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Lots of water and pools, where ever possible. For a people who came from the desert, water is surprisingly (or perhaps not surprisingly) central in all buildings and gardens. Lots of water and pools,...
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Basically all exposed walls (at least originally) were covered with plaster and carved with sayings in Arabic. This wall (according to a guide) is one of the few that is mostly original- many of the...
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Most of this set of pictures is carving- carved plaster and carved wood. If that's not interesting, skip to the Italy pictures. Most of this set of pictures is carving- carved plaster and carved wood....
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One walks up to the Alhambra. We, um, only got a little lost going up. And a lot wet- it was unfortunately not a sunny day when we were there. One walks up to the Alhambra. We, um, only got a little...
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More of same. Great feel down here- quite unlike the disney-style vinyard we visited later in the day, which looked like it had been built explicitly for tourist buses like the one we were on. More of...
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This was a sweet wine in the (very small) Arche-Penneaugh vinyard, where the previous two pictures were taken. It produces a Sauterne that was quite wonderful to sample. This was a sweet wine in the...
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It's incredible that this all grows in such rocky, pebbly soil, but there are Roman records of it having been grown here since at least 400 AD. It's incredible that this all grows in such rocky,...
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Look, ma, wine. Before it gets to the drinkable phase, of course. Look, ma, wine. Before it gets to the drinkable phase, of course.
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the ugliest and most misplaced parking lot in Europe. the ugliest and most misplaced parking lot in Europe.
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A beautiful square, whose metalwork was taken by the nazis but miraculously never melted down and was recovered after the war. It faces onto... A beautiful square, whose metalwork was taken by the...
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Square of the Republic in Bordeaux. We ate practically every meal here while we were in town, it seemed like. Square of the Republic in Bordeaux. We ate practically every meal here while we were in...
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Before and after laser. Lifts all the grime without damaging the stone at all- pretty cool. Unfortunately, all the technical diagrams were in French, and my physics french it turns out is not as good...
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Inside the cathedral, there was a fascinating exhibition on the use of lasers to remove hundreds of years of dirt from the sandstone the cathedrals are built from. The state is investing a fair amount...
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The tower of the cathedral of St. Andre, which sort of oddly is not connected to the actual cathedral. It is undergoing renovation- there were some neat pictures of the statue of Mary being raised...
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At the base of each of the windows is a woodcarving. Incredible. It is all restored (post-Revolution) but unlike some of the other cathedrals we've seen does not seem overly restored. At the base of...
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The windows. They are impossible to capture in all their glory, but I hope this does a decent job. The windows. They are impossible to capture in all their glory, but I hope this does a decent job.
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The rose window in the upper level of the chapel. If you look closely on the sides, you'll see windows reaching almost all the way to the ceiling. The rose window in the upper level of the chapel. If...
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Interior of the lower level. The dull part of the chapel, believe it or not from this picture. Interior of the lower level. The dull part of the chapel, believe it or not from this picture.
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Sort of blurry image from outside of the main door, looking into the lower level of the two-level chapel. Sort of blurry image from outside of the main door, looking into the lower level of the...
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