Florence Suggestion

The Academia, the Baptistry, the leather markets are around

the dome of the cathedral in the center of this photo. There are many things to see and do. The galleries are wonderful, the plazas busy.

Let me suggest taking a cab across the Arno River and up the hill to 

The Church of  San Miniato al Monte.

This is the place where some of us went to hear chanting and attend mass.

It is the one of the highest  places ("Montes") in Florence.

Great music and this is what to see from the doorway.

(Plan ahead and get bus passes at a liquor store for the ride down. There is no phone to call a cab there.)

 

The Arctic Circle

I sent this photo out just after we crossed the Arctic Circle.

It is the symbol of the geography. My daughter suggested that it did not look like she expected. No snow. Seems warm.  I would add that those are sheep and there is no dotted line across the water. It is August/September and mild with the sun up a good part of the day and evening. Grant that it likely gets super cold, but when we were in Norway and went north to the Russian border we did not need a jacket.

 

What is going on here?

 Went behind an old maintenance shed in the church cemetery of La Villa, Italy. We were staying there for a long visit to explore the Dolomites of the Italian Alps. 

I suppose I was snooping, but I found the pile of objects back  there.

Then I saw it. Fransico's headstone (the best I can read it).

It looked so sad. Was is discarded because of an error?

Did his family not pay their bill?

Was it broken by a wayward lamb and need repair?

Whatever it is a mystery 

- and a mystery why this photo came out in black and white.

 

Making new friends

On a recent trip we made friends with a couple from Denmark.

In Ireland we had a short but fun time with a couple from near Dingle.

In Scotland it was a couple with our same name relatives we never knew we had.

In London it was a brief encounter with a barmaid that capped the trip.

In Florence, the photo above is of my wife and a retired nurse from New Mexico. Her husband was a geophysicist - the two men were exploring a monastery.

There a many more. The point is that when we travel we want to meet new people and get to know them even if a short time.

 

Park Guell Barcelona

It is well worth a visit. You need tickets. Buy them on the internet.

As it is on top of a steep hill, you may wish to call a cab, but then you can walk down, or take a cab back. We called cab from the Hop On Hop Off Bus.

The views are wonderful and you walk through a piece of art.

A bit of warning: you need to be able to walk stairs.

 

Night arrives in Rome

As the sun went down, we went up to the rooftop bar at Diana's Hotel.

The view was wonderful showing two cities.

Rome is all around, but the dome you see on the horizon is 

St. Peter's in the Vatican. 

 

One of the most lovely places we have seen

I often say that it is the surprises or products of getting lost seem to be the best.

We spent several day in Seville Spain.

We went off on a walking tour with no objective.

Plaza de Espana!!