Blenheim Palace

Paris

Notre Dame with the sunset.
Olivier as one of four pillars in the picture. The picture looked better in my head than on paper. I am putting it up because it is the only picture I have of Olivier.

Arc de Triomphe with some parade underneath; there were hundreds of cops gathered under the Arc. You can see the blue uniforms in the picture.

Marloes and Liege

Looking over Liege, this hill was a fine way to see this plat pays.
Marloes' idea was that Belgium is very different from the Netherlands even though they are so close to each other. On the Saturday we visited Maastricht, and left, the next day, for Liege. Hearing French was a big change, but there were others; the cafe life, for one, seemed a bit like you'd expect in the South of France. Based around a cobblestone square lined with platane like trees.
Here's the good picture I told you about, Marloes. Admit it's nice... Is it you or the buildings?

Krakow

Marika, my (great) hostess. Hmm, I am having a doubt. This may have been in Warsaw...
It's huge and it's made of bricks. Why not?
The cathedral in the castle.

Warsaw

Warsaw is not all pretty. Here's a picture that is probably more representative of the town than the next two.


One of the main squares in the popular area of Warsaw.

The fountain in the centre of the other popular square.

Matriculation photos

Sub fusced - Matriculation day

Balliol College

Balliol is quite unique in that it seperates its grad students from its undergrads. The former live in Holywell Manor, a ten minute walk from main college, where undergrads stay. The graduate population gains from this; social activities tend to be fun but respectful, conversations more probing than they would be with a younger crowd.Here is Holywell Manor. I live across the road but this is the centre of most of my activities.
This is main college, or the idea most people have of Balliol. The inside is quite nice too.

Party pictures

Balliol is a very social college. Over the past two weeks, I have been partying , it seems like, every second night. I justify it as socialising.Kate, Andrew and I enjoying a quiet drink in the MCR bar.
My floor before the Balliol bop, all in our respective costumes.
My floor in more traditional attire after the very traditional freshers' dinner. Dinner was held in hall, a harry potter kind of place. A meal there on normal occasions costs three pounds, very cheap for England.

My room

The layout and decoration have changed quite a bit, and are still likely to change. I got a new bed in, but have to keep the terrible one you see. It's a challenge...
The view from my room and my desk; I'll be spending a lot of time there.

A street in Amsterdam

Apparently famous, with Renske, my great hostess in the front of the picture 

Red light district in the day

 

Levitating man

Or one who pretends to. Notice the stick is significantly off centre. What is really impressive with this man is he outwaits anyone who pauses to find the trick out. He doesn't move, doesn't reveal what he is sitting on, or expose his relation to the weight under him by wobbling. 

Utrecht from above

Renske and I climbed the Dom Tower. The view and the weather were so nice we stayed for almost an hour up there.

Main square in Krakow

 

 

Krakow

Marika and I 

More photos and stories

I'm waiting to get back my CD of photos of Madagascar. There are still a few I'd like to put up. Some of me, some of islands, and a few others I couldn't categorise.

Over the past couple of weeks, I've been visiting family and friends in Poland, the Netherlands, and Paris. You'd think I'd have lots of nice pictures to put up; well you're right, but I have a little problem: no more batteries in my camera, and no charger to remedy to that problem. I'll find a solution...

Andringitra

In this park, I did my favourite walk of the trip. First a hike into and around the plateau, and then, the next day, the Pic Boby ascent. Pic Boby is the second highest peak of Mada. The highest has no easy access. For a few moments, I was the highest man on the eighth continent.At the gatekeeper's house, a few girls were braiding their hair. We climbed what you see behind them.

The view from Pic Boby: these are the landscapes we walked through. Described as lunar in tourist guides, they are stark: smooth granite blocks shaped by thousands of rains, this was the first time I'd seen anything like it.
The view down the plain. You can see the rice paddies in the back. This is Betsileo land, the tribe that can get three harvest in a year. Not so high though; the cold only allows one.
I forget the name of this flower. It grows on an Aloe.
Anicet (right) and Arnaud (left), my two hiking companions. Anicet is an ANGAP agent, probably the man with the best knowledge of the park around. He usually only guides the gros bonnets, which we were apparently. Arnaud was an intern at Isalo, and had been offered a trip up Pic Boby. I tagged along.

Isalo

This is Madagascar's most popular national park, with over twenty thousand visitors a year. Personally, of the three I visited, this was the most disappointing. For weeks on the west coast, I couldn't figure what was missing on my photos. Clouds, that was what! A frenchmen I met in Isalo and with whom I travelled to Andringtira kept on talking of the different shades of blue of the sky of Madagascar. You can see what he meant on this photo.
One of the famous cascades, cascade des nymphes, I think. I could be wrong. There wasn't enough light for the picture.
The Savannah: the mountains you see in the back form the Isalo massif. This is at sunrise (yes, I was up that early.)
Isalo's most famous attraction: the piscine naturelle. The kid that just jumped in as I took the photo has a sister with whom I sympathised that day, and later, meeting her randomly in Tana. As to what, every encounter can matter.