Pressed for time due to a full house of kids, grandkids, and cats, I decided to go with a general theme. Everyone has photos of religious buildings, so architectural variety is guaranteed. Just a reminder—I’m asking for exterior shots only, either wide-angle or detailed views.

Phanom Rung, Thailand Wat Phra Keo, Bangkok

Abu Simbel

Quimper

Venice

Istanbul

Khiva, Uzbekistan

Hello,

Back in February, I booked a flight with Air France-KLM from Lyon to San Diego with a layover in Amsterdam (flights operated by KLM). The flight is scheduled for late August. My Lyon→Amsterdam flight was canceled by KLM in June, and a replacement flight the evening before was booked for me. So, I’ll end up spending the night at Amsterdam Airport to catch my flight to San Diego the next morning.

Since the cancellation happened more than 14 days before departure, I know I’m not entitled to financial compensation (EU Regulation 261/2004). But am I entitled to reimbursement for a hotel night in Amsterdam?

Hi everyone, we're back from a DIY USA road trip we organized from July 31, 2026, to August 26, 2026.

The destination: The Southwest USA, including Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico. Roughly 7,000 kilometers covered.

The car: A Chevrolet Equinox for two, rented through BSP Auto and Avis. Inside, we had 2 suitcases, a travel bag, two carry-on bags, a Walmart cooler, photo gear, and water bottles (a 40-pack).

The route: Dallas DFW, Fort Worth, Houston, Austin, San Antonio, Alpine, El Paso, Tucson, Sedona, Albuquerque, Amarillo, and back to Dallas to finish with a departure from DFW.

The travelers: Two seniors well advanced in years (73 and 75) but still active (nothing too physically demanding—to stay alive and fund our trips), fully independent physically, though a bit less so mentally. Big USA fans, a country where anything is possible. More walkers than hikers, preferring 3-star hotels over roadside motels, Italian restaurants over US food, frequent stops for photos, museums over nothing, naps over forced marches. Not too whiny, just enough to stay French in the land of the "great Satan," as they say. Not great with languages—street English (but handy), and my Spanish is non-existent except for: "Hola! Una cerveza por favor!" That’s about it. My wife understands everything but refuses to speak.

The cost of the road trip: Around 12,000 €, including AF flights, the car, gas, gifts, visits, and everything else. Well managed, since we’d budgeted 13,500 € initially.

The positive side: A delight, with those endless open roads. Museums to discover. The realization of the Hispanic presence and its important history in this part of America. Lovely locals. Tourists who were more or less friendly. A terrible Texan accent that was hard to understand. Gas stations that were like real stores, with prepared food, alcohol sold in Arizona and New Mexico, and employees who were always up for a laugh!

The negative side: The heat throughout the trip... 43°C in Dallas at the end. Impossible to walk the streets. Lots of homeless people in downtown Dallas. Hotel breakfasts that were always the same. You get used to it.

So, it was positive overall, but the concept is starting to wear us out. We might rethink the DIY road trip model for next time. If the man upstairs grants us more time.

Next up, we’ll wait for the first batch of sorted photos to go through the wringer.

See you soon.

My first trip to Morocco dates back to the early 90s.

Four more followed...

I’d never gone further north than Casablanca, Volubilis, or Fez—it was time to fix that!

So I planned a route that would fill in the gaps while revisiting a few places.

This route is pretty classic—if you’re looking for something original, you might want to skip it!

The starting point of the trip: the city of Rabat.

The stops?

Azrou, Fez, Al Hoceïma, Akchour, Tetouan, Tangier, Asilah, and finally Rabat.

Mostly an urban trip, then.

Too much?

We’ll see at the end of the travel journal!

When it comes to the Caribbean island of Saint-Martin, it's customary to praise its coastline and dreamy beaches—and they certainly deserve it. But in this story, I’d like to highlight other memories, aspects, and impressions for a slightly different change of scenery. Enjoy the read—some text and, above all, lots of photos. « Byenveni sou zile Sen Maten! » (Welcome to the island of Saint-Martin)

-- -- Full and luminous To avoid seeming too conventional at the start of this alternative take on Saint-Martin... here’s not a stunning sunrise over the sea but rather a moonrise—a less "typical" choice. And when you get to witness it, it’s a truly unique moment of contemplation. However, three conditions are essential for this spectacle: a full moon phase, a cloud-free horizon, and—most importantly—a moonrise at twilight. That early evening, all the conditions aligned—lucky us! Just above the sea, a strange glow gradually appeared. A huge moon was about to shine against a deep blue night sky.



What’s more, its light sparkled on the water’s surface—gorgeous! But so fleeting. We’re on the east coast of the island, by the wide stretch of light sand at Baie Orientale, Saint-Martin’s own. Now, just because I wanted to start with something a little different doesn’t mean we should overlook the bright sunrises you can see on this bay. They’re far more common than a beautiful full moonrise, but they also require two things: being an early riser and a clear horizon without misty clouds. Views to soak in without restraint...





Other memories of beautiful lights and lovely colors—a morning when the sun had a brief meet-up with the rain, creating a stunning rainbow.



And let’s talk about the moon again... On a clear night, a "blood moon," the result of a lunar eclipse that had turned our familiar satellite red.



-- --

A butterfly with golden wings! In the tropics, swarms of butterflies flutter everywhere, from flower to flower. They sip the sweet nectar from stamens and blooming corollas with delight.



Here, a monarch, one of the great migratory butterflies, taking its time to enjoy the pollen of this Ixora coccinea—or Japanese hydrangea, but let’s stick to Saint-Martin.



This one is an *Agraulis vanillae*, to be precise—and thanks to the internet for the ID. Photographing them isn’t always easy; these fearless butterflies often fly off before you can get a good focus, challenging both the framing eye and the autofocus! But on the island, I noticed some butterflies were much easier to shoot—those decorating a few murals. ;)





One of the graffiti artists behind several Saint-Martin murals has made it his signature. The talented Jimmy Sheik slips a little butterfly into each of his works, even if it’s not the main subject. It’s a nod to his home island, Guadeloupe, whose territory—with Basse-Terre and Grande-Terre—looks uncannily like a giant butterfly. In the photo above, a great initiative: turning this beach bungalow, abandoned after Hurricane Irma’s (2017) devastation, into a mural canvas—it’s a real success. Well done, artist!

To be continued >>>>>>