We’re heading to Europe again this year and I can’t wait. We’ll be traveling down the Danube River on one of the river boats. It should be great, assuming the river levels are not too high or low….. Apparently, that’s a potential real problem with river cruises…..
Anyway, tonight’s post from a previous Europe trip. I love Trevi Fountain.
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I’ve posted photos from this spot a few times in the past. And I’ll probably post a few more in the future, because it is easily my favorite fountain in the world…. At least at this point. As you probably know, this fountain is in the Trevi district of Rome Italy. It is the largest Baroque fountain in the city and one of the most famous fountains in the world. They started renovations on the fountain to make it more grand in 1732 and finished the job in 1762. It was refurbished in 1988, 1998 and again in 2014. Thankfully the renovations just involved cleaning, repair and replacement of light. It’s hard to imagine they could improve the 1732 design.
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Interestingly, like many famous tourist sites, it is covered with hundreds (maybe thousands depending on the time of day) tourists. So, getting a shot without people in the way is tough. Below is a behind the scene photo to give you an idea of what I mean.
Behind the scene shot….. to many tourist!
This wonderful place is also called Flavian Amphitheatre. Rome has so many historical locations and sites, its impossible to see them all in a single visit. I really enjoyed our stop at the Colosseum, but I wish we could have stayed longer and without the other thousand tourist. They claim it could hold between 50,000 to 80,000 spectators, but I have my doubts. I’ve been in massive modern stadiums that only hold 40,000. I don’t see any way this place could hold as many people as they claim. Anyway….its a great location and worth checking out.
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How was your Wednesday? My week started off great with a Foo Fighters concert in Chicago and been great ever since. My time is short tonight, so I’ll keep this blog post short as well. I took this photo outside the Cathedral in Palermo Italy. I just liked the detail on this portion of the church.
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What an amazing facility!! An Italian Renaissance church (the world’s largest church) inside Vatican City is worth a visit regardless of your religious preference. The architecture, design, and detail is world class. In short, I was wowed!!
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This wonderful church is the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Palermo Sicily in southern Italy. They dedicated it to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. The last restoration took place in the 18th century. It was built in 1185 and was founded by Pope Gregory I. Later, the Saracens turned it into a mosque after their conquest of the city in the 9th century. There are a few sarcophagi inside the cathedral’s crypt. If you ever make it to Sicily, this would be a great stop as part of a walking tour around the city.
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I took a ton of photos of the Trevi Fountain, during our short visit to this great site. Unfortunately, I didn’t get many great photos. I struggled to get good composition with the tourist basically standing shoulder to shoulder in the area around the fountain. It was tough to find an angle without people in the way or even get to the spot I wanted.
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Otherwise know as the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Flore in Florence Italy. It is the main church of Florence. They started construction in 1296 in a Gothic style. It was a quick construction project, only taking them 140 years to complete the structural construction it in 1436. Then the decoration of the exterior began in the 14th century and was completed in 1887. It is a huge structure with over 89,000 square feet inside and the height of the dome is 375.5 feet tall.
It is an outstanding architectural accomplishment and a beauty to see in person. Hopefully, you’ll get a chance to see it in person. As you can see from the photo, it is a popular spot. About ten minutes after I took this shot, the sky opened up and it rained very hard. So we all ran into the Cathedral to wait out the storm and explore the interior. I loved all the small details of the exterior and interior of this amazing building.
To see a larger version click here: https://500px.com/photo/190442781/florence-cathedral-by-brook-ward?ctx_page=1&from=user&user_id=3695440
Florence Cathedral
Unfortunately like many popular spots, there were tourists all over the place. So I aimed the camera up a little to avoid all the people standing between the Cathedral and I. By the way, this Cathedral is located in Florence Italy. This is a great spot with a nice courtyard in front of the church. They started building this facility in 1296 and finished it in 1436. As you can tell, it was a small construction project since it took them 140 to complete it.
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During our Rome Italy visit, we had a short stop at the Colosseum. Unfortunately, our time there was peak tourist time….so there was people everywhere. The forced me to try very hard to capture it in a way that was unique and didn’t have tourists in the way. Thus this photo of the Colosseum in a way you’ve never probably seen before.
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On our trip, we had great weather in Pisa. It was a long day traveling back and forth between Florence and Pisa. But the experience was worth it.
Have a great Memorial Holiday Weekend in the U.S.
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During our trip to Europe, one of our many stops was in Rome. No trip to Rome would be complete without a stop at the Trevi Fountain….at least that’s my opinion. The fountain was designed by Italian architect Nicola Salvi. The construction started in 1732 and was completed in 1762. What an amazing location…..its a must see!!
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Prior to our NYC trip, I did some research looking for a few photo opportunities. As you can imagine, I found lots of typical iconic NYC spots. But I also found a few out of the way little spots that might slip past others. Tonight’s photo is one of these little gems. This street graffiti/mural (art) is in the Little Italy neighborhood near the corner of Kenmare Street and Mott Street.
It was created by Kelsey Montague. Kelsey’s mural (called “Equality Lifts” and “What Lifts You”) was created by her to highlight equality across the human race. I love this as an artist piece of work and for the message she is sending with it. You can see and learn more about her here: http://kelseymontagueart.com/equalitylifts/
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Self Portrait
