Archive for the 'Europe' Category

Italy, Venice: Gondola Parking

Monday, April 29th, 2019

Never thought about where you park your gondola when you are off work. Notice the other boats tucked along the buildings. Front doors are often on the canals.

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Italy, Venice: Wide Venetian Canal

Monday, April 29th, 2019

Not all the canals in Venice are narrow. Some are broad highways. See if you can find the tip of a gondola in this one.

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Italy, Venice: Bridge of Sighs, Venice

Friday, April 26th, 2019

The Bridge of Sighs is named for the sighs of the prisoners who were interrogated and charged in the Doge’s Palace building and had to walk across the canal on this bridge to the New Prison. The white limestone decorated bridge is enclosed but has windows with stone bars; It passes over the Rio di Palazzo.

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Italy, Venice: Venice’s Saint Mark’s Basilica

Friday, April 26th, 2019

Inside Venice’s Saint Mark’s Basilica or more properly, the Patriarchal Cathedral Basilica of Saint Mark. It’s free to go through to see the great example of Italo-Byzantine architecture and the ceiling mosaics, decorations, and intricate geometric marble patterns. Get here early as there is usually a big lineup but it moves quickly. No backpacks allowed, but there’s a free checking service around the corner and down an alley (just ask!).

 

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Italy, Venice: Doge’s Palace, Venice

Tuesday, February 26th, 2019

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The Doge’s Palace, Palazzo Ducale, was the residence of the Doge of Venice, the supreme authority of the former Venetian Republic. The Venetian Gothic construction started around 1340 and was modified many times over the centuries due to fires and governmental needs.

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Italy, Venice: Bridge of Sighs, Venice

Tuesday, February 26th, 2019

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In Venice, the Ponte dei Sospiri or the Bridge of Sighs is an arched limestone bridge that connects the Doge’s Palace to the Prigioni Nuove, or the New Prisons. It got its name from the sighs of the prisoners walking across it.

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Italy, Venice: The Lion, the Ladies and the King

Tuesday, February 26th, 2019

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On top, you have the victorious Vittorio Emanuele II (1849-1861) who was the first King of united Italy. On the 2 sides are statues of the winged Lion of Saint Mark with paws on books and a regal woman (and a silly woman).

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Italy, Venice: Venice from the Water

Tuesday, February 26th, 2019

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Approaching St. Mark’s Square, Venice, from the water.

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Austria, Vienna: Mountain Views from the Bus

Monday, February 25th, 2019

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You never mind long bus rides – this one from Vienna to Venice – when this is the kind of mountain scenery you are passing.

 

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Austria, Salzburg: Archway Salzburg, Austria

Monday, February 25th, 2019

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Walking through the streets of old city in Salzburg, Austria still has the feel of an old city.

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