France

Paris, France. Notre Dame Cathedral in 2019, just after the big fire. The wooden roof and tall spire are gone, and some scorch marks are visible on the facade in front of the scaffolding. The whole area near the church was cordoned off, and there were much bigger crowds gathered around than I've ever seen here before.

Chamonix, France. The ultimate European ski town. Totally surrounded by some very fine climbing, biking, hiking, eating, drinking, partying etc etc. And skiing. Not bad scenery either.

Les Trois Vallees, France. The "3 Valleys". And that's just what it is. And each one of the valleys is big, so all 3 together adds up to... huge. You'll need several days to ski this place out.

Paris, France. The obligatory photo of the Eiffel Tower. Taken on a hazy winter day.

Paris, France. A fairly rare event - Notre Dame Cathedral in a snowstorm. Paris is beautiful covered in white.

Paris, France. A very busy Arc de Triomphe on New Years Eve.

Paris, France. The Louvre Museum, freezing cold with some light snow and heavy slush. And still the crowds, waiting in the cold. Make reservations ahead of time!

It's strange having a grave as a tourist site, but the final resting place of the Doors' Jim Morrison in Pere Lachaise cemetery has become a kind of shrine to hardcore '60's rock fans.

Somehow we managed to get up to the top of the Eiffel Tower on New Years Eve, 2005. What great views of Paris! And a great way to bid adieu to 2005 and welcome 2006. The shaft of light is the huge rotating beam on the top of the tower.