TRAVEL THE WORLD - LOWER SLAUGHTER, COTSWOLDS, ENGLAND

Lower Slaughter is one of many beautiful Cotswold villages. This old mill, photographed in 1997, takes us back many years in history to a time that was already disappearing when described by Thomas Hardy in his late 19th Century novels. The helter skelter of modern life causes us to yearn for the enduring peacefulness that we mistakenly believe was typical for people in villages such as this one many years ago. Realizing this, however, does not take away from the beauty of the scene.

TRAVEL THE WORLD - PONT-AVEN, BRITTANY

In 2008, it was recommended by people we chatted with in a restaurant that we visit the small town of Pont-Aven. It turned out to be excellent advice. We walked through the town for some distance long the river Aven, and, before returning to our car, stopped for some refreshing beer at a pub with sidewalk tables. The most outstanding feature of the town, apart from the river and the mill, were the beautiful flowers that seemed to be everywhere. Paul Gauguin, the famous post-impressionist, painted Pont Aven while he lived here in 1888.