The Doors

During travels in the Languedoc Roussillon region of southern France, I found myself taking a lot of pictures of doors – beautiful wooden doors, often with carvings and flourishes, many of large proportions, many beautifully painted or polished. No matter the status of the attached building or home, the doors stood as a proud statement of welcome to the most grandiose as well as the humblest of dwellings.  Whatever their status, they all beg the questions – who has passed through this door? And what is behind it?  And so my quest
began.

9 Via del Forte is in the tiny village of Verrucole in Tuscany, population: 50.  We spent two weeks in this old stone house while we roamed the Tuscan hills and walked the chestnut woods.

My great grandmother lived in the village of Dinan in Brittany in the early 1900’s.  Her son, Howard, my grand uncle, attended this school.  Did he pass through these doors?

Cafe Grand Tortoni, 825 Avenida de Mayo. Founded in 1858, Café Tortoni is the oldest coffee shop in the country – “the artistic and intellectual heart of Buenos Aires”.

The Old Niagara Book Shop, 233 King Street in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario.  A tiny little shop, two aisles – one in and one out.

Christ Church Cathedral on Ross Road in Stanley, Falkland Islands. This is the southernmost Anglican Cathedral in the world, consecrated in 1892.  There was a sign on the door that read: “Welcome!! The cathedral IS open.  The door is difficult because of the wind.  Just pull the door towards you as you turn the  handle.  Then it opens inwards.”