- Château de Chenonceau
Every room had its own fireplace, making the castle rather cosy. This is a detail on the fireplace in Chambre de François Ier. - Puy de Pariou
Plenty of butterflies around here. - Puy de Pariou
A crowded thistle. - Museo Arcivescovile
Immortal peacocks on a sarcophagus. - Saint Andrew's Chapel
The ceiling in the narthex. Plenty of different birds, most notably the famous ducks, and the white lilies. - Saint Andrew's Chapel
Narthex of the chapel depicting Christ dressed as Roman emperor, standing on a lion and a snake (Psalm 91). His book says EGO SVM VIA VERITAS ET VITA - I am the way, the truth, the life. The top part is original mosaic, the bottom part is just painted! - Saint Andrew's Chapel
I told you it was fake. Just painted on the wall. Oh well. - Saint Andrew's Chapel
Saint Mark's lion holding the thickest Gospel - despite Mark's Gospel being the shortest of all four. - Col de Montgenèvre
A historically super-important pass, known already to Romans (including Julius Caesar). But, as you can guess, also a possible route for Hannibal. "Does not lie in sleep." - Abbazia di Sant'Antimo
Capital with Daniel and the Lions by Master von Cabestany (12th century). - Fountain
A relief on an early Renaissance water basin with the coat-of-arms of the monastery. - The Fourth Rider of the Apocalypse, detail
Detail of the Fourth Rider of the Apocalypse by Imants Lancmanis (from 2007-2009). Painting is in the National Museum of Art. - A swordfish!
A swordfish in the middle of the Alps. At least not as scary as gigantic ants nearby. Made by local artists (Lahu, Fermor & Ducret). - A penguin
Of course. - Jeju
- A peacock
- !
This is where the sea turtle lay her eggs. - Porto Azzurro
Via Nardelli Vincenzo - Elba aquarium
- Elba aquarium
A sawfish bone - Cow with glasses
Bäckerstraße 12, probably 16th century. A cow. With glasses. Playing Backgammon. With a dog. - Double-headed eagle
On the corner of Stephansplatz and Jasomirgottstrasse. - Mammoth hut
A shelter made of mammoth bones and skin. Looks surprisingly comfy. - Kookaburra
- Flamingo
American flamingo - Flamingo
American flamingo - Jellyfish
They have over 25 different species of jellyfish in the Vienna Zoo so I'm not really sure which one is this. My guess would be white-spotted jellyfish (Phyllorhiza punctata), native to the western Pacific. - Paper kite
Paper kite (Idea leuconoe) butterfly and its chrysalises (pupae). - Orang-Utan
This Orang-Utan's (Pongo pygmaeus) BFF is a waiter from the neighbouring restaurant. - Arctic wolf
The arctic wolf (Canis lupus arctos) wasn't in the mood. - Stephansdom
The roof of the Stephansdom. - Santi di Tito - Detail
Santi di Tito - Detail. Museo Civico, Sansepolcro. - Volta pinta
Volta pinta (1556) - Loggia under Palazzo del Comune in Assisi. The frescoes are inspired by Nero's Domus Aurea in Rome. Painted probably by Raffaello Coda da Rimini. - Volta pinta
Volta pinta (1556) - Loggia under Palazzo del Comune in Assisi. The frescoes are inspired by Nero's Domus Aurea in Rome. Painted probably by Raffaello Coda da Rimini. Honestly, I don't know how to feel about this image... - Volta pinta (1556) - Loggia under Palazzo del Comune in Assisi
The frescoes are inspired by Nero's Domus Aurea in Rome. Painted probably by Raffaello Coda da Rimini. Inspired by Nero probably explains it. - Volta pinta (1556) - Loggia under Palazzo del Comune in Assisi
Volta pinta (1556) - Loggia under Palazzo del Comune in Assisi. The frescoes are inspired by Nero's Domus Aurea in Rome. Painted probably by Raffaello Coda da Rimini. Yes, Nero. - Fontana Maggiore
Fontana Maggiore (1275-1278), Perugia. Romulus and Remus and their wolf-mother. - Dragon underneath San Crescentino in front of the cathedral, Urbino
San Cresentino is the patron saint of Urbino. - Remains of a Roman sarcophagus
Palazzo Ducale, Urbino. - Napoleon's villa
First French Empire coat of arms with an eagle holding thunderbolts. - Elba
- Santo Stefano alle Trane
- An allegory of melancholy
An allegory of melancholy (1528) by Lucas Cranach, detail. This is a group of witches riding in the sky (a boar, a cow, a cat? ...) - An allegory
An allegory (1590) by El Greco, Domenikos Theotokopoulos. A very unusual painting, probably illustrating "the simple moralising message that lust appeals to our foolish and baser instincts". - The Monarch of the Glen
The Monarch of the Glen (~1851) by Sir Edwin Landseer - San Giacomo e San Quirico
A grave in the church of San Giacomo e San Quirico in Rio nell'Elba. - Church of the Holy Souls
The Nativity scene. Set is a mixture of 16th century buildings as well as more recent ones. - A tile on a wall
Not the official coat of arms of Marciana, but it could be. - Tiger graffiti
Tiger graffiti in Èze. Exceptionally well made. - Fancy shoes in a shop in Cannes
- Dog sleigh!
Oooh, next time I'm trying this as well! Mushing add!ct. - San Rufino Cathedral
Two hungry lions at the entrance. - San Rufino Cathedral
Spider-dog! On the Assisi Cathedral! I wonder what the official explanation is. - Chiesa di San Pietro Extra Moenia
The two panels indicating the contrast between posthumous fates of a righteous man (above) and of a sinner (below). - Chiesa di San Pietro Extra Moenia
The main portal with the reliefs of a peacock pecking grapes (top), a grazing cow (middle), and a man driving a yoke of oxen, while his dog jumps up in front (bottom). - Chiesa di San Pietro Extra Moenia
The story about the lion and the woodcutter. - La Fontana Maggiore
The fountain was built in 1275-1278. And it's still standing in the main square. Here we see: The she-wolf that fed Romulus, Remus and their mother Rea Silvia; Two of Aesop's fables (the fox and the crane and the wolf and the lamb); January (a gentleman and his wife at the hearth - Aquarius) - La Fontana Maggiore
Here we see: May (two Knights on Falconry - Gemini); June (the harvest and flailing - Cancer); July (the threshing and the division of wheat - Lion). - La Fontana Maggiore
Here we see: The Lion Guelph and the Griffin of Perugia; with a bit of December on the left and a bit of Grammar and Dialectic on the right. - 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 Cathedral
She-wolf of Siena, surrounded with emblems of confederate cities, dating from 1373. - Siena Cathedral
The Hellespontine Sibyl (detail) by Neroccio di Bartolomeo. She was known for her prediction of Crucifixion. The wolf and the lion represent Siena and Florence. - Abbazia di Sant'Antimo
The exterior is full of funny creatures. - Abbazia di Sant'Antimo
Capital with Daniel and the Lions by Master von Cabestany (12th century). - Abbazia di Sant'Antimo
Another lovely creature on the church. - Abbazia di Sant'Antimo
- Abbazia di Sant'Antimo
I did say a lot of strange creatures, right? - Palazzo Bucelli
The bottom part of this palace is decorated with plenty of Etruscan and Roman remains. Some are quite interesting. - Palazzo Bucelli
A fish biting a pegasussnake? - Pozzo dei Grifi e dei Leoni
Two griffons and two lions holding the Medici coat of arms. - :-)
Two doggos watching the Florence Cathedral. - Palazzo Vecchio
A lion in the Palazzo Vecchio. No, this time we didn't enter it, just walked around the palace a bit. - Miradouro de Santa Luzia
An angry fish at the Miradouro de Santa Luzia - Tiles in Alfama
Finding little treasures while getting lost in Alfama. - Gargoyle in the cloister
A rather interesting gargoyle. - Triton fountain
The base of the Triton fountain. What a lovely angry fish this is. - Quinta da Rigaleira
Heh, this lovely creature is quite literally biting its ass ;-) - A random armadillo
Armadillo by Liene Mackus. - The Christmas market
Plenty of bunnies in the Christmas market. This one was in Esplanade. - Christmas decorations
More Christmas decorations in Kronvalda park. Unfortunately I wasn't there at night. - Mushing
These super-adorable dogs waiting for the start. - Mushing
My kids are in there, in the sleigh. And they are enjoying it. A lot! - And a frog!
A super-cute frog. These animals are apparently illuminated at night. - Court of the Lions
The Lion Fountain that gives the name to the Court. On the rim of the fountain, there's a poem by Ibn Zamrak, describing the beauty of the fountain. - Court of the Lions
The Court was built by Muhammad V around 1380. - Alpine chough
- Alpine chough
It is so dark, it almost looks like a crevasse in the ice. - A marmot!
Despite the crowds, there was a marmot running around the cottage. - An ibex!
- Panda Bâ
Panda Bâ by Julien Marinetti, it was placed here just two weeks prior to our visit. - Tapestry
A magnificent almost 8 m long "thousand flowers" tapestry is from the 16th century. What an interesting motif... - Château de Chenonceau
Another magninficent fireplace, this one is in the Salon Louis XIV. The salamander and the ermine are the symbols of Francis I and his wife Claude of France. - Arromanches
- Mont Saint-Michel
Well, hello! Bonjour! - Pointe du Grouin
Some art on a WWII bunker. - Saint Andrew's Chapel
The dome is decorated with four angels pointing towards IX, and the four symbols of the evangelists. - Museo Arcivescovile
Pulpit - ambo (597) shows plenty of animals as well as Saints John and Paul. Made out of a reused old sarcophagus. - Museo Arcivescovile
- Domus dei Tappeti di Pietra
The Good Shepherd, depicted as a pretty well-off young man with fancy shoes and stockings. This mosaic was found on a different (older) level that the previous ones. - Classe
My guess would be that the difference in green background also means the border between the original and restored mosaics.