The World Through Our Lens
Who wouldn’t want to visit Florence to look upon some of the most famous sculptures in the world: Michelangelo’s sculpture David, Bartolomeo Ammannati’s Fountain of Neptune, and Donatello’s heraldic lions? The artistic and architectural heritage of Florence goes far beyond those sculptures and led to this city, the capital of Italy’s Tuscany region, being called the birthplace of The Renaissance. Read more
Of particular interest to both Bob and me when we visited Florence, Italy, was the famed medieval stone bridge known as Ponte Vecchio. Read more
When Bob and I set off from Quirpon, a picturesque village on the northern tip of the Great Northern Peninsula of Newfoundland in Canada, it was to Quirpon Island that we were headed for a stay at the Quirpon Lighthouse Inn. Read more
San Gimignano is a well-preserved medieval hill town in the Italian province of Siena that is famous as the town “with a thousand towers”. Dominating the horizon from its perch, San Gimignano creates an unforgettable skyline complete with its encircling stone walls and towers. No wonder it was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Read more
Way before Bob and I decided to go to New Zealand, I held close to my heart the idea of one day visiting Hobbiton. When we viewed the movie, The Hobbit, I fell in love with the whimsical Hobbit Holes that Bilbo Baggins and Frodo called home. The dome-shaped dwellings captured the imagination of my inner child, and the seemingly utopian bucolic lifestyle struck a chord with me. Read more
Of all the ancient ruins in Rome, Italy, for me it was The Colosseum that I most looked forward to seeing and exploring. We did not make straight there on our first full day in the city, but instead preferred to set the stage by checking out The Roman Forum just east of there which gave us a sneak peak of the iconic stadium from one vantage point. Read more
It was becoming a habit, it seemed, for Bob and me to wake up between 6-6:30 a.m., and the day following our hike on the Bright Angel Trail was no different. Because our leg muscles were way too spent for any other activity, our intentions were to drive across Arizona into Colorado to Mesa Verde National Park. Once there, we were absolutely in awe of the excellent examples of preserved and protected cliff dwellings once used by Pueblo people. Read more
A slow tour of the Connemara region in County Galway was our aim after leaving County Mayo. Its mix of blanket bogs, lakes, mountains and moorlands is reputed to be awe-inspiring and unspoilt, a perfect example of natural beauty. Bob and I were off the sheets early to an already wet morning, and rain was expected to settle in for the day. Our route to Ros an Mhil (Rossaveal) was undecided, but we intended to catch a ferryboat at noon, that is until we rounded a corner and were brought up short by the jaw-dropping beauty of Kylemore Abbey. Read more
The day preceding our hike on the Bright Angel Trail at Grand Canyon National Park, saw Bob and me taking it easy and making the necessary preparations for our lengthy endeavour. We purchased lots of salty snacks, lunch supplies, energy bars and fruit, knowing full well that the demands on our bodies would probably be the most extreme we had ever experienced. With our alarm set for 4 a.m., and plans to hit the trail by 5 a.m., Bob and I intended to retire early, but in the end, we hit the hay about the same time as usual…10:30 p.m. We were full of anticipation and trepidation. Were we really up to the task? Read more