Skywatch Friday

Who recognizes this famous place?
Hint: It's in Rome.

[To see more Skywatch pics, go here.]

Thursday Challenge—"shadow"

Les françaises (of any age) are always
très très chic!  This little one in
Saint-Emilion was having fun being
chased by her own shadow.

[To see more of the Thursday Photo
Challenge, visit Dale's meme.]

ABC Wednesday—M is for "Mary"

. . . and also for museum (the Vatican).
This piece of furniture—oversized
desk, armoire, cabinet?—dominates the 
room, which is saying something, 
considering the ornate gilded ceiling and 
the beautifully frescoed walls.

[To see more ABC posts, go here.]

nothing lasts forever

Recently, two of my favorite cousins came
to visit and they brought me
these beautiful tulips to welcome spring.

Oh well, they were lovely 
while they lasted.

[Linking back to Ruby Tuesday
and Our World Tuesday.]

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.]

inSPIREd Sunday

A detail in Santa Maria in Trastevere,
in Rome.  This is one of the oldest
churches in the city, rebuilt and renovated
many times over the course of
the centuries—but there's been a house
of worship on this site since the
early 2nd century.  All I could discover about
the beautiful organ is that it was
donated by Cardinal Altemps at the end
of the 16th century.

[To see more churches from
around the world, go here.]

A tasty bite

This was part of a most amazing multi-course
meal that my daughter Katie treated me
to when we were in Rome in February.  Between
each of the courses they would bring us
some yummy little something.  (This one featured
raspberry & pistachio, and I'm not sure what
was inside but it was delicious.) 
The chef came out for an intro when we had just 
started our dinner; if he'd shown up 
near the end, I would have hugged him!

[Linking back to Beverly's Pink Saturday.]