- View of Riga
Wonderful view in all directions. - View of Riga
What a difference a day makes! I visited St. Peter's Church again to actually see the view :-) - Freedom monument (Brīvības piemineklis)
The Freedom monument was designed by Kārlis Zāle and built in 1935. - Bird skyscraper
Now this is a brilliant way of reusing an old tree. - Jugendstil quarter
Detail at the entrance into one of the many wonderful houses in Alberta ilea. - Jugendstil quarter
One of many wonderful buildings in the Jugendstil (Art Nouveau) Quarter. - Jugendstil quarter
One of many wonderful buildings in the Jugendstil (Art Nouveau) Quarter. - Jugendstil quarter
One of many wonderful buildings in the Jugendstil (Art Nouveau) Quarter. - Jugendstil quarter
One of many wonderful buildings in the Jugendstil (Art Nouveau) Quarter. - Jugendstil quarter
One of many wonderful buildings in the Jugendstil (Art Nouveau) Quarter. Designed by Mikhail Eisenstein. - Christmas decorations
More Christmas decorations in Kronvalda park. Unfortunately I wasn't there at night. - Lago di Levico
View from the other side of the lake, towards Levico Terme. - Turkey tail fungus
I think these are turkey tail fungi. I may be wrong though. - Lago di Levico
Ideal for swimming and paddling. - Lago di Levico
There is a wonderful walking path around the lake. - Lago di Levico
The lake is 2840 m long, 950 m wide and 38 m deep. - Lago di Levico
Lago di Levico was awarded Bandiera Blue for excellent water quality. - Sign in an underpass
Hmmm... - Monserrate park
Again, no idea what this is. Some sort of blossoming succulent. - Monserrate park
I think this is some kind of cycad, but I really can't figure out which one. - Monserrate Main Hall
The ceiling in the Main hall. - Music room
The ceiling in the Music room. Apparently there is wonderful acoustic in this room. Not if it is crowded with tourists... - Gallery in Monserrate
- Gallery in Monserrate
- Monserrate Main Hall
I do have a soft spot for this kind of architecture. - Monserrate
In 1846, Francis Cook, the 1st Viscount of Monserrate, built this Gothic-Indian-Moorish-shiny-pretty palace. - Triton fountain
The base of the Triton fountain. What a lovely angry fish this is. - Monserrate
Triton fountain in the park of Monserrate. - Palácio Nacional de Mafra
- Palácio Nacional de Mafra
One of the largest royal palaces, this one was commissioned by João V and built in 1717-1755. And yes, there is wildfire smoke in the background. - Cloister
What a lovely cloister this is. - Doors in one of the cloister
I don't quite get these doors, to be honest. - Marble Hallway
- Room of discoveries
Ceiling in the Room of Discoveries by Bernardo António de Oliveira Góis (c. 1770-c. 1820) and Cyrillo Volkmar Machado (1748-1823). - Cabo Carvoeiro
- Cabo Carvoeiro
A fogbow, also known as white rainbow. Because, well, it forms on fog and is whitish. - Ilhéu da Papôa
If you look closely, you will see a catamaran in the fog. Well, the hull is hidden in the fog, but the sail peeks out. - Ilhéu da Papôa
- Hotel garden
- Praia da Gigi
- Praia da Gigi
- Praia da Gigi
What a wonderful misty - foggy - haary morning :-) - Fog!
I just learned a new word: sea fog is called haar. And yes, there was a lot of fog in the morning. - Sunset
And the northern tip of Corsica. - Isola di Pianosa
We call it the 'pancake' island. You can guess why. - Chiessi
Chiessi, of course. My favourite spot on the whole island. - Sunset
A wonderful sunset on the way back home. - Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore
Last view of the duomo ... until next time ;-) - Fountain of Neptune
Designed by Baccio Bandinelli and created by Bartolomeo Ammannati between 1560 and 1574. - Palazzo Vecchio
Another one of the many Austrian towns: Graz. - Palazzo Vecchio
This court is full of Austrian towns, painted in 1565 by Giorgio Vasari for the wedding celebration of Francesco I de' Medici to Archduchess Johanna of Austria. This is obviously Vienna, with Stephansdom. - Footpath towards Piazzale Michelangelo
This is one way of repairing collapsing stairs :-) - View from Piazzale Michelangelo
- View from Piazzale Michelangelo
- View from Piazzale Michelangelo
- Footpath towards Piazzale Michelangelo
A wonderful pathway up the Piazzale Michelangelo. - Porta San Niccolò
Stone gate in fortification walls from 1324. The walls are gone now, but the entrance tower remains. - Detail
Street lamps in Florence have very interesting bases ;-) Oh, and they are of course three-legged. - Very colourful Florence
Across the river Arno. - Arno
- Ponte Vecchio
THE brige across Arno. Built/destroyed several times. This one is from 1345 and still holds. Butchers used to have their shops here, but were replaced with goldsmiths because of the smell. - Rape/kidnapping of the Sabine Women
English wikipedia: Rape, also known as kidnapping. Slovenian wikipedia: Kidnapping, also known as rape. Oh well. By Giambologna (1583). - Medusa
Medusa's head from the statue Perseus with the Head of Medusa by Benvenuto Cellini (1545-1554) located in the Loggia dei Lanzi. - David, of course
A copy of Michelangelo's David. The original (1504) was moved to Galleria dell'Accademia in 1873. - Hercules and Cacus
Hercules and Cacus by Baccio Bandinelli (1525-1534). - Palazzo Vecchio
Grotesque or not, I like them a lot. - Palazzo Vecchio
Officially, such decorations are called grotesque. - Palazzo Vecchio
A lion in the Palazzo Vecchio. No, this time we didn't enter it, just walked around the palace a bit. - Fountain of Neptune
Designed by Baccio Bandinelli and created by Bartolomeo Ammannati between 1560 and 1574. - DSC 9615
- Giotto's Campanile
Daedalus by Andrea Pisano. Here I can actually understand why the marble is called 'green'. - Giotto's Campanile
Giotto stared building this tower in 1334. He combined white marble from Carrara, green marble from Prato, and red marble from Siena. The tower was completed in 1359. - Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore
The cathedral was built between 1296 and 1436, but the facade was added 1887. I feel like I have been lied to. - Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore
- :-)
Two doggos watching the Florence Cathedral. - Basilica di San Lorenzo
Here used to be a super-old church (from 393), then another 11th century romanesque one, and in 1470 this one was completed. - Giovanni delle Bande Nere
Giovanni delle Bande Nere (1498–1526) was the father of Cosimo I de Medici. The statue is by Baccio Bandinelli (1560). - Basilica of Santa Maria Novella
One of the many sails on the facade, which was added to the church in 1456–1470. - Basilica of Santa Maria Novella
Just a quick stroll through the city. Starting with Santa Maria Novella, built in 1276-1420. - Il Castello di Perchia
And another view from our castle kitchen. - Spring in Umbria
And a lovely blossoming tree. - A house
What a lovely remote cottage in the hills of Umbria. - Monte Pradafitta
I may be wrong, but my guess would be wild orchids. A lot of them. - Monte Pradafitta
Again, my guess would be wild orchid. - Monte Pradafitta
View from Monte Pradafitta (1261 m) towards Pettino. - Spring in Umbria
- Spring in Umbria
- Spring in Umbria
- Spring in Umbria
- Valley of Nera
View towards east, including Borgo di Castel San Felice and (possibly) Monte Coscerno (1684 m). - Ex Ferrovia Spoleto - Norcia
One of the last photos with our bikes before they were stolen... - Ex Ferrovia Spoleto - Norcia
The longest tunnel is 1936 m long. Almost 2 km in total total darkness. Galleria di Valico Caprareccia. - Ex Ferrovia Spoleto - Norcia
A super interesting cycling path along the old railway. Plenty of bridges and tunnels. - La Cucumelle
View of La Cucumelle (2698 m) from our apartment at sunrise - La Cucumelle
View of La Cucumelle (2698 m) from our apartment before sunrise