Aigues Mortes

Last weekend we went to the south of France, near Nîmes. We attended a friend's wedding and the following day we rented bikes and we spent the day visiting Aigues Mortes, in the Camarge area. This medieval town has a very well preserved city wall. 

We visited the Constantine tower and the walls, where I sketched this view. 

LA ROTONDE : a Ledoux building

This is one of the few buildings left that was designed by Nicolas Ledoux ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claude_Nicolas_Ledoux ).

He was a prolific architect in the 18th century, and he worked mainly for the king. Unsurprisingly, after the French revolution there was not much work for him.

Many of his buildings, which represented the king's power, were destroyed.
La Rotonde did make it to our days, which quite incredible considering it was one of the 60 toll houses that the king ordered to be constructed.

Now it is a very trendy cafe.

Ryōan-ji, An iconic Zen Garden, Kyoto

This is, probably, the most world known and most iconic Zen Garden. It's located in a Zen temple in the northwest of Kyoto. 

Ryoan-ji means "the temple of the dragon at peace". The temple itself is great but the highlight for me was this garden : an image that I have seen so many times in the past as the ultimate example of sobriety, elegance and harmony.

It was a real delight to spend 30 minutes drawing this wonder.

Ninna-ji, Kyoto

This is Ninna-Ji, one of many temple complexes that Kyoto has.

The day we visited this temple complex, we also visited the Golden Pavillion (Kinkaku-ji), the Ryôan-ji which is famous for its zen garden.

This five storey pagoda was built in the 17th century. It is made of wood and it is hard to believe how high it is.

Imperial Palace, Kyoto

One of the highlights of our visit to Kyoto : the Imperial Palace.
A mix of a fortress, zen Japanese gardens and a monastery.

Mount Koya, Japan

These sketches were drawn in Mount Koya. We went there to see the location of the Shingon Buddhism, a sect founded by Kodo Daishi 1200 years ago. Since then, pilgrims have come from all over Japan  to visit his shrine. They believe that he is not dead, but in a state of deep meditation, and eventually, he will wake up at some stage.

The place is just amazing : temples, monasteries and graves  are spread all through a millenary forest. 

We stayed in one of these monasteries, a great way to get a little more into the local culture.

TAKAYAMA, JAPAN

This is a sketch of one of the wooden Buddhist temples in Takayama.  

Takayama is located in the Hida region. It is well know for the religious and folkloric festivities, and for its very well kept historical centre.

The shops in the traditional old center are a delight : row houses made of wood, sake shops, handcraft shops, and of course the always amazing Japanese food.

Tsumago, Japan

Tsumago, Japan

Tsumago is a small town in the Japanese Alps. It used to be one of the stations between Tokyo and Kyoto for the Official Post Service during the Edo period.

We made one section of this trail, starting from Magome, another beautiful small town.

The main street is composed of commercial row houses, which are still alive thanks to tourism.

Dubai

Dubai, UAE

Point Lonsdale, Victoria, Australia

The lighthouse