The Other Italy

Many tourists only see Rome, Florence and Venice. A few may go south to Napoli. Others may go to the Amalfi Coast. In between are the vineyards and farms like this field of Sun Flowers in Tuscany.

 

Horse Guards: Vienna Austria: Lipizzaners Stallions

In th ground floor of a rambling government building in central Vienna

the horses are kept and we were fortunate to see them being

taken outside for exercise. They were all white and beautiful.

Vienna is one of the world's great cities.

 

The Glockenspiel, Munich Germany

The Rathaus-Glockenspiel in Munich is part of the New Town Hall and dates from 1908. There  is, at 11 and 12 p.m., a reenactment of a 16th Century story.

It is very available during a walk in the central city. 

It has 43 bells and 32 life-sized figures.

 

Winter Olympics 2026: The Dolomites, Cortina, Milan

Northern Italy is one of my favorite places. We spent a good period of time there after visiting Rome/Florence/Venice. (Take the train out of Venice to Verona and rent a car. We have good luck with Auto Europe.) Driving north along Lake Garda toward Bolsano as an entry point to the Dolomites.

The Olympics will be held in Cortina and in Milan. I am not sure of the winter weather in the Dolomites because we have only been there in the Summer and Fall. I would guess with all of the visitors roads will be cleared. You could also stay in Bolsano or Trento and take a bus. There are many smaller cities with excellent places to stay. We like La Villa. It will be tough to get a reservation in Cortina. It you don't want to deal with snow, Milan is the best bet. But, please keep the Dolomites on your bucket list.

 

Garbage Truck...

A Paris garbage truck...

The photo was taken from our rented apartment a half block from the Louvre.

The why is important.

My young grandson, at the time, was very much into garbage trucks.

I took pictures of them in Ireland Scotland, Italy and France

to bring home to him.

Thus, I have dozens of pictures of garbage trucks. 

 

FAVORITE PHOTOS: Ferry on Lake Como Italy

Lake Como is famous for many things including movie stars.

It is lovely in itself.

I enjoyed watching this ferry make its way across.

If you zoom in, you will see a village at 11:00 hangiing on the hillside.

 

Saint Giles, Edinburgh

All around the world people gathered to worship last night and again this morning. It is Christmas or the Mass of the Nativity.

                    This is St. Giles in Edinburgh the mother church of Presbyterianism.                              Some folks did not have a chance to go to any church.

Here is thanks to the first responders.