The Great Escape

I'm a huge fan of the Taschen series of books. Their images are always of very high quality and they do really comprehensive coverage of their topics.These pics are from their Great Escapes Around the Globe  book that features, as the title suggests, great escapes from  Zanzibar to California. I could sink into each and every one of these delightful scenes for some R and R. Images from Taschen.

Chateau De Verrieres

So how would you like to live in a quaint little castle?...Yup, me too.Especially if it's in the Loire valley and relatively close to Paris.This wonderful old castle has recently been completely restored to almost exactly the way it looked when it was built for Napoleon as his retirement home. Just love all that intricate wood panelling and that grand staircase with the gorgeous stained glass windows. All images from here.

Viejo Cuba

I was intrigued enough by the previous post to investigate some images of Cuba. Old Cuba ....And what a treasure trove of wonderfully decayed grandeur, beautiful "azuelos" , saturated colors and european style architecture I found. Romanticism is definitely palpable here, although I suppose if I had to deal with the poverty and strife on  a daily basis I might have a different view. At any rate, here is an extended tour of Old Havana and Trinidad, Cuba. I am very much in love.

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