Almost done with shots from the boat

We're about to set foot on dry land again (in the town of Bellagio). Before we do, here's a last handful of shots I took during ferry ride there.

More shots of/from Lake Como

This guy was very nice. Pretty hot, too, although this profile shot doesn't really do him justice.













Not to worry! We didn't stay on the boat forever. So if you're getting bored with shots from the boat... well, there are a few more, but we're getting there. Maybe one more set from the boat! :)

Next stop: Lake Como

Inside Milan's Central Station, where we caught the train to Como


View from the deck of the Lake Como ferry, looking at part of the main square. Next time we're in northern Italy, we'll spend more time here.


Marc was very happy, but I think I managed to catch him off guard. Also in this photo: his mom doing what she did throughout the trip--writing in her journal. It was a wonderful idea, since she has page after page of details to help her remember the trip.


Heading out of Como


More as we head out of Como


Heading out into the lake (and it's a big lake--more towns to come in future posts!)

Done with the Duomo

Next, across the street to the shopping mall! Ah, but what a shopping mall it is!


A plaque at the entrance


Marc and his mom shopping at a small stall near the entrance


A look inside


Marc and his mom (and some guy) outside a tie shop in the Galleria

Let's go inside, shall we?

I'm skipping some photos, but I think that was probably enough of the outside of Milan's Duomo. So let's have a look inside.

I've read that the Duomo's capacity is estimated at 40,000. I guess they'd need extra chairs and such, but it definitely is BIG. Here's a look...



People come into the Duomo to sit, pray, meditate and light candles...





And then there's the stained glass...

More from Milan's Duomo

Waiting for the elevator to the top of the Duomo


Up on the roof. This isn't full-res, of course, but the version you'll get if you click on this is large enough to really show you the detail of some of the stone work and sculpture.


View from the top




Check out the color of the stone--especially of the statue. It looks like it was just carved, and that sure isn't the case!


Across the street


Closer shot




More of the Duomo's roof adornment


Another look at the city from the Duomo's roof

Let's begin at the beginning

Our first stop was Milan, and the first place we went to visit was Milan's Duomo. It took centuries to build, and it's HUGE! Some estimates put its capacity at 40,000. Now that would be quite a crowd.

Aside from its size, the architecture and sculptures throughout the cathedral (that's what "duomo" means, by the way) are amazing. I couldn't get a shot of it from the front--to show you the whole thing--because it was covered with scaffolding. This, apparently, happens regularly enough. I guess a building begun in the late 1300s needs some upkeep.

To share some of it, I'll post some photos of particular elements. There are more to come, but let's start with these...


Click on the photo to see some of the detail better.


This actually isn't the Duomo. It's across from it. It's the front of the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II. I'll post some inside shots in another post. For now, I'll just tell you that it's the most spectacular shopping mall I've ever seen (a shopping mall built in the 19th century).


More of the outside of the Duomo.


The line for the elevator to the top of the Duomo.






The scene behind us while standing in line for the elevator. Nothing special, but I thought I'd share it anyhow. :)

I'm sure I've said this before (regarding other photos), but let me know if there's one you like and would like full-size. These are greatly reduced.

Okay, that's it for tonight. More soon!

A few photos to start things off

I've got a lot of photos to go through, so this process may take a while. In the meantime, I've skipped ahead and plucked out a few photos from the Paris leg of our trip. It wasn't the first stop, but it certainly provides some of the most stunning (and most recognizable) sights. So here are the first few photos I'll be posting from this trip...


I know this type of shot (the Arc de Triomphe at night, in a long exposure to blur the lights of traffic) has been done by lots of people before me. Even so, I love doing night shots, and I wanted to take a stab at this myself.


Hotel de Ville. Does your city hall look like this?


The Hotel de Ville from another perspective.

I like those first two shots so much that I already printed them at 13"x19" and will be sending them home with Marc's mom (since she immediately expressed a desire to have them). I may get them printed at 20"x30" or 24"x36" and have them framed. Before I do that, I need to see what else the trip has yielded. (I also have to think carefully before making more prints--we're running out of wall space!)

St. Paul's Cathedral

Today is our last full day in London and the last full day of the trip. After breakfast tomorrow, we'll head to Gatwick for our flight home. One of our stops today was St. Paul's Cathedral. Marc and I been there in February, but we thought his mom might like to see it. Also, we hadn't paid the entrance fee back then, so we hadn't gotten to explore the best parts of it.

The place really is amazing. At 28 pounds for the three of us, it wasn't cheap (that's about $52), but I wasn't disappointed. We've seen some amazing places during this trip--places that are inspiring to behold--but St. Paul's really holds its own. The size of it is impressive, but so is the quality of the work that went into it. It's magnificent.

In addition, for a history buff like me, it sure has a lot to offer. Many of the greats of Western history walked in its aisles, and several notables are entombed in its crypt.

I found it interesting that the poet John Donne had served as Dean of St. Paul's. A work of his that I (and many of us) learned in school was actually a sermon, Devotions upon Emergent Occasions XVII, in which he counseled that we must remember that we are all part of a greater group: "No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main." Speaking of the bell that would be sounded for someone who had taken ill or died, in words often misquoted (by me as well as others), he said, "never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee."

His sermon is worth the time to read today as much as it would have been if you had lived almost 400 years ago when he gave it to his congregation. I don't mean that in the religious sense, for it certainly is a call to devotion to the church, and I'm not even a Christian. I mean, rather, that it's an excellent linguistic work, as well as a passage in which we each may find some meaning. If you'd like to read the whole thing, you may find it here.

London

Where should I start? No idea.

My mother-in-law was practically suicidal in her approach to traffic in Milan and Paris. Granted, that's not hard to do, considering how people drive in those cities. But when we got to London, we really were on edge. Now the traffic would be coming at her from the opposite direction!

So far she hasn't gotten herself run over, although last night held some adventure. She loved the place we took her for dinner. In the middle of the road, she decided she needed to turn around make note of the name of the restaurant, so she'd have it for her journal. When we looked back (our mistake to let her fall behind) and saw her there--with traffic approaching--we both yelled, and she scurried to safety. How she lived this long is beyond me, but someone must be watching out for her!

Other than that, she's starting to adjust to life on the road (after a week and a half). She actually showed some smarts in navigating her way out of the London Underground today (too long of a story for here, but we were proud of her).

We've spent frightening--but not surprising--amounts of money, but I don't think we'll have a single regret. She'll always remember this trip fondly. That's already clear.

We bought ourselves a few gifts, as well as some for our nephews and niece. Also, we bought a good friend a gift, but that's a secret for now!

We've been less successful on the postcard front. We sent a couple, but I couldn't find the address of a certain blogger (who might possibly go by "Coffeedog"). So she was kind enough to e-mail it to me. I'm waiting on one more piece of info (sorry!!! Chalk it up to early senility!), and then I can send the card. (Update: she sent the info. Thanks!)

Marc is making notes, so he should have plenty of blog fodder of his own when we return. He'll even have lots of photos from the Canon camera. I'll share a few from my SLR, too.

Okay, he just questioned me about sitting here writing a blog entry, so I'll wrap it up. After all, his mother is tucked safely in bed (well down the hall this time, thank you very much--not that we'd ever let her hear a thing, Ms. Tuna!), and we need to get back to our room and continue our efforts to make a baby!

Look at that S-Car go!

Yes, I did it. I ate snails. I figured, when in Rome Versailles, etc...

They had escargot on the menu as an appetizer, and I'd just read that they're really just a vehicle for transporting garlic butter to one's mouth, so why not?

They weren't bad, but I'm not in a rush to try them again.

As for the rest of this leg of the trip, it has gone very well. The train trip from Geneva to Paris via TGV was lovely. The French countryside had Marc's mom enthralled. The next day, we took her to the Palace at Versailles, and today it was the Louvre, Notre Dame and some shopping.

We spent way too much money, but we're having a blast. Also, the food, not surprisingly, has been wonderful. I'm not normally into salads, but I am when I'm here. All of the vegetables are fresh and delicious, and I love them! If the stuff we buy at home (or got in restaurants) tasted like this, I'd eat salads all the time.

Anyhow, Marc is bitching at me about how much this Internet connection costs (the hotel really is screwing us on this, and there's no Internet cafe near here), so I'll sign off.

More when I have a chance!

Leaving Milan shortly

First of all, to Epi for his last comment... :P

I mean, I can at least check e-mail and leave a quick post! I'd head your way to give you a spanking after you got home, but I think we'd both enjoy that too much! ;)

For your information, young man, we've been enjoying the sights. We've seen lots of things, including lots of Italians who are quite easy on the eyes. Really! Of course, I knew that I'd see handsome Italians here, but the sheer volume of drool-worthy boys is staggering.

Speaking of such things, I'm happy to report that having my mother-in-law in the next room hasn't cut into the vacation fun. In fact, my honey has been quite frisky. We've just had to be quiet! ;)

Today, we take Marc's mom on a train ride through the Alps to Geneva. It's an area I've never seen (none of us have). I saw some of the Alps from the plane and also the foothills of the Alps when we were at Bellagio (Lake Como) on Monday, but I'm hoping that this will be quite stunning.

Lots of fun, so far. More when I again find a few minutes at an Internet cafe somewhere. Photos will have to wait until I get home (need to put them on the computer, sort them, etc.). Actually, nothing too stunning so far. At least, I don't think so (again, I really need to see them on the computer). We shall see.

Bye for now!

Having a great time

We're in an Internet cafe, have been having a great time and Marc will kill me if I sit here blogging. We need to go grab dinner!

Just wanted to report in. Tons of fun so far. More another time--with photos, eventually.

Stay out of trouble while we're gone! ;)