Worldcrunch
Saint-Jean-de-Luz in the Basque country of southwestern France is mostly known now as a popular tourist destination for both French and Spanish summer vacationers. But back when I visited it was still primarily a busy fishing port. This sunny summer day was a mix of both, as we stumbled upon an international Amateur Tuna Fishing […]
Following British colonial influence, India drives on the left-hand side of the road. That is, in principle. Drivers in a rush tend to occupy the middle of the narrow ribbon of asphalt they call a road in some parts of Rajasthan — only swerving at the very last moment to avoid oncoming traffic. Every 10 […]
In the early 1990s, Salvador began to clean up and restore its historical center Pelourinho. My grandson and partner-in-crime for this series was there last year on his honeymoon, and found it a bit too touristy. But back when I was there as the restoration began, it was nothing more and nothing less than one […]
Before you ask: Yes, I also have the tourist shots of my wife and daughter pretending to hold up the Leaning Tower of Pisa. But this one catches it in a much different light, both in space and in time.
On our way to Ürgüp and its strange rocks, we drove past a couple of field workers. The whole scene threw me back to my childhood, when I would watch farmers harvest in eastern France.
Sidi Bou Said in northern Tunisia is famous for its crisp blue and bright white houses of Ottoman and Andalusian influence. But a few of my slides from the 1970s (probably because of the film I used during that period) have lost a bit of their original color — and the village looks a bit […]
Sure, I could tell you about Ouro Preto’s rich mining past, its baroque churches, its wonderful Mineralogy Museum (that both me and my grandson got to visit, 22 years apart), its failed revolution, its noble colonial architecture … but really: The word pipimóvel (“peepeemobile”) just makes me chuckle.
Suzhou is often called “the Venice of China” because of its many canals and stone bridges. The city’s lush classical gardens are part of the UNESCO World Heritage list, making it a major tourist attraction in the region — and leading to very colorful displays of “folklore” …
I should remember how commanding Chartres Cathedral is with its noble façades, Gothic grandeur and hundreds of delicately sculpted figures. But 44 years later, what I remember most is that while we were visiting the cathedral, some idiot scratched my car!
In 1967 the rugged road from Tromsø did not go any further than the village of Hammerfest, where reindeer were strolling freely in people’s backyards.
In the Akha villages of northern Thailand, women show their age, marital status and wealth on their headdresses. A sort of traditional, old-fashioned social media, if you will!
My wife Claudine was taking a break from the vigorous April sun, resting under the lush azaleas bording the steps that lead to the top of Rome“s Capitoline Hill.
On Saturdays, the whole town of Otavalo becomes a gigantic market famous for its textiles, handicrafts, leather goods and spices. It draws people — and pigs — from the whole country and, together with the capital Quito and the Galapagos Islands, is one of Ecuador’s most popular tourist destinations.
I like Don Quixote enough to dress as him for Carnival. But unlike Miguel de Cervantes’ character, I don’t go about attacking windmills, which is lucky, considering we’ve encountered quite a few during our travels.
Balinese woodcarvings are exquisitely refined. I brought one back from the village of Mas, in southern Indonesia, and hung it in my study.
Though it’s closer to the Italian Peninsula, the island of Corsica belongs to France. But the words that come to my mind when I look at this panorama are in Italian: Che pace! (“Such peace!”)
The owners of these bicycles were having a picnic nearby, enjoying the view of the famous 19 windmills at Kinderdijk. The place was still pretty quiet in 1964, some 33 years before it became a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
“Le Ventre de Paris,” as French writer Émile Zola called it, has changed considerably during the past century. The Halles de Paris, this gigantic cast iron and glass food market right in the middle of the capital, was demolished in the early 1970s and replaced with the questionable Forum des Halles shopping mall. Today it […]
Lake Titicaca is located on the border of Peru and Bolivia. I’ve already shown you what the Peruvian side looks like, so this is me standing on the Bolivian shore of the lake — for once in front of the camera and not behind it.
This footbridge between two of the Thousand Islands in the Saint Lawrence River is often hailed as being the “shortest international bridge in the world.” The border that separates Canada from the U.S. is said to pass exactly between Zavikon Island and Little Zavikon Island, making for a great anecdote told by many tour guides. […]
Don’t let it fool you: The roads that lead to the Reunion Island“s Piton de la Fournaise (in the background) may be barren and stunningly quiet — but the volcano is one of the most active in the world. Just two years before we went there, the March 1998 eruption lasted 196 days, and le […]
Who needs a moving truck?
The Italian Renaissance Trinità dei Monti church, at the top of the famous Spanish Steps in Piazza di Spagna, was a little bit like a home away from home for us French travellers. “La Trinité-des-Monts,” as we call it, was built by a French king and has been under French responsibility ever since — together […]
Same brand, different technique: These Ecuadorian women were washing their clothes using Ariel, a brand of laundry detergent popular both in Latin America and Europe. Their washing machine was just slightly bigger than ours — the Ambato River, a stream that ultimately empties into the Atlantic Ocean via the Amazon.
The English have long occupied Malta, hence the driving on the left with steering wheel on the right-hand side. But they haven’t managed to import the Anglican religion: Catholicism is still deeply rooted in the island, as evidenced by the religious icons and Latin formula Verbum Dei caro factum est (“The Word of God was […]
A wicker basket worked just fine as a crib for this baby in eastern Nepal, though she looked just about ready to outgrow it.
The traditional pavement in front of Funchal“s 17th century Igreja do Colégio can be found throughout Portugal but also in the country’s former colonies. My grandson recently took pictures of similar black-and-white sidewalks bordering Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana beach.
In 1960, I was able to afford a trip to faraway Norway, because I’d just won the first prize at a radio show trivia contest — 1,280 new francs, the currency that had just been introduced in France at the beginning of the year. Of course we went there by car, in our robust Peugeot […]
Twenty years ago, Beijing was already dealing with monstrous pollution — and since then, China has surpassed all other countries in vehicle sales. So cyclists in the capital must have a harder time navigating Tiananmen Square … and breathing along the way.
The inhabitants of Nazaré lent themselves well to portraits back when people were more open to being photographed than today. This woman was carrying a recycled oil can that she used to draw water from a well.
For their First Communion, these German mädchen were still dressed as little brides, before albs became more customary.
The theater of Epidaurus is famous for its incredible acoustics. In the center of the picture, our guide is tearing up a piece of paper to prove it: Sitting midway to the top of the rows as we were, we heard it perfectly well.
Right-wing politicians think we should abandon the Schengen Area, and return to national borders within Europe. That would make about as much sense as putting a wall around Sicily.
Jaisalmer, in the western Indian state of Rajasthan, is nicknamed the “golden city of India” for the yellow sandstone used in building its houses. Maybe that also explains the choice for these men’s turbans, which like others, made our travels in this region especially colorful …
Almost 60 years of travels, and hardly a drop of rain. Yes, even in Scotland, that’s how lucky we were. And what better proof than these Scots working on their tan in Princes Street Gardens, the charming public park in the centre of Edinburgh — or as we say in French, Édimbourg.
This picture is old, but not as old as it seems: These men were actors taking a break on the set of a war movie on the river Krka in the historic town of Sibenik. Still, the image provides a slice of history, as we were on a trip through the Socialist Federal Republic of […]
These good old-fashioned haystacks in the Ötztal valley, in the Austrian state of Tyrol, remind me of haymaking in the village of my ancestors in eastern France, before mechanized balers and tractors became commonplace.
On Sept. 3, 1967, traffic in Sweden switched from driving on the left-hand side of the road to the right. Our daughter Cécile was understandably puzzled by the overlapping lane markings on the road, just a couple of months before the big change — and frankly, I find it somewhat of a miracle that no […]
It only seems fitting that to achieve Nirvana — or, as it is sometimes referred to in the West, “enlightenment” — some Buddhists would turn to burning candles. This woman picked the right place to pray: The ancient city of Anuradhapura in Sri Lanka was the center of Theravada Buddhism for many centuries.
Quito’s old market takes place right in front of the presidential palace, in the city’s centro histórico. It’s this colorful jumble of rowdy, narrow streets and dignified colonial buildings that makes the Ecuadoran capital one of the most beautiful Latin American cities.