I Finally Needed a Passport!

Yes, in all my years I have never been out of the country until now and I went on a whirlwind trip to Italy.  All the things I saw are running together but I want to share some of my adventure with you.

Below is a beautiful clock in Padua which is not far from Venice.  Look closely to see the zodiac on it.

I'm not sure these were real but they looked very pretty.

This hole was open in this cathedral and let the rain through to another hole in the floor

Every inch was painted in beauty--breath taking.

Now I'm beginning to realize just how dowdy we leave the 5th wall.

Glorious ruins.

 At one time stone was mined from the Coliseum.  Fortunately that was stopped before all the glory was gone.

The Tower of Pisa loomed bigger than life as I started down the street toward it.

Mosaics that look like a quilt.

The joke was on me.  By the time I reached the top, my camera battery was dead.

I stopped here on the pretext of taking Dean's picture as he climbed the stairs behind me.

Statues were everywhere.  I can't imagine living or working in such an environment.

Isn't this color just wonderful?

My niece, Katie getting on the gondola.  I wandered the alleys while some of my family took the ride which they reported was very interesting.

The traffic seemed willy-nilly in Venice.

 Still in Venice.  Just one of the many pieces of art.

Guess who's skirt was too short to enter the cathedral?  Katie was given this lovely orange wrap to use.

Do not think that a lunette would be left undecorated.

Balcony from which the Pope gives addresses.

No really tall building but plenty of narrow passages.

A bit of random graffiti that should be on my next post.  Notice the little bird appearing to sit on the blue line.  Very clever, I thought.

Another bit of beauty.

I was fascinated by the lack of signs (which I call visual clutter) and the harmonious building colors from whitish to yellow, to orange and finally to brown.  That was all.  The tiny cars and motor scooters and women pedaling bicycles all dressed up with their high heels was so different from here.   Every time our bus stopped at a traffic light, a bunch of scooter would, well, scoot to the front of the line. Those tiny cars and scooters not only used less fuel but were much easier to squeeze into a parking place.

Ciao!