The cliff road to the Cape Bear Naval Station and lighthouse. Cote Vermeille. France South

A most charming walk in the fine spring weather goes from the small Village Port-Vendres and out to Cape Bear. Where from the endpoint you can see the rugged coastline and into Spain just some kilometer further South. In France the coast is named Cote Vermeille - after the border to Spain: Costa Brava - continuing right down to Barcelona.

Vineyards walk in the Spring. Collioure. France South

Fort St. Elme in the back is well situated on the background hill overlooking Cote Vermeille here in France South.  The Madam is out there walking, following the narrow road to the old village Collioure. A fine day in March - where sign of spring is already showing.

In 6 months those naked roots will be full of grapes - ready for picking

Frame your photo when in Collioure. France South

On this hill, overlooking Collioure by the shores of the Mediterranean, you have an option to frame your panorama photo of this village.

As I understand it - looking through the frame you will have the same "picture" and motif that has been used by one of the former painters and artist that visited the village under the period of Fauvism - the "wild beasts"

FROM THE NET:

Fauvism, the first twentieth-century movement in modern art, was initially inspired by the examples of Vincent van Gogh, Paul Gauguin, Georges Seurat, and Paul Cézanne. The Fauves ("wild beasts") were a loosely allied group of French painters with shared interests. Several of them, including Henri Matisse, Albert Marquet, and Georges Rouault, had been pupils of the Symbolist artist Gustave Moreau and admired the older artist's emphasis on personal expression. Matisse emerged as the leader of the group, whose members shared the use of intense color as a vehicle for describing light and space, and who redefined pure color and form as means of communicating the artist's emotional state. In these regards, Fauvism proved to be an important precursor to Cubism and Expressionism as well as a touchstone for future modes of abstraction.

Spring in Collioure. South of France.

Simply how the springtime can be in the South of France.
Blue sky. Sun
A flowering tree. A vineyard in the background.
On top of the hill a small Chateau.

Not least it display that you can have some DOF even with a iPhone6+

The small Chapel of Sant Vincent in Collioure. France South

At a tiny island by the shores of the Mediterranian Sea is the small chapel of Sant Vincent - the protector of all sailors and fishermen - out there in the ocean doing his job.  

Here from a grey day in the early springtime.

From the Catholic online:

Sant Vincent: Martyr. It is known with certainty that he was put to death at Collioure, Gaul (modern France), under Emperor Diocletian (r. 284-305), although his Acts are considered quite unreliable.

From waymarking.com:

On a rocky promontory overlooking the sea, the Chapel of St. Vincent is located at the end of the esplanade of Collioure.

The small chapel dates from 1642 and at that time it was located on a very small rocky island. Sometime in the 19th Century, a dike was built that connects the mainland with the rock on which the chapel stands. According to legend it was on this rock that Saint Vincent was martyred.

The Chapel consists of a single small rectangular room with portal and above the entrance is the simple tower with the single bell.

A conversation between 2 doves in an alley in Collioure. France South

A rare moment from busy Collioure - a more calm place in the early spring.

Off Season Saturday in Collioure South of France

Few visitors to see at the weekdays now in the off season periode in popular Collioure. But in the weekends the place starts to live as many visitors enter this small Catalan village and take their time in the sun to enjoy some drink or lunch by the seaside. This version a stitch of 2 photos.

Grand Hotel in Oslo, Norway. Blue hour with iphone 6+

The last blue hour version from this fine afternoon a Friday in March 2017 along the main street of Oslo: Karl Johans Gate. The stately Grand Hotel with the very famous and popular Grand Cafe at the corner vis a vis the Parliament building of Norway.

From the net:
Grand Hotel was founded in 1874 by the pastry chef Julius Fritzner. When it first opened, the block on Karl Johans gate consisted of three buildings: the Bardoe, the Fuhr and the Heiberg buildings.

The latter, a three-story building at the corner of Rosenkrantz gate, was equipped as a hotel. Nicolay Fritzner bought the building, but his brother Julius ran the hotel.

The Grand Café opened first. Architect Jacob Nordan was in charge of refurbishing the local, and Fritzner's good friend, Wilhelm Krogh, a specialist in theater and set decoration at Kristiania Theater, painted the interior. Originally, the café was above street level, with access from stairs on the outside of the building, but in the latter part of the 1870s, the floor was lowered and the entire venue was redecorated. From that moment on, the Grand Café became the meeting place for all of Kristiania’s citizens.

Professor Christen Heiberg's three-story building on the corner of Karl Johans gate 31 was one of a number of distinguished houses built around 1840 along the "New Palace Road", as Karl Johan was called in those days.

Today it seems logical to open a hotel in this newly fashionable district, but that was not the case at the time. Many of Fritzner's contemporaries tried to discourage him from opening a hotel so far away from what was then the center of Kristiania.

Blue hour in the mainstreet of Oslo, Norway

"Karl Johans Gate" the main street of Oslo used to be filled by pedestrians, cars and trams. The last years it have developed to more like a pedestrians street while cars and trams are no longer to be seen as before.  This is around 5 o'clock PM a cold afternoon in March 2017 in the blue hour.

From the net:
Karl Johans Gate stretches from the central railway station to the Royal Palace.
The street was laid at the Swedish-Norwegian King Charles Fourteenth Juhani, after whom later was named.

It is famous for a lot of small shops and stalls of street vendors, art galleries open-air performances of musicians and actors directly on the pavement.
Almost all the buildings on this street were built in the twenties and fifties of the nineteenth century by the court architect of the Norwegian Linstow, whose goal was to make the street, Karl Johans Gate in the "Champs Elysees" of Oslo.

The most notable building in the street - the central building of the University of Oslo, built in the classical style by the renowned Berlin architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel.

Blue hour by the Stortinget - The Parliament Building, Oslo, Norway

A Friday afternoon by the Parliament Building in Oslo. Some few pedestrians is passing and the compulsory begger is sitting there - "business as usual" . Another iphone 6+ photo.

Under a photo with the old university main building to the left.

From the net: 
The Storting is the Norwegian Parliament. It is the supreme arena for political debate and decision-making in the Kingdom of Norway.
The Storting represents the ultimate expression of the sovereignty of the Norwegian people. Through the Storting, it is the people who govern the country, introduce legislation, authorize public spending, impose taxes and control the work of the Government.

There are 169 elected Members of the Storting. Parliamentary elections take place every four years. There are no by-elections, nor is there any constitutional provision to dissolve the Storting between elections.

The system of parliamentary rule means that it is the Storting that determines the composition of the Norwegian Government. It is also the decision of the Storting to decide whether or not to initiate a referendum on a particular issue.

Following the tracks of the white wild hare. Valdres, Norway

They are easy to spot the tracks of the hare in the snow. These tracks are app. 24hrs old as they have started to be a bit wider and "lifted up" as compared to new tracks in the snow.

This time the hare has been alone - otherwise they are often followed by some tracks of their hunter - the fox.

Beside of that an interesting almost Black and White result of this photo taken in the afternoon and by that includes some details of the snow and some fine shadows effect.

Cross country skier in backlight. Valdres in Norway

The last days we have had winter Holidays here in Norway. And as so often in the winter we like to spend some days up in the mountains for ski activities: Alpine or Cross-Country. The latter absolute relaxing as you can ski, as here, under a fair sun and enjoy the peace in the nature while using the well prepared ski tracks in the terrain.

Winter holiday in Valdres, Norway

A fine morning with some fresh snow up in the winter mountains in central Norway.

This week most of the schools have their winter holidays and many families are up here in the mountain only some 3hrs drive out of Oslo.

Flashback: Surfer in storm. Collioure, South of France

A flashback with a return to a very special February day in 2007 in Collioure, south of France. In spite of 300 days with sun in the year - this was a day where heavy waves from a passing storm was coming in right to the beaches in the village of Collioure. And of course where there is this kind of waves there is also surfers.  See if you can spot the surfer in the middle of this photo taken 10 years ago.

Another flashback to this heavy weather some years ago in Collioure

No demand for deck chairs at Alby Manor at Jeloya, Norway

Alby Manor with a history going back almost to the time of the Vikings is today an art Museum that also have a fine Cafe to stop by for people out at this Island in the Oslofjord for a walk.
In front of the Manor it is popular in the summer to relax on the fine green grass - while in the winter there is a more modest demand for the deck chairs ment for a good time in the sun.

While the Noblesse was ruling the big farmland belonging to the Alby Manor the tenant farmer was offered a more modest place to live. Scattered around the Manor you will still find some small houses ment for the people working the land in the former times - as seen here:

Cold wind from Russia sweeping over Valdres, Norway

We are just back from some days up in the mountain. In a winter with a general mild climate we had some days with -20C as cold wind from Siberia was sweeping in.  In the same days a warm wind was going North from Spain to Svalbard where they had +4C What a world 🤓

The photo, of our cottage, is from my iphone6+ with a mounted so called fisheye lens - delivered in a kit with also a wide angle lens and a tele x9 lens.  All for funny €10 incl. freight from China (says something of the quality) LOL.

Crossing the plain "Stølsvidda" in one of the cold days this week in the mountain

Time for some cross country skiing in Valdres, Norway

Finally there is some snow and also fair weather here in the low mountains in the South of Norway.
The skitrack is all set for some cross country going and be sure we will use the opportunity within the next days. Going from Oslo with no snow and up to this winter adventure 😎

Oslo Town Hall in the winter. Norway

Oslo Town Hall seen from Aker Brygge - the former ship yard in the center of Oslo.
In front a selection of boats very popular for  people living here the whole winter.
As you can see the water is still open while some years ago there should have been ice in this part of the harbor. Typical for the mild climate of our days.

December afternoon in the harbor of Oslo. Norway. II

An afternoon mood in Oslo Harbor - in fact one of the last photos I did in 2016.

A happy new year to all visitors

December afternoon in the harbor of Oslo. Norway

Low light and a low sun already at 1PM in Oslo this day late in December