France

I’m quite shocked that the prevalence of Covid-19 is as high as it is, because there is no other country in the world that is so well prepared for a zombie apocalypse as France. I’ve written about the robo-hotels, the robo-food, the robo-stores – as well as the zombie-proof outside laundry machines.

Here’s another snap to continue the series, showing not only an outdoor laundry but also robo-bread and robo-pizza capabilities!

Continuing the series, as everyone knows France is filled with incredible villages dating back to the Middle Ages.  Many of them are famous and they get lots of tourists.

But . . . some of them are so remote that tourists have never visited. When small children in these villagers happen to see an “outsider” (in French: étrange éetranger) they recoil in fear because they think they are the only people on the planet – and some of them later need professional counseling.

Donzenac is one of these villages. You probably won’t find it on Apple Map or Google Earth – it is located so deep within France that – even if you knew what you were looking for – it would take you many hours and a lot of luck to come across this place, and of course any locals you might stop to ask would refuse to acknowledge that this place even exists!

As you can see, even the signs are written 100% in French, because they assume that no étranges étrangers would ever come here:

Well, OK, maybe 1-2 Germans have been here – but certainly no more than that!

I took this snap in front of some kind of big monument in Bordeaux. I never stopped to read who this was – nor do I particularly care – what is the sense of trying to show a historical figure who is wearing a rain coat?

Anyway, I liked the way the light bounced off his face so I am quite happy with how this snap turned out!

Continuing the series,

Soulac-sur-Mer on the western coast of France (also known as the Côte d’Argent – or Silver Coast) has got to be one of the more unusual towns I’ve seen. There’s nothing particularly impressive about the Hôtel de ville, as this snap shows.

But in future snaps I’ll show what some of the very usual buildings in this village look like.

I spotted this breathtaking pine cone attached to a pine tree in a park in the Western French city of Bordeaux,

Probably my favorite aspect of travelling is visiting places that no other tourists are likely to go. Recently, I had to chance to visit a very remote section of western France, a tiny (almost microscopic) village of Le Verdun-sur-Mer, where the confluence of the Dordogne and Caronne Rivers form a delta with the Atlantic Ocean,

Interestingly, it reminded me very much of the delta where the Mississippi River in the U.S. empties into the Gulf of Mexico.

Continuing the series,

Continuing the series, Coronavations are innovations triggered by the Corona virus.

I spotted this Coronavation in a hotel room in France,

I spotted this very interesting building in the western French city of La Roche-sur-Yon,

Believe it or not, this stunning lighthouse just off the western France coast near Soulac-sur-Mer is not only the tenth tallest lighthouse in the world, but it’s accessible by foot at low tide!

Continuing the series, I took this snap in the Mariadeck neighborhood of the Western French city of Bordeaux.

I call them “Pods of Justice” – but I am not sure anyone else does. The building is the Tribunal Judiciare de Bordeaux and according to rumors unlike any other civilian building it’s guarded by a detachment of the French special forces.

There are three pods in the building.

For two of the pods closest to the street, you can find photographs online that show how they are used.

But for the third pod – you will NEVER find any photographs, and entrance to the pod is guarded by a special layer of security.

As you may know, the guillotine is a French invention to carry out a death sentence with an absolute minimum of pain and suffering. As you may also know, capital punishment in France has been eliminated, with the last execution by guillotine in 1977.

Nevertheless, it is very important to the French government to maintain readiness at all times. According to rumors, this third “highly restricted” “Pod of Justice” contains a very modern guillotine. According to rumors, the guillotine is not very tall – it uses a powerful electromagnet – but it is very long, with the idea that multiple executions, if required, can be carried out sequentially.

I spent quite some time trolling the “dark web” and the “deep web,” and after quite some time I found a picture that some people (who know these things) was built on commission for the Tribunal Justiciaire de France, and is now mounted in the third pod:

Could this be the “modern French guillotine” that is rumored to be housed in the highly secure third Pod of Justice? According to my sources in the Dark Web, it is.

I took this snap in the Mariadeck neighborhood of the western French city of Bordeaux:

The building is the Tribunal Judiciare de Bordeaux, and unlike any other French civilian building it’s rumored to be guarded by a detachment of French special forces, and in my next blog post I‘ll share it’s terrifying secret.

I spotted this interesting building in the western French city of Bordeaux,

Coronavation = Innovation triggered through the Coronavirus.

I spotted this Coronavation in a hotel in France,

There are truly enormous Michelin tire factories in the central France city of Clermont-Ferrand. This snap shows something very interesting:

As you can see from the factory building at the left, it is not flat. Since it’s beginning Michelin introduced tilted roofs in order to let natural light into the factory.

Continuing the series, here is one snap of thousands I could have took that really gives the feel for how the ancient medieval city of Pérouges looks,

Continuing the series, I recently showed a very usual form of public transportation, that I snapped in the north eastern French town of Nancy,

Well, I spotted almost exactly the same type of public transportation in the central French city of Clermont-Ferrand,

Interestingly, the two trams are from different companies (Bombardier, for the tram in Nancy; and Lohr, for the tram in Clermont-Ferrand).

The incredible Clermont-Ferrand city in France is the ancestral home to the famous Michelin tire company,

And here’s a close-up of this monster tire,

Continuing the series, here is one snap of thousands I could have took that really gives the feel for how the ancient medieval city of Pérouges looks,

I spotted this interesting building in the western French city of Bordeaux,

Continuing the series, here is one snap of thousands I could have took that really gives the feel for how the ancient medieval city of Pérouges looks,

Well, there are no such things as Donzenac berries, but I spotted these berries in the ancient medieval French village of Donzenac – nestled in a region of Dordogne so deep and remote, probably none of the locals has ever seen a tourist in their lifetime.

Beware, each berry has enough neurotoxin to kill 17 small children or 9 goats

 

Flowers survive and thrive, by growing nice flowers that attract honeybees.

Dogs survive and thrive, by being cute and ensuring humans love having them around.

So, too, do ancient, decaying medieval cities survive and thrive, by re-inventing themselves to attract tourists.

Here’s the town map of a very remote medieval town, called Pérouges, It’s located a long way from civilization, and it’s high on a hill, and when you park you have quite a long way to walk when you reach it.

But as the up coming series of snaps show, you’ll be glad you did!