Stephen Branley's photos

'Maman' by French artist, Louise Bourgeois. A bronze, stainless steel, and marble sculpture which depicts a spider, is among the world's largest, measuring over 30 ft high and over 33 ft wide. It includes a sac containing 32 marble eggs and its abdomen and thorax are made of ribbed bronze. This is probably the most famous piece by Bourgeois. It stands outside the Museo Guggenheim in Bilbao and is dedicated to her mother, hence the title...

Puppy, by Jeff Koons. It's been a permanent installation since 1997. Twice a year, in May and October, all of the plants that make up the sculpture’s exterior are replaced with fresh seasonal varieties, including pansies for the fall and winter, and begonias, impatiens, and petunias for the spring and summer. The task requires 20 people, and 9 days to complete, to freshened up Puppy’s coat for the summer with approximately 38,000 new flowers in hues of red and pink...

This exterior hides a clever feat of engineering. Anchored to a concrete base, a colossal stainless steel substructure is covered by a layer of turf, wire mesh, and geotextile fabric that secures the turf and stimulates plant growth. The structure also contains five levels of scaffolding and a network of pipes that water and feed the plants every 24 hours...

The old bridge of Orthez over the River Ousse was built in the 13th century on the orders of Gaston VII de Moncade when he made Orthez the capital of Béarn; it connected the city centre to the suburbs....

In 1274 the bridge had a single span and two towers, by 1589 there was only one. Today it is well known for its single tower and unequal arches...

Behind me is the River Ousse and the old bridge...

The Château de Mauléon, known as Vieux Château (old castle) is a fortified castle that sits high above the town of the same name on Matalon hill (439m/1440ft). The old castle of Mauléon originated in the 11th century, when it was erected on a hill, in those days it was simply composed of a wooden tower, flanked by a farmyard, all protected by a palisade surrounded by a moat. Between 1272 and 1287, Edward I, concerned with the quality of his strongholds, imposed repairs and strengthening of the castle fortifications.

I was watching a game of Basque Pelote. This version of the sport is played essentially in Basque France by 2 teams of 3 players on an outside court referred to as ‘Place Libre’ meaning free space. The origin of this sport is tied to the decline of the ancient jeu de paume (palm game with glove) circa. 1700. While the game evolved to the modern jeu de paume (with racquet, called real tennis in England) and eventually to tennis, rural Alpine and Pyrenean communities kept the traditional game...

The river Saison, better known as Le Gave de Mauléon, flows through the town...

Even the swans were in awe of my royal presence...

There's nothing better than a snooze by the fire...

'Your bed, really?'

Mum and I at the bridge of the river Neste...

We found some lovely flowers at Sarrancolin...

It was hot but refreshing to sit alongside Le canal de la Neste...

Megan showing Freya to Wiggie using the baby monitor...

A bundle of happiness...

Not a sharp shot, but this was the moment that Wiggie became wary of Freya after pulling her ears on the first day...