- Palazzo Vecchio del Podestà
A lantern in the entrance hall of the old town hall. It was super hot and sunny, so vaulted entrances like this are a fine invention. Rebuilt in 1239 and enlarged in 1337. - Sunset in Caparica
Costa da Caparica and the hills of Sintra in the background. - Hall of Destiny
The ceiling in the Hall of Destiny: Lusitania, surrounded by the Portugal kings. Afonso Henriques, who has the Book of Destinies of Portugal, is surrounded by Hugues Capet, King of France, and Henry of Burgundy, father of Afonso Henriques. - Rubber ducklings!
Now this is a lot of rubber ducks! - A detail in Théoule-sur-Mer
What a lovely detail on a house in Théoule! - Lunch!
Plat du jour at the Restaurant d'altitude L'Etoile des Neiges. Potatoes with vegetables and (plenty of goat cheese). - Madame Carle
Statue of Madame Carle by Christian Burger (2017). Plenty of legends about the Madame Carle, but basically she lived here in the early 16th century as the wife of Geoffroy Carle, Président du parlement du Dauphiné. Now Pré de Madame Carle up the valley is a very touristic spot. Next time. - Saint Etienne Church in Vallouise
What a lovely pretty ceiling. - Biot
A very picturesque house in central Biot. A lovely detail is the missing paint on 'dog's corner' ;-) - Chambre d'Amour in Valbonne
- Le Cirque Bleu by Chagall
Marc Chagall, Le Cirque Bleu (1950-1952), detail. Moon playing a violin, but of course. - La Création de l'homme by Chagall
Marc Chagall, The Creation of Man (1956-1958). - Le Paradis by Chagall
Marc Chagall, Le Paradis (1961). Eve's creation on the left and the Temptation on the right. - Adam et Ève Chassés du Paradis by Chagall
Marc Chagall, Adam and Eve Expelled from Paradise (1961). Self-portrait in the top right corner. Animals look away but the mother with the child "confirms this rather optimistic vision of the Sin". - Paysage Méditerranéen by Chagall
A tapestry by Chagall (1971). He claimed he was born for the second time once he moved to Côte d'Azur (Vence). The left sun is above St. Paul de Vence and the right sun above Nice. - La Création de l'homme by Chagall
Marc Chagall, The Creation of Man (1956-1958), detail. And just like that, there's someone hanging upside-down on a pole, while God is creating Adam. - Adam et Ève Chassés du Paradis by Chagall
Marc Chagall, Adam and Eve Expelled from Paradise (1961), detail. My favourite part of the painting. - Carpobrotus
I just have a special affinity for this plant. - Traudl and Franz
- Il Castello di Perchia
Our hotel was actually a castle, dating back to the 14th century. - Il Castello di Perchia
A wonderfully renovated castle. We were the only guests in the whole castle ;-) - Local art
- Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta
Frescoes (1477) - Spoleto underground
Spoleto has an interesting (and very practical) underground. - Spring in Umbria
- Spring in Umbria
- Spring in Umbria
- Monte Pradafitta
I may be wrong, but my guess would be wild orchids. A lot of them. - Collegiata di Santa Maria Assunta
Old Testament by Bartolo di Fredi (~1360). - Collegiata di Santa Maria Assunta
New Testament by Barna da Siena and/or Lippo Memmi (~1345). - Basilica Cateriniana San Domenico
There were several flags in the church, including this one with an angry-looking fish. Actually, the flags represent different districts (contrada) of Siena. This one represents Onda, a district of carpenters. And that is a dolphin. - Siena souvenirs
Unfortunately they didn't have the right size ;-) - Siena Cathedral
Detail of Pinturicchio's Mount of Wisdom (1505): Crates of Thebes who is throwing jewels into the sea. - Siena Cathedral
The divine interior of the Cathedral. - Siena Cathedral
Floors in the Piccolomini Library. - Eroica bike race
It kind of looked ... familiar ;-) - Eroica bike race
Plenty of retro knitted jerseys. - Palazzo Vecchio
Officially, such decorations are called grotesque. - Palazzo Vecchio
Grotesque or not, I like them a lot. - 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. - Sunset
A wonderful sunset on the way back home. - Monte Capanne
Early morning start towards Monte Capanne. The bird-cages did not run yet. - Hermitage of San Cerbone
Saint Cerbone moved here in the 6th century, this church is from the 15th century. There is a lovely pique-nique area behind the church. - Night in Caparica
View from our hotel room. - Caparica sunset
Another sunset in Caparica. But the Sintra hills are already cloudy. - 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). - Cloister
What a lovely cloister this is. - 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. - Palácio Nacional de Mafra
- Monserrate park
I think this is some kind of cycad, but I really can't figure out which one. - Chalet of the Countess of Edla
Ferdinand II built this for the opera singer Elise Friederike Hensler, later Countess of Edla. The chalet is alpine like - but dressed in cork. - Carpobrotus edulis
The whole Cabo is covered with carpobrotus. This one is yellow. - Chiesa del Santissimo Redentore
- Levico Terme
Some artificial flowers in the town centre. - Sweets in Levico Terme
Some delicious sweets from a local patisserie. - The Christmas market
The Christmas spirit at the Christmas market in the Dome Square. Even the recycling bins are in festive mood :-) - The Cat's House
Well, here I regretted not carrying my proper camera. Because I couldn't zoom in to the statue of the cat on top of the roof. - Christmas decorations
A giant moon in Bastejkalna parks. - Christmas decorations
The inside of the moon :-) - Christmas decorations
Bastejkalna Park and the wonderful Christmas decorations. The key is the symbol of Riga.