The New Wing of the Louvre

The gardens behind the palace of Versailles

The Graves at Normandy by Rich Moed

I just rediscovered these photos, taken in France over a decade ago when we were touring Europe for my son’s bar mitzvah celebration.  Our original tour to Israel was cancelled, so the company offered us a substitute–a 10-day tour of the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Belgium, and France.  The tour ended up being comical.   Just two families were on the bus with us–two sisters with their husbands and children who quarreled through most of the 10-day trip.  One daughter who was very spoiled was in tears for a good part of it, and one son cracked sarcastic jokes about the family for a glimmer of comic relief.   The tour guide, who was supposed to be an expert in Jewish Europe, was in fact a young German woman in her 20′s, who wasn’t Jewish and had never guided a group before.  In between stops, she studied her manual, preparing for her next talk at the next stop.  She should have studied harder.  Her information was vague and often inaccurate.  Those 10-days felt like an eternity.  So, now when I look at these photos, it’s no surprise that my eye was restlessly searching for some other place in the distance–far away from the sibling rivalries and bickering on the bus!

Enjoy other interpretations of “Beyond”–

• http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2013/01/18/weekly-photo-challenge-beyond/  (Daily Post @ Word Press)
• http://chrisbreebaart.wordpress.com/ (What’s In the Picture?)
• Weekly Photo Challenge: Beyond (beijingcityphoto.wordpress.com)
• Weekly Photo Challenge: Beyond (yobynos.wordpress.com)
• Weekly Photo Challenge: Beyond (smkelly8.com)
• Weekly Photo Challenge: Beyond (simplystunningimages.wordpress.com)
• Weekly Photo Challenge: Beyond (jinancitydailyphoto.wordpress.com)
• Weekly Photo Challenge: Beyond (busyellebee.wordpress.com)
• Weekly Photo Challenge: Beyond (barbaramelnikcarson.com)
• http://flickrcomments.wordpress.com/2013/01/18/weekly-photo-challenge-beyond/ (Frizztext)
• http://lensandpensbysally.wordpress.com/2013/01/18/wordpress-weekly-photo-challenge-beyond/   (Lens & Pens by Sally)
• http://eof737.wordpress.com/2013/01/19/weekly-photo-challenge-beyond/  (Mirth and Motivation)