Europe! More updates...
Cruising the Grand Canal at dusk. The palazzos have some nice Murano chandeliers.
I love the gondolier on his cell phone. Some things are universal.
Selfie at the Bridge of Sighs. It is said that convicted prisoners would look back as they were led from the halls of justice to the prison, and sigh. I think it represents tourists who look back at all the money they spent in Venice and sigh.
Venice' Piazza San Marco as viewed from our cruise ship. I had no idea we would sail this close.
Ephesus, Turkey. Awesome ruins from over 2 millennia of history.
Santorini, Greece. Can't take a bad photo on this island.
The Parthenon on the Acropolis. Yeah, it's awesome.
Orvieto cathedral
Portofino
Varenna, Italy, on Lake Como.
Villa del Balbianello on lake Como, Italy
Bellagio. The Italian Lake District has awesome scenery and nice small towns. All served by ferry.
Along the paseo in Varenna, Italy.
St Chapelle, Paris. Best stained glass ever.
Norte Dame, Paris. Really nice, but I think my favorite is St Chapelle.
Is that the Mona Lisa?
Yeah, the Venus de Milo is a masterpiece. A standout among many at the Louve.
Complete with giant tennis ball advertising the French Open
Hall of Mirrors, Versailles.
Altarpiece in Napoleon's tomb
Napoleon's tomb. So he sent half a million soldiers to take Moscow, and came back with only 60,000. But he's a hero! Viva la France!
Rodin sculpture garden, Paris. I'm thinking, croissant or baguette today?
Hotel De Ville, Paris.
Honfleur, Normandy
American Cemetery, Omaha Beach, Normandy. This is only a tiny fraction. No words can describe it.
Window in St Mere Eglise church. Zoom in...it's Airborne all the way.
Church in St Mere Eglise, Normandy. This is where the paratrooper got hung up on the roof, as seen in The Longest Day. He's still there, as a mannequin.
Bayeux cathedral interior
Cathedral at Bayeux
Remains of the artificial harbor called Mulberry B at Arromanches in Normandy. They sank enough "Phoenix caissons" just after D-Day to build a sea wall a kilometer across. An incredible engineering feat.
Mont St Michel, Normandy. They're building a new causeway across the mudflats (not high tide when we were there). Pilgrims of old had to either take a boat or walk at low tide.
Double helix staircase in Chambord. Each starts opposite the other.
Chombard. Huge chateau, and "just" a hunting lodge for the king. It's good to be the king...well, until it isn't.
Chateau Chenonceau in the Loire Valley.
I don't know what this is called. All I can say is that it was delicious. All the desserts in France are delicious.
Rocher St Michel in Le Puy.
Le Puy, in central France. Hiked up to the statue. Photo taken from another hilltop, Rocher St Michel.
Statue of the Virgin Mary, made of melted cannons captured from the Russians.
View of the Low Cornice from the Middle Cornice. Just like in the James Bond movies, except it's a Renault Clio for us, not an Aston Martin.
Nice hilltop village called Eze on the Middle Cornice between nice and Monaco. It's a hike (no cars), but delicious crepes await at the Cactus Cafe.
Inside the church in Monaco. Looks almost new, with cool backlighting...but it's centuries old.
Monaco... Beautiful. Clean. Expensive. You can see the grandstand being installed for the Grand Prix. Good day trip from Nice.
Breakfast on our balcony in Nice. A so-so Airbnb apartment, but great location.
Giant caldron of paella, anyone?
Stairs up to our hotel room in Avignon
Afternoon tea in Avignon. It was as good as it looks.
These are common. They retract by remote control.
Carcassonne at night
Main gate to Carcassonne. Awesome hilltop medieval town.
French commandos training on the beach in Collioure. Right next to topless tourists sunning themselves.
Collioure France. Small town on the Med with loads of charm.
La Sagrada Familia stained glass. There's a lot of it.
La Sagrada Familia interior
La Sagrada Familia. Gaudi's masterpiece cathedral still a work in progress for over 100 years.
Our apartment in Barcelona was in El Born, the old district. This is our "street".
Alhambra ceiling
Alhambra relief
The Alhambra
If I only had a car in Granada. I'd take this as a challenge!
Granada, Spain. Alhambra in the background.
Cadiz, Spain
Lisbon, Portugal
Ponta Delgada, Azores
Croquet anyone?
Ficus tree "floating" in the atrium.
Breakfast on our verandah. In case we're too lazy to go to the restaurant or the buffet.
Gearing up for the Europe trip. We are traveling light!
Grand Canyon with the Scottsdale Breakfast Club
Florida & Disney Cruise
10 days on the Florida Atlantic coast and a 3 day Disney cruise with family. Awesome!
Portland
We flew commercial for a long weekend of wonderfully cool weather in Portland, Oregon.
They have great food in Portland. Numerous food trucks, a great Peruvian restaurant, and Voodoo Donut, a local institution.
They have great food in Portland. Numerous food trucks, a great Peruvian restaurant, and Voodoo Donut, a local institution.
Payson fly-in camping
Fly in, set up camp right by the plane, talk about airplanes with other pilots, have a chuck wagon dinner and watch the sunset on the Mogollon Rim.
SoCal...
Catalina Island,
Long Beach,
San Diego,
Coronado Island
Arizona travels...We drove down to Tubac, AZ. It's a nice little town about 50 miles south of Tucson. Lots of galleries and a great Mexican restaurant called Elvira's. Here are some pics...
Ed goes to Chicago & Michigan to visit friends from college
Click on the pic to see more from Ed's week visiting Cliff, Phil & Dave in Chicago and Upper Michigan
Miscellany
