A favourite location

One of my favourite spots around Armidale is Dangars Falls and the downstream gorge. Well, today we had Emily and Ella visiting - the latter's first time in Armidale - and the incandescent weather and warm early Spring temperatures lured us out to the gorge country east of town. So here we are at the edge of the gorge preparing to admire the stunning views.

One of the local streams, Salisbury Water, ponds up near the head of the gorge. The placid waters below reflect the local woodland dotted with Acacia bushes in full yellow bloom. This area is part of the Oxley-Wild Rivers National Park and that in turn is part of the World Heritage Listed Gondwana Rainforests of Australia region which stretches nearly 400 km north-south along the mountains of northern NSW.  

A little way downstream, past where we're standing here, the waters accelerate through the increasingly steep valley to the top of the waterfall. The third picture in the series looks down on that valley from one of the local network of footpaths.

And here we are gazing at the top of the waterfall as the stream plunges 130m (400 feet) in more or less a single drop to ponds below. Ella was impressed I think with this view!

The final picture shows Dot and Ella, with a nice smile on her face, looking at the beautiful scenery of the gorge country. The picture looks East and the gorges like this one containing Salisbury Water run tens of km towards the distant coast. One can walk days through this country and not see a single person! And it is biologically highly diverse with lots of cute little animals like rock wallabies.

 AS

Nancy

Nancy (pr. Nonsea) is, or perhaps I should say, was the seat of the Dukes of Burgundy, one of the most powerful families in pre-revolutionary France. Their impressive, though not that old, pile is shown here:

The town itself reminded me somewhat of Berne in Switzerland, which I profiled earlier this year, due to the extensive number of fluttering flags aloft in the various thoroughfares. However, the streets were much narrower and graced by often less substantial buildings. That said, the city's narrow streets conveyed a sense of elegant intimacy despite the inclement weather.

Note here the tight little courtyard - I thought I might see the Montagues and Capulets feuding on the circular staircase

And I loved this historic round-about for children.

AS

A Walk through Lyon

Our 3-day trip from Montpellier to Koln spent its first night in the great city of Lyon at the confluence of two major river systems - the Rhone (which has a source next to Phil's chalet at Saas Grund); and the Saone (which rises in northern France). Indeed, our accommodation was close to the junction of those two rivers in a sliver land housing the CBD.

Here are some images of the city taken the morning after our latish arrival on 24 August - see I'm behind a week on these posts, with comments on Nancy, Metz, the Moselle, Trier (Germany) and Koln still to come! Amble around the city with me, starting with a farmers' market on the banks of the Saone! The peaches I bought there were delicious.

And here is the Saone itself up-stream of the confluence with the Rhone, but still a large body of water. We went up to the church on the hill and, although a considerable edifice, it was undergoing full-scale restoration which made interior photography difficult. The structure on the west bank looked like a replica of the Eiffel Tower, but was much more mundane.

The central city is a maze of little alley-ways and squares like these examples - and difficult to navigate with cars.

To get to the hill-top there is a choice of funiculars like this one, mercifully saving tired feet after a long walk. Alas, the journey was mostly in tunnels offering few views of the city and surrounds. The final image shows what a great vista could be had from the top!

AS