WARNING! WARNING!
For those with sensitive eyes and do not want to see the back-sides of the statues, avert your eyes now......with those with a sense of humor, enjoy!
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| Fountain of Neptune |
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| Michelangelo's David |
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| Fountain of Neptune |
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Florence, Italy (Part 5)
Statues - Part 2
For those with sensitive eyes and do not want to see the back-sides of the statues, avert your eyes now......with those with a sense of humor, enjoy!
For those with sensitive eyes and do not want to see the back-sides of the statues, avert your eyes now......with those with a sense of humor, enjoy!
Florence, Italy (Part 4)
Gardens & Greenery
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| Giardino di Boboli Florence in the background |
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| Fountain at Giardino di Boboli with Florence in the background |
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| Trees overhanging in several paths - I got lost in there, on purpose! |
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| Trees overhanging - Love it! |
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| Fountain of Neptune |
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| Fountain of Neptune |
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| Florence |
Florence, Italy (Part 3)
Statues
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| Michelangelo's David |
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| Michelangelo's David |
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| The Lion - il Marzocco |
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| Loggia dei Lanzi |
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| Fountain of Neptune |
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| Hercules and Cacus |
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| Replica of Michelangelo's David at the Piazza di Michelangelo |
Florence, Italy (Part 2)
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| Bibloteca Nazionale Centrale |
Bibloteca Nazionale Centrale or National Central Library in Florence.
Architectural genius with a turret-like structure. Two of my favorite things in one building - architecture and books!
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| Florence |
Along the Fiume Arno, this is the view looking right.
The picture below is the view on the Fiume Arno looking left.
Remember, this day was cloudy and raining, better pictures from higher and sunnier day to come....
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| Florence |
Florence, Italy
October 30th - November 2nd
Florence is beautiful, as you will see from the pictures, however, when I was there it rained every day except one. That put a damper on the traveling; but didn't stop me from taking pictures.
Florence has charm that is difficult to describe; the cathedrals are amazing, vast and the best I've seen in Italy so far. The monuments and statues are exquisite, especially seeing the David in person. There is a beautiful garden in Florence that made me miss home more than usual. There are crowds everywhere and the shopping is unreal - the first time I saw shops that were familiar to me - Footlocker, Benetton, Adidas, Ben & Jerry's, Cartier and so on.
The food, I haven't really talked about the food here. As you might imagine, it's amazing, although sometimes I feel like I'm getting ready to do the Ironman Canada with the carb loading! Lots of pasta and bread, wine and pizza. Let me talk about the pizza here as it's completely different from the pizza back home. There is no such thing as thin crust, one crust, no tomato sauce, toppings only and no cheese unless you ask for it as a topping. Here's the best part - a pizza usually costs about 5Euro, cheap! Living on a budget, it's fantastic!
Okay, Florence, tons of pictures.....several posts, next posts, just pictures.
Cathedral Santa Croce.
Another stunning cathedral and vast. You can see the dimensions from the street light to the right of the picture.
Basilica di San Lorenzo.
Tree to the right shows the dimensions of the cathedral.
Cathedral Santa Maria Novella (below). This is most beautiful cathedral I've seen in Italy. It is so big, I couldn't maneuver my camera in any angle to get a picture of the entire thing. Also, you'll notice in the pictures that there are no people in them; that is because I was able to take pictures of the cathedral above the sight-line of people.
These two pictures are the back of the cathedral. If you notice the picture on the left, you will see a glimpse of the circular building on the far left of the picture; the same to the right.
These two pictures are of the cathedral from the front. The tall structure in the left picture on the right side is the same structure in the right picture.
Florence is beautiful, as you will see from the pictures, however, when I was there it rained every day except one. That put a damper on the traveling; but didn't stop me from taking pictures.
Florence has charm that is difficult to describe; the cathedrals are amazing, vast and the best I've seen in Italy so far. The monuments and statues are exquisite, especially seeing the David in person. There is a beautiful garden in Florence that made me miss home more than usual. There are crowds everywhere and the shopping is unreal - the first time I saw shops that were familiar to me - Footlocker, Benetton, Adidas, Ben & Jerry's, Cartier and so on.
The food, I haven't really talked about the food here. As you might imagine, it's amazing, although sometimes I feel like I'm getting ready to do the Ironman Canada with the carb loading! Lots of pasta and bread, wine and pizza. Let me talk about the pizza here as it's completely different from the pizza back home. There is no such thing as thin crust, one crust, no tomato sauce, toppings only and no cheese unless you ask for it as a topping. Here's the best part - a pizza usually costs about 5Euro, cheap! Living on a budget, it's fantastic!
Okay, Florence, tons of pictures.....several posts, next posts, just pictures.
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| Cathedral Santa Croce |
Cathedral Santa Croce.
Another stunning cathedral and vast. You can see the dimensions from the street light to the right of the picture.
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| Basilica di San Lorenzo |
Basilica di San Lorenzo.
Tree to the right shows the dimensions of the cathedral.
Cathedral Santa Maria Novella (below). This is most beautiful cathedral I've seen in Italy. It is so big, I couldn't maneuver my camera in any angle to get a picture of the entire thing. Also, you'll notice in the pictures that there are no people in them; that is because I was able to take pictures of the cathedral above the sight-line of people.
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| Cathedral Santa Maria Novella |
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| Cathedral Santa Maria Novella |
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| Cathedral Santa Maria Novella |
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| Cathedral Santa Maria Novella |
These two pictures are of the cathedral from the front. The tall structure in the left picture on the right side is the same structure in the right picture.
Friday, November 26, 2010
Lisa in Pisa, Italy
October 27th, 28th & 29th, 2010
Many people who visit Italy are there to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa, and the train that takes you to Pisa is packed full of tourists, the main attraction being the Leaning Tower, Cathedral & Baptistery, all in one location; so......it's very busy there at the tourist hot spot, but not in the actual city; it's full of residents.
I stayed in a fancy B&B in Pisa, it was so nice and relaxing, right on the main street of all the shops and eateries; a bakery was right below my room...yum! I tried my first gelato in Pisa - double chocolate and it was delicious, tastes like ice cream but creamier.
I really like Pisa, it is certainly one of my favorites; especially with all the people around and bicycles everywhere. I had to be very careful walking around in Pisa, you can't make any sudden movements to the left or right or you were bound to get run over by a bike. I also had to try to walk straight, (for people who know me - difficult, as I was drunk the entire time....!!!) and not move for bicycles, as they prefer to move around you; I found that out the hard way!
Everything starts to get happening at night around 11:00pm in Italy, as dinner is eaten at 9:00pm; something I still have trouble getting used to. I went to the Leaning Tower at night to take some pictures and got a bit lost on my way back and found a lot of people out drinking and partying on the streets; that was interesting, as it was the first time I saw.
Here are many pictures of Pisa: enjoy!
Also, thanks to everyone that called on my birthday, much appreciation...
The tricky part about taking pictures of the Leaning Tower was I found myself turning my camera so that it was straight! I guess it's the mini-photographer in me thinking it's wrong if it's not a straight shot!
All these pictures show the Tower really leaning as it normally is, however if you look in the pictures below, the Tower looks straight!
The Cathedral & Baptistery are beautiful in combination with the Leaning Tower. The grounds were immaculate as tourists are not allowed to walk on the grass near the buildings.
Different angle of the Cathedral; me and my creative mind always wants a different looking picture.
All three in one shot. See how the Leaning Tower is straight! Turned the camera a bit too much......
Many people who visit Italy are there to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa, and the train that takes you to Pisa is packed full of tourists, the main attraction being the Leaning Tower, Cathedral & Baptistery, all in one location; so......it's very busy there at the tourist hot spot, but not in the actual city; it's full of residents.
I stayed in a fancy B&B in Pisa, it was so nice and relaxing, right on the main street of all the shops and eateries; a bakery was right below my room...yum! I tried my first gelato in Pisa - double chocolate and it was delicious, tastes like ice cream but creamier.
I really like Pisa, it is certainly one of my favorites; especially with all the people around and bicycles everywhere. I had to be very careful walking around in Pisa, you can't make any sudden movements to the left or right or you were bound to get run over by a bike. I also had to try to walk straight, (for people who know me - difficult, as I was drunk the entire time....!!!) and not move for bicycles, as they prefer to move around you; I found that out the hard way!
Everything starts to get happening at night around 11:00pm in Italy, as dinner is eaten at 9:00pm; something I still have trouble getting used to. I went to the Leaning Tower at night to take some pictures and got a bit lost on my way back and found a lot of people out drinking and partying on the streets; that was interesting, as it was the first time I saw.
Here are many pictures of Pisa: enjoy!
Also, thanks to everyone that called on my birthday, much appreciation...
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| Leaning Tower of Pisa |
The tricky part about taking pictures of the Leaning Tower was I found myself turning my camera so that it was straight! I guess it's the mini-photographer in me thinking it's wrong if it's not a straight shot!
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| Base of Leaning Tower of Pisa |
All these pictures show the Tower really leaning as it normally is, however if you look in the pictures below, the Tower looks straight!
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| Leaning Tower of Pisa & Cathedral |
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| Cathedral & Baptistery - Pisa |
The Cathedral & Baptistery are beautiful in combination with the Leaning Tower. The grounds were immaculate as tourists are not allowed to walk on the grass near the buildings.
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| Leaning Tower of Pisa & Cathedral |
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| Cathedral |
Different angle of the Cathedral; me and my creative mind always wants a different looking picture.
All three in one shot. See how the Leaning Tower is straight! Turned the camera a bit too much......
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| Baptistery, Cathedral & Leaning Tower of Pisa |
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| Pisa along the river |
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| Pisa along the river |
Riomaggiore, Italy
October 25th, 2010
Riomaggiore, the last village in Cinque Terre, is just as beautiful as the rest; however with different features that I found:
A portrait randomly painted on a wall for no particular reason. It wasn't as if it was painted on a building, but the detail and size was amazing.
This church in Riomaggiore, you could hear the church bells ringing but the it wasn't on the main road or near the main road; I had to walk up several stairs to get to this church and there was no one around, which is rare for Italy; usually there are hundreds of people taking pictures and mulling around.
It seemed a bit strange to take pictures of this (below), but I couldn't resist. After I got off the train in Riomaggiore, and really all the villages; there is a walkway or tunnel to get to the main village. In this circumstance, the "tunnel" was creatively decorated with hundreds of tile mosaics and this is one of the them. The mosaics went on for about 1km, amazing craftsmanship. I have several more if anyone would like to see them....let me know.
It is said that the hikes in Cinque Terre are for advanced hikers except for the 1km trek from Riomaggiore to Manarola.
The start of the 1km hike from Riomaggiore to Manarola
You can see Manarola in the far distance in this picture and even the next village way way off in the distance.
Riomaggiore, the last village in Cinque Terre, is just as beautiful as the rest; however with different features that I found:
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| Painting in Riomaggiore |
A portrait randomly painted on a wall for no particular reason. It wasn't as if it was painted on a building, but the detail and size was amazing.
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| Riomaggiore Church |
This church in Riomaggiore, you could hear the church bells ringing but the it wasn't on the main road or near the main road; I had to walk up several stairs to get to this church and there was no one around, which is rare for Italy; usually there are hundreds of people taking pictures and mulling around.
It seemed a bit strange to take pictures of this (below), but I couldn't resist. After I got off the train in Riomaggiore, and really all the villages; there is a walkway or tunnel to get to the main village. In this circumstance, the "tunnel" was creatively decorated with hundreds of tile mosaics and this is one of the them. The mosaics went on for about 1km, amazing craftsmanship. I have several more if anyone would like to see them....let me know.
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| Tile mosaic in tunnel to Riomaggiore village |
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| Riomaggiore to Manarola |
It is said that the hikes in Cinque Terre are for advanced hikers except for the 1km trek from Riomaggiore to Manarola.
The start of the 1km hike from Riomaggiore to Manarola
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| Riomaggiore to Manarola with train |
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| Riomaggiore to Manarola - along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea |
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| Looking down towards Manarola |
You can see Manarola in the far distance in this picture and even the next village way way off in the distance.
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| Mediterranean Sea |
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| Manarola |
Manarola, Italy
October 25th, 2010
Manarola, the next village in Cinque Terre is just as beautiful as the rest. I actually started the day in Riomaggiore and walked along the coastline (about 1 km) to Manarola. The pictures in the next post will show the coastline.
These pictures are from Manarola....enjoy!
Manarola, the next village in Cinque Terre is just as beautiful as the rest. I actually started the day in Riomaggiore and walked along the coastline (about 1 km) to Manarola. The pictures in the next post will show the coastline.
These pictures are from Manarola....enjoy!
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| Just arriving in Manarola from Riomaggiore |
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| Manarola |
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| Manarola |
Corniglia, Italy
October 24th, 2010
Corniglia is the middle of the 5 villages and where I stayed for 4 nights while in Cinque Terre. As you can see, it's stunning when the sun goes down.
I was sitting at the train station waiting for my train to go to Pisa when I saw this boat go by. This boat is a tourist boat that takes travelers from Monterosso to Riomaggiore. While I was there, the boat was not traveling due to weather conditions.
Corniglia is the middle of the 5 villages and where I stayed for 4 nights while in Cinque Terre. As you can see, it's stunning when the sun goes down.
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| Corniglia on my first night.....about 30 seconds later |
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| Corniglia my first night...about 30 seconds later |
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| Corniglia on my last night |
I was sitting at the train station waiting for my train to go to Pisa when I saw this boat go by. This boat is a tourist boat that takes travelers from Monterosso to Riomaggiore. While I was there, the boat was not traveling due to weather conditions.
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| Corniglia on my last day, waiting for my train to take me to Pisa |
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