eagles, owls and others in cages!  All right, they were large cages, the birds could fly, but I do NOT want to see confined birds so close to one of the world's important nature reserves.

The whole area depends heavily on tourism as a source of employment, followed by agriculture and fishing, but it is difficult to maintain the right balance.

The delta is a vast plain where the Rhone splits and meets the sea.  It is criss-crossed by waterways, natural and man-made over the centuries.

Both these pictures of canals were taken near Aigues Mortes, a mediaeval walled town and one of only two in the Camargue.

All these pictures look better enlarged, but this one in particular does.  Seeing this ancient walled city across the salt marshes is quite a sight.

These salt marshes which turn pink in the summer months produce tons of salt every day - one of the major production areas in the world.

The whole area is in a delicate balance of fresh water, brackish and salty water; tourism vs wildlife; wildlife vs agriculture; pollution. Much of the wildlife is adapted to a particular niche and cannot tolerate a change.  And it's not just animal life - the reeds which can be seen growing everywhere can cope with a small amount of brackishness but not sea water.  They too are an important crop, used mainly for roof thatching.

If the climate were to change the equilibrium would be destroyed: the saltiness of the water could alter and rising water levels could flood much of the area.  The delta is rich in biological diversity, but it is very fragile.  The main priority for the National Park of the Camargue is respect for the environment.  We need in our turn to minimise our impact on the environment and climate to avoid losing the wonderful variety of life sheltered by reserves like the Camargue.

This post was published in support of Blog Action Day 2009.

A hug

And so are Ettarose's.  Thank you. :)

European Destinations of Excellence - tourism and protected areas

This year's European awards have been given for promotion of sustainable tourism in protected areas.  Not an easy task to keep areas protected and yet encourage tourism, but after my visit to the Camargue in the south of France, it's something that interests me.

There were 22 awards made, including the following:

• Biosphere Park Grosses Walsertal (Austria) - in the Austrian Alps, this used to be a depressed area but farming and building methods and care for the environment have transformed it. They have environmentally friendly transport and biomass heating.
  
  
• Viroinval / Viroin-Hermeton Nature Park ( Belgium) - an area free from industry and noise.  The highlights are bike trails, walking, local produce (cheese and beer) in an unspoilt and protected region. The rural look of the villages, plant life, fishing, are all carefully managed.
  
  
• Nacionalni park Sjeverni Velebit ( Croatia) - an area best know for caves and sink-holes.  In order to preserve this recently created and unspoilt national park, there are plans to cater for tourists outside the park itself, in nearby towns.
  
  
• Northern Vosges Regional Natural Park ( France) - surrounded by better know regions, it is nevertheless starting to make itself know in its own right.  Not only is there an abundance of hiking and cycling trails, there are châteaux, glass and crystal workshops, and few foreign tourists. It is within easy reach of several large cities such as Paris, Metz and Strasbourg.
  
  
• Prefecture of Lesvos ( Greece) - not only is it an island with wonderful beaches, it is a nature reserve with a petrified forest, wetlands, salt flats and pine forests.  Evidence of history can be seen all around.
  
  
• Írottkő Nature Park ( Hungary) - peace, hot springs, wine routes, are all part of the first of Hungary's natural parks.  The hot springs were named after the seven tribes that founded Hungary in the 9th century.
  
  
• Marine Protected Area "Penisola del Sinis - Isola di Mal di Ventre" ( Italy) - a coastline in Sardinia offering scenery, walks and boat excursions. Contrasting landscapes provide wonderful beaches combined with birdwatching on wetlands.  Bicycles are being promoted as the preferred means of transport.
  
  
• Nemunas Delta Regional Park - Unique Terrain of Harmony of Nature, Culture and Tourism ( Lithuania) - apart from the expected attractions of such a park, there is a unique Route of Lighthouses, a 14 kilometer tour.  The wetland is partly owned by the Russian Federation but only the Lithuanian share is protected.  Moves are underway to extend the protection.
  
  
• Recreation area and nature reserve "Haff Réimech" (Commune of Schengen) ( Luxembourg) - a 42 kilometer wine route is offered in this region of rich soil and beautiful landscapes.  Most of the area is in a protected zone so that the expansion of the facilities will be eco-friendly.
  
  
• Kars - Kuyucuk Lake Wild Life Reserve ( Turkey) - at an altitude of 1750 metres, the lake has amazing bird-watching, sightseeing and walking.  There is minimal light pollution and the area is full of historical sites.  All this is combined with a high regard for the environment.
  

The criteria were:

1. “non traditional” (the visitor density rating from “low” to “very low” in comparison with the national average)
2. be based on an area that is designated as a “protected area” by national or regional legislation
3. manage its own tourism offer in such a way as to ensure its social, cultural and environmental sustainability, with the management being a partnership between the authorities responsible for managing the protected area and all those involved in tourism in and around the area (e.g. tourist service providers, local communities)

The full list with links can be seen on the European Commission website.

All these places have managed to encourage tourism in a way that isn't in conflict with the natural surroundings.  The Camargue is a protected reserve and is being reviewed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.  It has about 50 permanent residents, but this number swells to 85,000 or so during the summer, so it wouldn't be eligible for this type of award, and you can imagine the problems there must be in managing tourism on this scale.  The tourism industry is one of the main employers in the area.

All the same, I don't believe they are doing all they could to preserve the region.  I saw more and more evidence of frankly cheap tourist attractions.  I'll tell you about them in a following post and - I can't resist - I'll show some of my photos from around and about.

PhotoHunt: sports

Sport: to play or frolic.  Two children having good sport jumping over waves.  This was the south of France two days ago - lovely and warm but occasional heavy clouds.

Sport: an active pastime or recreation.  I first spotted a number of classic cars going through a service area on a motorway in the south of France.  I eventually caught up with them two days later.  They were taking part in a rally which follows famous routes - Sulle Tracce dei Famosi.  In this case they were to follow the route taken by James Bond in Golden Eye, down the Moyenne Corniche and then to the Casino in Monte Carlo.

Sport: an organism that shows a marked change from the parent.  This picture was taken in the Camargue two days ago. I was very taken with the contrast between the few grey flamingos and the mass of pink.

Yes, I know that young flamingos don't really count as sports because they all start off grey and don't turn pink for a while, but I'm hoping you'll be good sports and let that pass.

If you'd like to join in and find other other players, go and visit TNchick's site. 

Mass production at Fontainebleau

While we were at the Palace of Fontainebleau we happened upon an exhibition called Design à la Cour which I didn't quite appreciate until I looked up the details later. I thought it was just about retro furniture.

There was more to it - cupboard after cupboard full of identical pieces of beautiful porcelain.  The whole was intended to show that mass produced objects can also be works of art.  It would have helped if I'd seen this video first. (in French).




Découvrez Design au Château de Fontainebleau : meubles d'hier et d'aujourd'hui

It's not easy being green

To sit in the shade on a fine day and look upon verdure is the most perfect refreshment. ~ Jane Austen

We have been friends together in sunshine and in shade. ~ Caroline Norton

But soon:
No shade, no shine, no butterflies, no bees, No fruits, no flowers, no leaves, no birds, - November! ~ Thomas Hood

PhotoHunt: words

I love words and plays on words, so I was delighted with this bottle of wine.  Plays on words don't often stand much explanation, but because this is a mixture of French and English, I'll put it after the jump.

Hanging on

The summer flower displays are still stunning here in France, in spite of many signs of autumn around.