More of wonderful Morocco - climbing sand dunes in the Sahara Desert at sunset.

Riding the dunes up to the highest point in the Sahara Desert in Morocco.

On top of the Sahara Desert with my 2 Berber guides, looking over to Algeria.

Off the camel, time to don Berber dress for the sunset viewing.

Gorgeous view, huh?

Caught in sunset's glow.

A Berber semi-nomadic camp in the Sahara Desert.

No one would argue that we didn't need our bed that night!

• How did you enjoy your trip up the Saharan sand dunes? I hope you'll leave a comment.
• These are all private photos. Please don't copy. Thanks...

©DeniseCoveySept2011

Morocco! The Sahara Desert, the Berber tribes and Casablanca.

Sitting on the highest sand dune in the Sahara after riding camels through the dunes to see the sunset. 

Monsieur Aussie thought he was Lawrence of Arabia while we were in Morocco.

Stopping to talk to semi-nomadic Berbers in the desert was pretty special. They showed us through their tents where they live for 6 months with their animals, then they move elsewhere in winter.

We were fascinated by the oases all along the valleys. Morocco is 70% desert and most of the desert is rocky and shaly rather than sandy.

Inside the Berber tent with a new mother. The tents are lined with berber carpets of course.

More of the Sahara Desert, the Draa Valley Oasis

This is the scenery you'll see for kilometres as you drive through the Sahara Desert. The towns blend in with the red soil/sand while some of the oases go for 80 miles.

The old colonial broken down buildings from French times fascinated me. They are all over Casablanca.

I hope you enjoyed these photos of Morocco. Of course there's plenty more, but this just gives you an idea if you haven't been there. Beg if you want to see more! I have some great medina shots but I haven't downloaded them yet. Maybe I'll do another post if there's any interest in this one. I think I wouldn't mind going again now I know what to expect.

Normandy in France, a beautiful place to visit. Photos from my latest trip.

Well I've been home from my latest trip for a month or so now, but was really sick with some Parisian bug so have been slow to post anything about my holiday here. So here is the first of many posts where I will share photos of Morocco, Spain, France, Andorra.
After a wonderful 9 days in Morocco, we flew from Casablanca to Paris. There's nothing like re-visiting favourite places, so after collecting our hire car at Orly Airport, we hit the road. One hour down the motorway we arrived at one of the prettiest villages in France in our opinion, La Roche Guyon, right on the border of Isle de France and Normandy. It's only a few minutes from Monet's Garden at the tiny village of Giverny which we'd vowed to revisit in summer (previously visited in winter.) It is a delight driving around this area with its picture-perfect farmlands growing apples and other produce.

Village of La Roche Guyon, all white cliffs and troglodytes. A right royal town in the past.

The wonderful restaurant at Les Bordes de Seine, the hotel we always stay. The best meals we've ever eaten in France are served here. Always full of Parisians on a day trip. Local produce is served, so we had plenty of duck and foie gras.

Sunset as seen from our hotel window overlooking La Seine. Pretty in pink.

That would be moi in the centre on Monet's steps.

In Monet's Garden, which looks just like his impressionist paintings.

Posing on Monet's famous bridge which appears in many of his paintings.

The Hotel Baudy, one of the oldest buildings in Giverny. Used to be a meeting place for many famous artists, Monet included. Once a brothel, now a restaurant. We ate our very first meal here - salmon rillettes.

The bucolic Normandy countryside. A picture in summer. We saw this scene many days as we drove towards the Normandy coast to see the D-Day Beaches.

• What do you think of the first couple of days of our French tour? Have you visited these villages, or Normandy?
• I'll have more on Normandy later...

All photos are taken by ourselves. 

Up! Up and Away!

If you have landed here, just letting you know that this blog is closed from June 09 to July 25. I am on the road again. Korea, France, Spain, Morocco, Andorra.

I have lots to do before I get on that plane, so will just be using L'Aussie Writing blog until June 17 and then checking in there from time to time. (I'm taking my netbook on my travels of course!)

When I come back I'll have lots of stories to tell and photos to share.