Weekly Winners, New Camera

Weekly Winners is all about the favourite pictures of the past week.
I have made so many this week, this new camera is my pride and joy!

First thing I did was to step out on my patio.

Rainy day ...

Not quite there yet ... but I'm learning.
You can click to enlarge this one, to see the reflection in the water drops.

Honey? I brought you some flowers?

No more flowers for me thanks!
I'm exhausted!

Thanks for the nuts!

Next up was a walk in Antwerp,
I went back the next Sunday to redo the dragon fighting knight
on top of one of the houses at the Market Place in Antwerp.
Here he comes Melli, the dragon in it's full glory!

And yes, you can click on it, please do!

This is Libra, my birth sign.
I like her.
(You can enlarge this one as well!)

Different angle ...

If only ....

Oh yes, I do believe in angels ...

Looking up ...

Bridging the gap ...

opening doors ....

This was tough! I had so many to choose from.
Oh boy, I love that new camera!Speaking of opening doors ...
I'll be here tomorrow with a new photo challenge, called "Opening Doors"
The idea is to post pictures of doors, or details of doors.
It has to be your own picture, no stealing from Mr Google!
that's the only rule!
You can dig in your archives of course, it doesn't have to be a new one.
Be creative, and show me your doors!
Of course, I'll show you mine as well! ;-)
It will start tomorrow up until Saturday, Saturday included!
So if you want to join in, please do!
I'll have a new Mr Linky up every day, so you can sign in whenever you want!



But that's for tomorrow.
First up, is to go out and visit all the Weekly Winners participants!
They're at Sarcastic Mom's, AKA Lotus Caroll!
Would not miss that photo meme for the world! See you!
Oh and go by Alice's blog for more pictures of bridges.
She'll be closing the door of her own
photo challenge called "Bridging the Gap" today.

Bridging the Gap The Notre Dame Gateway

This is the Notre Dame gateway in Pernes les Fontaines,
She bridges the river Nesque,
and she is a part of the old rampart walls, built to protect the old city.






This picture gives a good view on the gateway and the fortified walls,
this is what you see if you walk from inside the old city walls
towards the bridge over the water ...

and here you can see the bridge itself ...





I want to start another challenge this week called "Opening Doors" ...
The only thing I want from you is to post a picture with a door in it.
A door, a gate, ... even a detail of a door.
Old or new, it does not matter, as long as it is a door, right?
It does not HAVE to be a new picture, you can browse in your archives,
anything goes ...
This challenge will start on Monday September first and end next Saturday.
You don't have to join in EVERY day, if you don't feel like it,
I'll install a new Mr Linky every day, which you can sign when you participate.
I'm really looking forward to this ...
If you have any more questions, don't hesitate to ask!






Tomorrow there will be a Weekly Winners,( as usual)
and the final episode of Bridging the Gap.
Don't forget the others at Alice's blog!

Thoughts and Reflections Bridge the Gap

The gap.
"Mind the gap", is a warning that can be heard
thousands of times a day in the London Subway.
That tired, toneless computer voice, warning you about "the gap"...

The gap.
You'll meet gaps whenever you try to step from one level to another.
A void, an empty space or a river between
where you are now, and where you want to go.
Whether you want to take a train in the subway
or try to board a boat or a plane, there is always that gap you need to overcome.
That's why people invented bridges.
So that we can cross that gap without getting hurt.


And I guess that's just how it is in real life.
Building bridges, and crossing gaps.
When I first started blogging, I started out on Ning
you know, the Nablopomo challenge.
Nablopomo was the bridge over the gap for me.
I was just a blogger from Belgium, where the hell is Belgium anyway?
But pretty soon I met my first visitors who became regular readers later on.
To this very day I value their friendship,
missing them whenever they're not around.
And every day I get to meet new ones, all of them fabulous people ...
All of them have a special place in my heart.
Blogging bridges gaps between people from all over the world.

But I also feel blogging opens doors ...
And I would like to open the door
to a new photo challenge, I want to host starting next week ...
You can post a picture, but you can also write about it, or both ...
Be creative? I'm really looking forward to this?
I have this "thing" with doors, don't ask me why.
They make me wonder what goes on behind them, the stories they tell.
I never can resist them.
So if you are interested to join this new challenge, just leave me a comment ...



This bridge is in Le Thor, in Provence in France.
I love that warm light of the sunset on the bridge and it's reflection in the water.
If you cross it, you step into the sun, I guess that's why I like it so much ...


Oh and don't forget to visit the others at Alice's place, will you?

Bridging the Gap, Locked and Unlocked

Last Tuesdays discovery tour was not over yet.
I had found the right bridge for my Ruby Tuesday post, but I wanted more.
So I continued my trip on my bike, looking for more interesting pictures,
when I stumbled upon this ....

Can you see the different water level outside this lock and inside?
I walked up to the gate to take a picture .
"Bridging the gap!!" , I thought, "Yaaaay!"

And then I turned around and saw a boat approaching.
I had never witnessed a procedure like this before,
so I considered myself very lucky, to be at the right place at the right time!
I have so many pictures, I had to make another slide show!
Anyway, this is how it's done:

• The entrance gates are opened and the boat sails in.
• The entrance gates are closed.
• A valve is opened, this lowers the boat by draining water from the chamber.
• The exit gates are opened and the boat sails out.

And now ... from your reporter on the field ...

That was fun, and I owe it all to Alice!
She's the inspiration behind all this!
She's the one who made us find pictures with bridges on them in the first place, but this photo challenge has gone far beyond that. It even "bridges the gap" between bloggers from all over the world!
I could not agree more ...
If you're interested to see more bridges from around the world, then head on over to Alice's place!

Wordless Wednesday Bridges another Gap

Sssshhh, this is a wordless ...
Scroll down for the words, okay?
Oh, and um ...
Just click on the picture to enlarge it, please?


The picture of the otters is also my entry for this new photo challenge.
Alice wants us to post a picture of a bridge,
but she also told us to be creative, right?
Well, this is how otters bridge the gap.

This picture was taken in July, at the Planckendael Zoo.
It looks much better if you click on it to enlarge it!

Don't forget to visit the other players at Alice's place!
Go here for more Wordless Wednesday pictures!

Ruby Tuesday Bridges the Gap!

My new camera is my latest addiction!
I was walking on my own around Antwerp on Friday and with my husband on Sunday ...
I made some cute rubies on both of the occasions, but still I was not quite satisfied.
You see the thing is, I joined another fun challenge,
called "Bridging the Gap" where one is supposed to post pictures of a bridge.

Yeah, I know, I'm multitasking again!
Anyway, I thought, wouldn't it be nice to post a picture
(= a lot of pictures) of a red bridge?
But I could not find a single ruby one in my archives.
Since it was a lovely day, and since my fingers itch
(EVERY MINUTE OF) EVERY SINGLE DAY to use that new camera ...
Since I had one more day off from work ...
I just felt like it, I took my camera and hopped on my bike,
leaving the laundry and the ironing and all the rest
of the chores at the house for what they were ... unfinished business!
I was gone for about two hours,
had some small talk with at least seven people I met along the way,
took pictures of bridges to get me through the week.
At the same time I got some exercise,
got to know the new camera a little better
and I now have rubies to last me for ages ( = one week) !!!
So this is what I saw ...
( By throwing in this slideshow, I'm trying to sneak
my pictures in here without Mr Blogger knowing it!
I'm at 10% of my uploading capacity, and that kind of scares me a little!)
So don't tell Mr Blogger about this, okay? )

All I wanted was a bridge with red on it ...


But that didn't take me too long.
Ten minutes later I found her, ruby as can be!
Okay, she may be "a child of a lesser god"
than the one I posted yesterday, but hey?
I think she's pretty just the same!



I'll even throw in a reflection as well, how about that huh?


Well, that's it from me for today!
So this is what I did all day, in case you're wondering?
Taking pictures is one thing.
Taking 260 of them, editing them, putting my name on ( most of) them
and blogging a post with them is another ...

I'll be off visiting the others now!
( And the laundry and the ironing ... and so on and so on...!)
For more Ruby Tuesday pictures, click here.
And if you're looking for more pretty bridges, click here!

Bridging the Gap The Tower Bridge of London

This is a picture of a detail of the Tower Bridge
from our previous trip to London last year.
Last year we went there near the end of October.
When we finally reached the Tower Bridge
it was already getting too dark to get decent pictures.
The Tower Bridge stands quite close to the Tower of London,
one of the oldest buildings in London.


This year, our hotel was very close to the Tower and the Tower Bridge,
and we took a long walk along the banks of the river Thames .

That's how we were able to see the Tower from so many different angles.



It was a very bright and sunny Friday afternoon,
and everybody in London wanted to enjoy that to the fullest.
People were taking a picknick, sitting on the grass,
with a view on the river Thames and the Tower Bridge.


Did you know that she will be undergoing a facelift
(= new paint) in the upcoming four years?
It's a good thing I could take so many pictures this year,
because once the renovation works get started,
she will look like a mess for a couple of years I think!
Did you know that over 40.000 people cross the Tower Bridge each day?
Did you know that the bascules are lifted around a thousand times each year?

No? Well I didn't either, but I looked it up for you !


This is my Bridging the Gap post for today.
Visit the other players at Alice's place.
Join us if you like, it's fun!

Tomorrow I'll be doing a Ruby Tuesday,
but I'm not sure if I can find a ruby bridge by tomorrow?
We'll see ....
It's a beautiful day, the sun is out and I don't have to work today.
Maybe I could hop on my bike, and take my new friend out?

See you!

Weekly Winners London Town (2)

London town ...


What struck me the most

is that the historical and traditional "ingredients" of this city

blend in with the contemporary.

Stone buildings

next to crystal palaces ...

This is a view from London Bridge.
I think this picture tells the whole story of what I'm trying to say here ...


This is the London City Hall.
It's one of the most remarkable buildings in London.


Here it is again on the right side, taken from a different angle this time.

Everywhere you go, you see the old ...

and the new ...
Fighting different dragons nowadays ...

Speaking of dragons, I found four of them right there on the London Bridge ...


And speaking of bridges, there's a new photo challenge
called "bridging the gap" it's at Alice's I wasBorn2cree8 .
She wants to see pictures of bridges this week.
This is mine for today, but I suggest you go by Alice's
to see more pictures of bridges !


And don't forget to visit the other Weekly Winners
participants at Sarcastic Mom's!
You'll also find some great pictures there!