Trastevere

Back to Rome, and this scene in Trastevere—
I hate the grafitti, but I love the textures:
the wall, the cobblestones, the old door . . .

[Today is Traveling Tuesday.  To
see more, visit Sandi's meme.]

Traveling Tuesdays

Rome is at its most mysterious late at night—
and you may even find that you have
 the Trevi Fountain all to yourself!

[To see more Tuesday Travels, visit Sandi's meme.]

Traveling Tuesdays

Spent a couple of hours here in charming Lexington,
Virginia—in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley—
before flying back home to not-quite-as-idyllic
New York City yesterday.


[To see more Tuesday Travels, visit Sandi's meme.]

Traveling Tuesdays

Last Tuesday I mentioned the good-looking men of Padua, and 
some of my blog pals said "What—no photo of them?" In fact, no.
But here's a nice assortment of bei'uomini italiani from Rome, Venice, 
Florence, and the cliffside village of Corniglia, in the Cinque Terre.


[To see more Tuesday travels, visit Sandi's meme.]

Traveling Tuesdays

Welcome to Padua, where you can find beautiful
architecture (see?) and also beautiful men (I'm just sayin').
Took a day trip here from Venice to visit the restored Giotto
frescoes in the Scrovegni Chapel.  You are absolutely not
allowed to take photos in there (in fact, you're barely
allowed to breathe; we had to wait in an airlocked
antechamber for 15 minutes before entering the chapel itself).
Anyway, no Giottos and no men, but this is pretty, isn't it?


[To see more Tuesday travels, visit Sandi's meme.]

Traveling Tuesdays

Maybe I shouldn't admit it, but I will:
This picture (remember Kodachrome?) was taken 
the first time I went to Rome—35 years ago (!).  
Back then, I barely felt the 320 steps to the top 
of St. Peter's dome. (But I still wouldn't hesitate 
to make the climb for such a spectacular view).


[To see more Tuesday travels, visit Sandi's meme.]

Traveling Tuesdays

See the Eiffel Tower way back there? This creature
had already been staring out over the rooftops
of Paris from Notre Dame's south tower for more 
than six centuries before it was ever built—and 
he's been there for more than another century since!



[To see more Tuesday travels, visit Sandi's meme.]

TravelingTuesdays

One of the Gare (now Musée, of course) d'Orsay clocks, seen from 
outside and in.  I loved this place back in the '60s, when it was an 
eery abandoned railway station, and I was thrilled when they filled 
it with some of the best art in the world.  But I heard recently 
that you're no longer allowed to take pictures in this museum.  
Maybe too many people were using flash, and ruined it
for those of us who would never.  I'm just sayin'.


[To see more Tuesday travels, visit Sandi's meme.]

Traveling Tuesdays

St. Dominic:  Look—there's a bird on my head.

St. Catherine:  Tell me about it!
Sorry—I couldn't help myself.  Seriously,
though, why don't they put up some kind of
netting to protect these beloved saints
from Siena's flocks of dirty pigeons?


[To see more Tuesday travels, visit Sandi's meme.]

TravelingTuesdays

Apparently, the 16th/17th-century composer
still has some fans. His grave can be found
in the church of the Frari, in Venice—
the most romantic city (imho) in the world.
Happy Valentine's Day to all the romantics out there.


[To see more Tuesday travels, visit Sandi's meme.]

Traveling Tuesdays/Our World

This pretty little balcony sits behind one of
the jewelry shops on Florence's Ponte Vecchio.
To me, it's begging for a table and a
couple of chairs, where the folks who 
work in that shop can take a break.

Here's a long shot, taken in
another, greener season.
[To see more of our world, go here;
for more Tuesday travels, visit Sandi's meme.]

Traveling Tuesdays

Our host, Sandi, talked about her upcoming
trip to Italy last week. I keep going back too,
Sandi—this shot was taken the only time I've
been to Rome in the sizzling summertime.

[To see more Tuesday travels, visit Sandi's meme.]

The Mario Boat

This is an In Memoriam of sorts, as I heard
via Karen at The Venice Experience that this floating
Venetian greenmarket near campo San Barnaba
closed up shop for good this past December.
So sad—I still remember the unique experience
of getting veggies from a boat when I
first went to Venice, many many years ago
(and repeated lots of times since then).


[To see more of Our World Tuesday, go here.
And to see more Traveling Tuesdays, visit Sandi's meme.]

Traveling Tuesdays

Yesterday I showed you the Marco art truck.  Today we
have the "Mario" boat—a floating veggie market
moored next to the Ponte dei Pugni, in Dorsoduro, 
Venice—where I was this time last year (sigh). 


[To see more Tuesday travels, visit Sandi's meme].

Traveling Tuesdays

Here's a photo from the time BD—before digital.
It's part of Marie Antoinette's Petite Hameau at
Versailles. Can't you just see the young queen and her
handmaidens playing at being "rustics" here?


[To see more Tuesday travels, visit Sandi's meme.]

Traveling Tuesdays

This is Via Giulia, in Rome.
Now why doesn't my block in Brooklyn 
(or any other I've ever lived on) look like this?


[To see more Tuesday travels, visit Sandi's meme.]

Traveling Tuesdays

This is the beautiful Shenandoah Valley, and
 those are the Blue Ridge Mountains (which usually
do look blue—except when the leaves are turning).
Unfortunately, it's a windy place, and the little prop
plane I was in was knocked all around and up and down 
by the cross currents. Never been so happy to land!

To see more Tuesday travels, visit Sandi's blog:
http://whistlestopcooking.blogspot.com/

Traveling Tuesdays

Back to Paris—but this time for some art
that's not so serious. This is the wonderfully playful 
Stravinsky Fountain, with fabulous sculptures
by Niki de Saint Phalle and her husband, Jean Tinguely.


To see more Tuesday travels, visit Sandi's blog:
http://whistlestopcooking.blogspot.com/

Traveling Tuesdays

Let's go back to Paris this week.
I wouldn't think of setting foot in the Louvre
without spending a little time with the
exquisite Venus de Milo.  What I noticed
about this photo only after I'd taken it—
not a single person in this shot is looking at her!


To see more travels, go to Sandi's blog:
http://whistlestopcooking.blogspot.com/

Traveling Tuesdays

A Roman detail this time,
in St. Peter's Square.
This was scanned from the archives:
a b&w from the days of  film & darkrooms.
(Must admit—I do miss the darkroom.)


To see more Tuesday travels, visit Sandi's fine blog:
http://whistlestopcooking.blogspot.com/