Day 1, on the spanish steps in Rome
Keren eats her first gelato on the street.
The entrance to an old cinema down the street from our hostel
At the edge of the Piazza Venezia in Rome is a column built to tell the tale of a Roman victory. The pictures were read from windows of adjoining Libraries that have now disappeared.
The old Roman open market in the Ancient City center
I'm not sure what this is. Probably nothing important...
In the Jewish Ghetto of Rome is this ruin of the first house with 4 porticos. We had a lunch including fried artichokes next door.
wandering the back alleys of Rome
The Pantheon is one of the wonders of Roman engineering. The height to the oculus is equal to the diameter of the floor, so a 43.3 meter sphere could fit inside the building. This is the largest unreinforced concrete dome in the history of architecture
Natives lounging in the park next to the zoo
Ever wonder what happens to all the loose change that tourist throw into the Trevi fountain? 3,000 euros a day are collected, and creative theives (with magnetic poles) have tried to keep the coins from their usual goal: subsidizing a supermarket for the needy
We got to the fountain before it was running, and while it was still getting ready for the day. The fountain originally marked the end of the Aqua Virgo aqueduct.
Hungy? Photos of bakeries is a theme of these travelogues. We found this on the way to the Tiber from the Trevi Fountain in a back alley.
This looks impressive, but isn't a museum, it's the main courthouse in Rome.
An old style tram running past the Vatican Museum.
This shot may explain why we didn't get in to see the Sistine Chapel: the 4-5 hour wait in 90+ degree temperatures. This is only the back half of the crowd.
Another shot of people far more interested in standing in line in the sun than I am.
St. Peter's cathedral from the piazza. There was another enormous line to get in here: the start of the line is in the foreground, and you can see it snake up the steps in the background
In Rome's central market, where one can buy any number of spices.
Everywhere in Rome there are domes. The just pop into view at odd moments.
An important tourist moment: where are we going next?
Did I mention domes? This is the view from the Capitoline hill, looking towards the Tiber. That's St. Peter's dome on the left.
The backside of the Victor Emmanuel Monument, built to honor the first king of unified Italy in 1885
A quick train ride took us to Florence, where late afternoon shadows were already shading il Duomo (the cathedral in Italian)
Florence is full of shops selling very pricey, but very nice things. This one is full of hand-carved wood objects, including a car, and a motorcycle in the front window.
Michaelangelo's version of me. Well, actually, it's just a reproduction in the piazza della Signoria outside the Uffitzi galleries.
Sitting on the Ponte Vecchio (old bridge) watching tourist cross the Arno.
Typical back street on the south side of Florence
A quick train ride through Pisa (no, didn't see the tower) brought us to La Spezia for a daylong hike through the cinque terre. Here's the view from the hotel room.
The cinque terre is a national park with 5 towns that were originally only accessable by boat from the sea. They're now linked by rail lines (and some by roads). The views along the path are quite lovely.
On the Via dell'Amore between Riomaggiore and Manorola, the flattests, and shortest of the sections
Riomaggiore from the train station
Riomaggiore again (I think)
From here it's easy to see why the cities, like Riomaggiore, were so isolated.
What's the best thing to do when hiking along the coast? Take a swim, of course!
at the bottom of an endless number of steps leading up to Corniglia.
Space is at a premium when you're building on cliffs next to the sea.
The view from the hills above Corniglia, showing how town, terraced farms and wilderness meld
Hiking down into Vernazza
After a brief swim, a nap and some liquids (did I mention it was hot?), we hiked back up out of Vernazza on our way to Monterosso
Almost at the end...
The approach to Monterosso
Mustard and ketchup take a nap by the sea after the hike.
In the hills above Monterosso, next to someone's garden
Somewhere in Monterosso we stole a lemon from a tree, and keren decided it would be good to eat straight.
A quick train ride took us to Genoa, where we found more bakeries. The great irony was that the heat sapped my appetite, so I never actually got to eat any of these cookies.
Exploring the old city of Genoa. This is the piazza of one of the old homes, now a museum.
The old part of Genoa is still small, winding streets that are easy to get lost in, but full of interesting discoveries. We finally felt as if we had gotten away from the tourists of Rome and Florence.
A museum on one side of the piazza de Ferrari in central Genoa
Another shot from the Piazza de Ferrari
The fountain in the center of town
A colorful building facade along the port
San Lorenzo, the Duomo of Genoa
A 19th century lion guarding the steps to the Duomo
Palazzo Ducale, the old seat of the doges of Genoa is now an arts and cultural center
Our hilarious bathroom in the hotel in Genoa: a small room was actually constructed in the corner of our bigger room to hold the sink and toilet.
The tiny room with the toilet is also the shower! We learned to ask small hotels if we could see the room before paying our money after this experience.
A scene from along the Passeggiata Anita Garibaldi in Nervi, just outside Genoa, a very nice walkway along the ocean.
In the train station waiting to head to Torino
From the bottom of Il Mole, a building started as a synagogue, but now the cinema museum in Torino
Via Garibaldi in Torino, named after the Italian patriot who helped unify italy in 1860
I had to take a photo of my friend Alberto's company offices, just above a purfume shop. What better place for a software company?
The impetus for the trip was Alberto's wedding, which happened in the morning at the Mayor's offices. Here are Several of Alberto's co-workers, Marco and Matteo, as well as Marco's girlfriend, waiting for the bride to arrive.
In the marriage hall. The bride and groom are already seated.
Kids dressed up after the ceremony
It's illegal to throw rice after the wedding, it turns out, so everyone blew bubbles.
In the evening was a big party at the bride's father's house in the countryside. We had a great time as we worked our way through a suptuous 7 course meal. At our table was Allesandro, who offered to translate dinner conversation for us, but only the "non-dirty" parts.
A grey sunday after the wedding led us to il Mole again, to see the museum and the view from the top.
Torino from the tallest building in town
Back on the ground we happened across a parade of old autos headed to an auto show in the main square.
Walking though one of the alleys, on our way to a café for hot chocolate.
Sunday afternoon we caught the TGV from Torino to Paris, a very scenic 5 hour ride through the alps
In Paris: a shop that sells old military decorations in the Palais Royale
One of my favorite restaurants in Paris: a little vietnamese place in a back alley of the Marais district. You have your choice of Pho, Soup with beef balls, or Bo Bun.
The restaurant from the outside.
Standing in line to see the Picasso museum
A woman with a pram made out of spare parts
A goat made out of an old basket, branches and some plaster.
Refueling in the Marais with a crême and pastry.
The basement of a vintage clothing store where Keren found a light winter coat for 10 euros.
The Pantheon, on our way to the Luxemburg gardens.
Chopin's grave in Père Lachaise cemetary.
Théodore Sivel and his lover Joseph Croce-Spinelli died in a balooning accident 26,000 feet over India, when they were asphyxiated by lack of oxygen. The lie hand in hand, covered by a sheet in Père Lachaise.
A typical french bakery. How to choose?
There was a modern architecture exhibit in the Louve while we were there. This is one of the pieces.
Napoleon III built state apartments in the Louve during his reign, which make a nice change from looking at paintings.
The Louve's two Vermeers. Both are smaller than you think they are based on reproductions.
We visited the Louve one of the days when it's open into the evening, and enjoyed a sunset from one of the galleries, looking out over the courtyard.
In the metro, with a big poster behind her.
In Trinité, listening to a choir during a free lunchtime performance.
Lunch on the grounds of Trinité: flan and a prune tart for desert.
The outside of Trinité, where the composer Olivier Messian was head organist for 50 years.
The Pompedeu center from an alley in the Marais.
One of my favorite paintings in the Pompedeu, a Yves Klein "tribute to Tennessee Williams"
Notre Dame de Lorette with Sacre Coeur in the background.
A typical view of Paris: the back end of the church St. Merri next to a house, with an old drunk trying to open a bottle of wine in front of it.
I was in Paris during the "Fête du Jardins", a garden festival, during which the city planted a temporary garden in front of city hall.
Notre Dame from an alley in Ile de la Cité.
Notre Dame from the other side.
A modern extension of an old building across the street from the Louvre.
A nice urban garden in the Parc de Bercy
A friendly egret and fish in the Parc de Bercy.
The tower of the Gare d'Lyon train station.
A statue in the Jardin des Plants
Flowers in the Jardin Des Plants
I loved the look of this one, and I know you're going to ask me what it is....
So I took a picture of the sign. It's a Wig tree.
The Paris Mosque, which has a great café for tea, and hamam
I happened across a wedding at the place d'Italie on a walk.
A map of the neighborhood on the side of a building.
Walking across the Seine with Valarie and Thomas, from the Mitterand Library to the Parc de Bercy
Funny statues representing different cities in the Parc de Bercy
This statue represents Rio. Can you guess why?
Trying to figure out what city....