A simple day

Don't you just love mornings?

The birds had been singing wonderfully since before dawn

and my day started early with a peaceful moment

and a cup of coffee.

I pulled up the blinds to see a pale golden sun rising behind the hill.

Could this mean a sunny day?

The Easter decorations are still hanging on the Easter tree

there's no hurry to take them down!

But the sun was calling me outside...

I knew where to look for sweet violets

Wild anemone

and primroses growing in the gardens around me.

I suddenly felt like getting some flowers for my empty balcony.

The garden centre was beautifully decorated with little paths of flowers

The poppies were particularly stunning in red

and just as lovely in yellow

Just look at this colour with the sun streaming through them.

Here are the pansies I brought home to plant.

A simple day and quite deliciously so!

There's always a light shining somewhere!

We had it all

the rain, the sleet, the snow

yes, and sunny moments too smiling between the clouds.

A weekend in London was all it needed

time

to be with my family.

Despite the adverse conditions,

there were happy moments

moments of joy

and even if there was some complaining about the weather

when I look back

at the overall picture

I see the fun

and the luminous moments!

This photo was taken from my hotel room

as I zoomed in on the building across a big green expanse of garden.

It make me think of life

and how

in the gloomiest of moments

when there seem to be obstacles in my path

when the conditions seem all  about adversity

that

somehow

somewhere

a light

is always shining

a window

an opening

in life.

Remembering to look at the overall picture.

Joining others for our monthly meeting here:

A Weekend in London

London!

Come rain or shine

it's such a special place to be.

I love the cheerful coloured doors, the railings and the window-boxes.

I like this street in the Bloomsbury area with the brick houses

and the old-style gas lamps.

Does it always rain in England?

No, it sometimes sleets and snows and is windy!

Peering out of my hotel window in the early morning

the paths were dry!

and low and behold the sky turned blue with clouds of pink.

From the breakfast room, a friendly taxi reminded me that I was in my home country.

Off for a walk in well-known streets and admiring the pink blossom on the way.

My favourite Indian restaurant I discovered a few years ago.

Just look at that blue sky!

Clouds?

Oh! they're just passing!

Back to the hotel to write some cards

I like the phrase on the Post Office bag.

A walk to the end of the road to post my cards

One to Switzerland and one to Canada

and a walk through the nearest park to enjoy some spring flowers

Sweet crocus which have just been watered by an obliging shower!

Another walk around Avignon

The beauty of Art Nouveau in this decorated balcony and wrought iron balustrade.

Here is the whole building.

The charm of the back streets.

It must be bumpy cycling on those cobblestones!

A gargoyle on the edge of a roof. 

A spout in the form of a grotesque human or animal figure.

Their purpose is to throw rainwater clear of a building.

St. Pierre church

Looking up at the bell tower through the branches of a tree starting to blossom.

and admiring the bells before going for lunch in one of the numerous restaurants.

In this area, the Côtes du Rhône wine is particularly delicious.

Can you see the blue sky reflected in the glasses?

and this warm goat's cheese salad with pine nuts and fruity olive oil goes so perfectly with the wine.

Back through the streets to discover more architectural details

The sun illuminates the warm colour of this building.

An early evening walk is illuminated by shop windows showing us their wares.

What looks like a lamp in the left window, is in fact tiny suspended bottles

of olive oil glistening under hidden headlights.

Olivier

which is French for olive tree.

Notice the Provençal language written in smaller letters at the bottom of the road sign.

So ends the second part of this visit to the town of Avignon.

I will leave you to wander these streets alone and enjoy the colours

of the Provence while I take a little pause.

Till next time with more blue skies!

Avignon

The famous Avignon bridge is actually called

Saint Benezet Bridge.

It was first constructed in the 17th century, originally had 22 arches

 and measured 900 metres long.

The river it partially crosses is the Rhône.

One of the squares.

Almost everywhere you go, you can see a church steeple

or religious statues.

There are many cobbled streets and you need comfortable

walking shoes to get around!

The cobblestones seem to be washed every morning

and this close-up shows how these well-worn stones tell a story

of many many years right back to the Middle Ages.

There is plenty of beautiful stonework and  this door really caught my eye.

There are windows with stone carvings and decorated window panes.

and others with gorgeous reflections and decorated with flowers.

How about this lovely attic window

 with the curtain mysteriously almost closed in the afternoon?

There are many many restaurants

and my favourites are the simplest ones

which serve a simple 'plat du jour' (daily special).

This place only had room for one table for two outside.

Don't you love it?

 Shall we meet and have lunch there?

Three little olive trees all in a row

and some Savon de Marseille in the window,

the famous soap.

I have so many photographs after visiting this lovely town three times,

but I'll stop for today with this early evening shot of a rosy sky.

Time

Seeing this clock tower in the medieval town of Avignon, France

made me think of my relation to time.

Why do I feel a special heart-connection with this image?

Because it makes me wonder how I use my time.

Sometimes it would be tempting to wish time away 

and project oneself into an imagined future where our minds try to persuade us

that it might be a better place!

Why would I wish to be elsewhere than where I am?

Whatever I am doing now

can be done with consciousness

in a meaningful way:

the cleaning, the shopping, the cooking, washing-up. 

Doing my work.

Even waiting at a bus stop can take on new meaning

a new feeling of aliveness.

What time is it?

It's time to be content with whatever form this moment is taking.

Am I really here?

Am I wishing the preciousness of this moment away?

This moment,

the very best place to be at all times.

This moment,

the only one we can ever really experience.

When I live fully in the present, 

I am truly alive with awareness of every detail around me.

I am part of it

I feel at one with it.

I don't need to be somewhere else.

I am here!

What time is it for you?