Beyond the pale.......

I know I bombarded you with color from the colonial cities of Vietnam. Everywhere was so brilliant in the rain, the yellows and reds so intense, the blues and greens so deep, color saturated every visible surface.


However, there were pastels too. In Hue, while stepping out of the rain under cover, my eyes rested quietly on painted wood, bleached by time............

.........the old wooden rafters trimmed with carved tassels in shades of pink, cream and green, a stairway of greyed green.

............washes of color remain on walls and arched doors, the tiles worn down and faded by thousands of footsteps over hundreds of years.

In this open temple, the stone arches and pillars were carved and painted with dragons, more tiles of grey and pale terracotta.......

.....the colors had faded but were so beautiful.

Speaking of lovely tiles and muted colors - I loved these behind the rusting gate.  An island house on the Saigon River, a gate of iron with perfect patina ............and a sweet but rather skinny cat, who didn't seem to understand me when I called "here, kitty, kitty". 

When/if you travel to other countries, do you notice the domestic animals?  There were dogs everywhere in Thailand and Vietnam - some very strange looking breeds. They were very quiet and stood perfectly still at the busy roadsides, staring into space. Meanwhile, the cats were........well just like cats the world over, independent, laid back, and not ready to befriend people who didn't speak their language!