Annecy

The Palais de l’Isle is a castle in the centre of the Thiou canal, built in 1132. It was the primary residence of the Lord of Annecy as early as the 12th century, and later became the Count of Geneva’s administrative headquarters, then alternately a courthouse, a mint, and finally a jail from the Middle Ages until 1865 and then again during World War II. The Palais de l’Ile was classified as a Historical Monument in 1900, and today houses a local history museum.

Rendered here as a watercolour, although the original image kind of told me what to do by trial and error. Some of you know what I mean…

“Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?”
“That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,” said the Cat.
“I don’t much care where–” said Alice.
“Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,” said the Cat.

Original GSV at http://goo.gl/maps/neaI0

 

Dunkirk

“We shall fight them on the beaches, we shall fight them on the shores, never in the history of human conflict, has so much been owed, by so many, to so few.” (Winston Churchill, using the Oxford comma)

The Dunkirk evacuation, commonly known as the Miracle of Dunkirk, was the evacuation of Allied soldiers from the beaches and harbour of Dunkirk, France, between 27 May and the early hours of 4 June 1940, because the British, French, and Belgian troops were cut off by the German army during the Battle of Dunkirk in the Second World War. The evacuation was ordered on 26 May In a speech to the House of Commons, Winston Churchill called the events in France “a colossal military disaster”, saying that “the whole root and core and brain of the British Army” had been stranded at Dunkirk and seemed about to perish or be captured. In his “We shall fight on the beaches” speech on 4 June, he hailed their rescue as a “miracle of deliverance”.

Music: Sir Georg Solti – Elgar: Enigma Variation IX ‘Nimrod’

Sir George Solti’s historic 1975 performance of Elgar’s Enigma Variation IX – Nimrod.

Original GSV at http://goo.gl/maps/yBmhV

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

At award-winning Morningside Vineyard just off Tea Tree Road. The hazy morning sunshine is a harbinger of things to come.

About Morningside Vineyard: http://www.morningsidevineyard.com.au/
The Wine Route: http://www.winetasmania.com.au/wine-route

Original Google Street View at http://goo.gl/maps/fMhvj
Tarted in Nik Color Efex and Alien Skin Snap Art Crayon

Storm

It had been still all day / Not a breeze in the night to blow the heat away / Firefly flashin’ electricity in the sky / The outside dogs begin to bark, it be a good night to fly / Do a little a dance in the wind / Thunder’s rumblin’ again / Storm’s comin’ to wash it all away /

Musical accompaniment:  North Mississippis Allstars – Storm

Original Google Street View on Highland Lakes Road (no lakes in sight), Tasmania at http://goo.gl/maps/0voXM

Dreamtime

A mashup of the Cockle Creek bridge in southern Tasmania and one of the marvellous paintings by Australian aboriginal artist, Colleen Wallace Nungari entitled “Dreamtime Sisters”.

Dreamtime Sisters:
http://dreamtimeart.com.au/artist/colleen-wallace-nungari
Wild Bush Yam Dreaming interpreted by Philip Hartigan: http://philiphartiganpraeterita.blogspot.ca/2010/02/on-colleen-wallace-nungaris-wild-bush.html
About Colleen:
http://www.mbantua.com.au/colleen-wallace-nungari/

Original Google Street View at http://goo.gl/maps/SMJrT

Palmer, Alaska

Pleasantville with fluffy clouds, ranch-style houses and a big oil truck rumbling through.

Original Google Street View at http://goo.gl/yQPU8

Golden Lake, Yukon

The turquoise lake in the original Google Street View (http://goo.gl/maps/J1bjE) was fine enough, but often images take on a life of their own in post-processing.

Dempster Highway, Yukon

The Dempster Highway, also referred to as Yukon Highway 5 and Northwest Territories Highway 8, is a Canadian highway that connects the Klondike Highway in the Yukon to Inuvik, Northwest Territories on the Mackenzie River delta. During the winter months, the highway extends to Tuktoyaktuk, on the northern coast of Canada, using frozen portions of the Mackenzie River delta as an ice road. (We saw ice roads during our AG trip to Estonia).

Much of the highway follows an old dog sled trail. The highway is named after Royal Canadian Mounted Police Inspector William John Duncan Dempster, who, as a young constable, frequently ran the dog sled trail from Dawson City to Fort McPherson NT. Now it’s about oil and arctic sovereignty.

I followed this highway on Google Street view all the way up to the border of the Northwest Territories. It’s no wonder we advertise the Yukon as “Larger Than Life”.

Original GSV at http://goo.gl/maps/i4STu

Big Sky, Yukon

Slightly Lomo snap of Big Sky in “Larger Than Life” Yukon. Original by Google Street View whose URL escapes me. Lomoization by me for a 1950’s road trip look.

In The Canyon

It could be any morning, really. These places are always empty.

Centro, Mexico City from an original Google Street View capture: http://goo.gl/maps/ZARLD