The Vacation of a Lifetime continued

A spectacular 12-day Mediterranean cruise! Departed from Barcelona, Spain and made stops in Cannes/Nice/Monaco/Monte Carlo Casino in France. Then on to Italy with stops in Rapallo, Santa Margherita Ligure and Portofino. Next up was Rome, Italy where we toured the Colosseum and Vatican City. Then on to the Acropolis in Athens Greece. Another stop in Mykonos, Greece for great food and ouzo. Up next was Santorini, Greece (Mamma Mia!). Our last stop was Valetta, Malta with a special trip to Mdna or Città Vecchia- the Silent City, a fortified medieval city.

Malta: Valetta, Mdna or Città Vecchia

 

Malta

Valetta, Malta

Blue Grotto Malta

The Blue Grotto, Malta

Maltese Port

Ancient fishing village of Marsaxlokk, Malta

Medieval City of Mdina

Mdna, a medieval walled city originally settled by the Phoenicians in 700 BC.

Medieval Mdina

Mdna, a medieval walled city originally settled by the Phoenicians in 700 BC.

Casa Mdina

Casa Mdina. Mdna, a medieval walled city originally settled by the Phoenicians in 700 BC.

Mdina Door

Mdna, a medieval walled city originally settled by the Phoenicians in 700 BC.

Mdina Statue

Mdna, a medieval walled city originally settled by the Phoenicians in 700 BC.

Mdina Streetscape

Mdna, a medieval walled city originally settled by the Phoenicians in 700 BC.

Mdina Wall

Mdna, a medieval walled city originally settled by the Phoenicians in 700 BC.

Mediteranean Volcano

A smoldering volcano in the Mediterranean.

Mediterranean sunset

A beautiful end to the trip of a lifetime!

The Vacation of a Lifetime continued

A spectacular 12-day Mediterranean cruise! Departed from Barcelona, Spain and made stops in Cannes/Nice/Monaco/Monte Carlo Casino in France. Then on to Italy with stops in Rapallo, Santa Margherita Ligure and Portofino. Next up was Rome, Italy where we toured the Colosseum and Vatican City. Then on to the Acropolis in Athens Greece. Another stop in Mykonos, Greece for great food and ouzo. Up next was Santorini, Greece (Mamma Mia!). Our last stop was Valetta, Malta with a special trip to Mdna or Città Vecchia- the Silent City, a fortified medieval city.

Italy: Rapallo, Santa Margherita Ligure and Portofino. Next day Rome: The Colosseum and Vatican City

 

ItalianCountryside

Italian countryside heading toward the hamlet of Rapallo

ColorfulRoppoloItaly

Santa Margherita Ligure is a comune (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Genoa and 16th century castle

RoppoloItaly

Shops in Santa Margherita Ligure

RustedItalianGate

Santa Margherita Ligure

PortofinoItaly

Portofino, Italy is a fishing village and resort. Looks like George Clooney’s yacht!

Arch of Constantine

Arch of Constatine in Rome, Italy.

RomanColosseum

The Colosseum. Rome, Italy

 

InsideColosseum

Inside the Colosseum. Rome, Italy.

Roman Columns

Corinthian style Roman columns. Rome, Italy

Roman Cathedral

Church near the Piazza del Popolo (the Plaza of the People)

St Peters Basilica

St Peter’s Basilica. Vatican City, Italy

Vatican City

Vatican City, Italy

Vatican Columns

Vatican City, Italy

The Vacation of a Lifetime continued

A spectacular 12-day Mediterranean cruise! Departed from Barcelona, Spain and made stops in Cannes/Nice/Monaco/Monte Carlo Casino in France. Then on to Italy with stops in Rapallo, Santa Margherita Ligure and Portofino. Next up was Rome, Italy where we toured the Colosseum and Vatican City. Then on to the Acropolis in Athens Greece. Another stop in Mykonos, Greece for great food and ouzo. Up next was Santorini, Greece (Mamma Mia!). Our last stop was Valetta, Malta with a special trip to Mdna or Città Vecchia- the Silent City, a fortified medieval city.

FRANCE:  Cannes, Nice (French Riviera), Monaco, and Monte Carlo 

Monaco Port

Principality of Monaco in the French Riviera

Monaco Palace

Prince’s Palace of Monaco

Monaco

Principality of Monaco in the French Riviera

Monaco Street

Principality of Monaco in the French Riviera

Monaco Pink Flower

Saint-Martin Gardens in Monaco

Monaco Gardens and view

Saint-Martin Gardens overlooking Monaco

MonteCarloCasino

Monte Carlo Casino in Monaco

FrenchRivieraSunset

Sunset on the French Riviera

The Vacation of a Lifetime

A spectacular 12-day Mediterranean cruise! Departed from Barcelona, Spain and made stops in Cannes/Nice/Monaco/Monte Carlo Casino in France. Then on to Italy with stops in Rapallo, Santa Margherita Ligure and Portofino. Next up was Rome, Italy where we toured the Colosseum and Vatican City. Then on to the Acropolis in Athens Greece. Another stop in Mykonos, Greece for great food and ouzo. Up next was Santorini, Greece (Mamma Mia!). Our last stop was Valetta, Malta with a special trip to Mdna or Città Vecchia- the Silent City, a fortified medieval city.

This is Barcelona, Spain

Hotel Condes de Barcelona

The Hotel Condes de Barcelona

 

Barcelona Streetscape

Barcelona streetscape – Gaudi architecture

Gaudi Building

Gaudi Building

Gaudi Shop

Barcelona shopping

Gaudi

Architectural details

Barcelona Fountain

Placa de Catalunya

Barcelona Church

Barri Gòtic – the Gothic district in Barcelona

Barcelona Cathedral

Barri Gòtic – the Gothic district in Barcelona

Barcelona Angles

Barri Gòtic – the Gothic district in Barcelona. Spires!

Barcelona Angel

Barri Gòtic – the Gothic district in Barcelona. Angel!

Barcelona Doorway

Barri Gòtic – the Gothic district in Barcelona. Bubbles!

Roman Stone

A Roman stone in Barcelona somewhere

Cathedral Spires

Barri Gòtic – the Gothic district in Barcelona

Rooftop in Barcelona

Nightcap from the rooftop lounge at the Hotel Condes de Barcelona

Hotel d'Barcelona Rooftop

After the rains in the evening. From the rooftop lounge at the Hotel Condes de Barcelona

Leaving Spain

As we sailed off into the sunset leaving Barcelona. Headed for France.

Gorgeous day in the City of Gold Mines

Victor, Colorado – the City of Gold Mines – is located at nearly 10,000 feet on the southwest side of Pikes Peak, in the Cripple Creek Victor Mining District. This well-preserved mining town sits on the side of Battle Mtn., a unique setting of 1890’s structures and turn-of-the-century architecture, with clean, cool mountain air and plenty of year-round sunshine.  http://www.victorcolorado.com/

Today was the perfect day for a visit.

Rustic beauty

Rustic (ruhs-tik) :  def.  1. Suitable for the country.  2. Made of rough limbs of trees.  3. Of or resembling country folk.  4. Lacking in social graces or polish.  5. Simple, artless or unsophisticated.  6. Uncouth, crude, boorish, awkward.  7. Having rough surfaces.  8. Lacking refinement or elegance.  9. Charmingly simple.

I think there is an inherent allure to battered old barns, wooden fence posts or rusty nails.  Charmingly simple.

It’s a fine line…

A line is a straight one-dimensional figure having no thickness and extending infinitely in both directions.  The equation of a line is y = mx + b (that’s for all my mathematicians!  And yes, I do realize that equation is the slope-intercept form.)

Lines can run parallel or perpendicular.  We can travel the world via cruise line or airline.  Why not sail across a river gorge on a zip line or sail a boat using a jib line?  We can cross a line or draw the line.  Sometimes lives are forever changed by pickup lines, party lines and picket lines. There are some who define the world with hard lines, fine lines or blurred lines, even straight and narrow lines.

We get in lines, wait in lines, color inside the lines, and tow the line…at least those of us with a certain upbringing anyway.  We can read headlines, bylines, tag lines and between the lines.  We begin at the starting line and end at the finish line.  And to flat line can mean the end of the line.

Lines have tremendous visual appeal to me.  These are some of my favorite photographs with prominent lines.