in the Vatican Museum

One of my favorite rooms in the Vatican Museum
is the gallery of maps.  It was commissioned
in 1580 by Pope Gregory XIII, and it took the artist
(Ignazio Danti) three years to complete.
Unfortunately, the last time I was there (in February),
the museum was more crowded than I've
ever seen it—even in July—and this was the only
picture I even tried to take.

[Linking back to Blue Monday
at Magical Mystery Teacher
and to Macro Monday.]

It's a Small World

This shop in the Galerie Vivienne, in Paris, 
features three things I love: globes,
maps, and musty old books.

[I'm linking back to Blue Monday;
to see more, visit Sally's meme.
And also to Our World Tuesday.]

Allons, Enfants!

It's Bastille Day, so this had to be a photo from Paris.
When I first moved there (as a teenager), I got around town
like all good Parisians did with the help of the wonderful little
red Guide Indispensable.  Well, I'm now far from being a
teenager and tiny type is not my friend. These days 
when I go back I rely on Michael Middleditch's 
Paris Map Guide—which is both compact and easy to read.


[To see more monochromes, visit
The Weekend in Black and White.]