Visiting Italy usually brings to mind Rome and Florence, pasta and cappuccinos, cobbled streets, frescos, museums and plenty of crowds. However, you can visit Italy and enjoy an entirely different kind of holiday that’s packed with hiking, yachting, lounging on…
Here is the last shot from my five weeks in Finland and France. From here on out I will get back to my goal of posting the photo on the day I took it. I spent most of my final…
Ok. This wasn't today. It was last week. But I loved this place. It was stunning and I wanted to share this photo. The Gavarnie Cirque is a glacier carved amphitheater-shaped valley located in the central Pyrenees. This is a massive chunk…
The tourist shops at the base of Gavarnie are just opening for spring. The old lady was wrapped in a coat and sat in the sun. "Take what you want," she said. She waved her hand without looking at me…
It seems odd from here at Lady of Lourdes I attended Mass for the first time in 25 years. I must have gotten caught up in all the excitement of a service at Lady of Lourdes. Or, maybe it was…
I walked straight up the mountain out of Bagnères-de-Bigorre at noon. The last of the autumn leaves were so thick they were like ice under my feet where the trail went steep; which was most places. I saw a Bearded…
Espelette France is famous for its...non-spicy chile. Being from New Mexico, I can't understand the point of chile without a little kick but so it is. The town even took out a patent on their chile then plastered stings…
On Saturday morning all the thin, winding streets of this little town filled with tables of garden vegetables, apple cider, fresh fish, deep red horse meat, piles of cheeses, home-made breads, flowers and clothes. The streets are packed and the…
Pic du Midi France , Hautes-Pyrénées. I'm in the little village of Bagnères-de-Bigorre right at the base of the mountains. Spring time, flowers popping out everywhere! ##
Of course the Portuguese had gotten all out of control. Timayya had done his work well and the Bijapur kings were out of the way. Goa belonged to Portugal and everyone was rich from slaving and spices. Other than to…
Morning train south from Vasa. The air is bright and blue and clean. Talitiainen, the Great Tit, sings its squeaky wheelbarrow song. Trumpeter swans bark overhead. The first day of spring (my lovely daughter's birthday...on the plane home this morning)…
Ice Fishing. The Perfect Shot. It wasn't the first train of the day but I was on my way from Helsinki to Vasa by 9am yesterday. The journey takes about five hours and is about as comfortable as you…