When we were in Venice, we had the opportunity to visit the charming island of Murano. Bought the requisite glass animals, of course, but we especially enjoyed walking around the serene little town, far away from the crowds and the noise.
I took these photos from the medieval converted fortress at the top of the hill that dominates picturesque Jaen, in Spain. The town looked much bigger from up there, ironically, though you can see how far up we were. The house in the last shot, which I really like, is visible among the trees in the forefront of the first picture.
I didn't have to travel far to take these photos—just opened the front door, in fact, right here in snowy Maryland! It's still snowing, so the sky isn't lovely and blue, but the sky is wonderfully white, which it won't be once the cars come out! The photo just above reminds me of the first Narnia movie, what do you think? The backyard looks like a winter wonderland, as you see below.
No one's told little Daggers that cats don't like snow...
It's been raining all day, so I have transported myself back to Schloss Kapfenstein, a fabulous converted castle we visited in Austria. The fortress was originally built in 1065--just before the dastardly Normans invaded England!--but, as you can see, it is now quite peaceful and lovely.
I walked up to this lovely flowery bush to take a photo and was rewarded by a fabulous view over the walls of the Alhambra.
Other than at the monastery, elderly women definitely dominated the landscape in Zagorsk. Like anywhere else, young people flee to the cities; and, of course, among the older generations, many more men than women were lost in World War II. Russia lost more people than any other country in that war—20 million, I believe—and many more were killed by Stalin when they returned.
Wasn't able to post this week (switched over all our equipment AND servers) but, to celebrate, here are a few photos from Lavenham, which I think is my favorite little town in England--so far, at least. We discovered it quite by accident, and enjoyed every minute. Dozens of Tudor houses line the street and, as you see in the last photo, they're not all the traditional black on white.
This could be a wordless post, I think--will just say I took this photo on a perfect day in beautiful Andechs, Germany.
displayed in a bookstore (!). So we took a bunch and narrowed it down to these four.
This is how I imagine Minnesota looks (I've never been), but I actually took this photo in Maine.
I started scanning my slides again today and was thrilled to find this photo of one of the prettiest coves I have ever seen, from my visit to Nerja, Spain. I posted a close-up of the little cottage in the cliffs here, but feared this photo had somehow gotten lost in the shuffle. I apologize for posting two beaches in a row, but they are quite different, I think. Plus, it's been raining all day and these cheer me up!
Visit other "water-ful" blogs at Watery Wednesday.
Still in Kauai, I spent a quiet half hour walking through a Japanese cemetery with very unusual--and quite beautiful--tombstones. The top one is my favorite, but I do love the can of beer in the bottom photo! I've been to many cemeteries on my travels, but this one remained with me a long time. Obviously well-loved departed.
Driving around the Garden Isle of Kauai, you pass many spectacularly scenic spots. Here is a photo I took at the Kalalau Lookout.
A beautiful blue sky over Djvari Chapel in Mtskheta, the former capital of Georgia.
Here is an out-of-time mountain-top in Armenia, which was a Soviet Republic when I was there, but is now independent). I was lucky enough to get out in the countryside, which was truly beautiful and quite unlike other places I've been to.
