A quick detour into Italy for pizza and an amazing creme filled dessert.
Category Archives: Travel
Paris in all its splendor
From the Eiffel Tower to Notre Dame and back.
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Deportation Memorial Île de la Cité
In a quiet little park behind the Notre Dame in Paris is a sobering monument to the 200,000 plus people who were rounded up in France during WWII and sent to concentration camps. This stark but beautiful monument commemorates the Jewish, resistance fighters, gypsies, homosexuals, political prisoners and other people.
The location is purposely claustrophobic with the only relief is a glimpse of the Seine River behind an iron grate.
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Vibrant Provence France
From ancient history to mesmerizing landscapes Provence, France provides unending beauty and a rich background of human experience.
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Arles, France
These colors and light came together in one fleeting moment while I was standing in front of a ruin of a Roman Amphitheater.
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Animal Encounters
Our first encounter with the Madrid “entertainers”. No donation for this one.
Luckily we didn’t see a real bull fight in Sevilla.
But it was in Morocco and Gibraltar where things got crazy!
Camels…
Chickens…heading to slaughter! Yikes!
Cobras in weird places!!!
and then there is this…
lucky for me, that wasn’t a cobra.
and then the gibraltar monkeys…
That looks peaceful, Sharon wasn’t so lucky…
Coming Soon! Movie Connections.
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Toledo, Spain
The holy city of Spain – Toledo.
– A nearly impenetrable gatehouse.
The Visogoths constructed the first version of this town on the Tagus River, but the Moors captured it, and improved it. Muslim, Jewish, and Christian faiths were all practiced here in harmony for hundreds of years.
– el Transparente – with the striking skylight.
Toledo also houses the famous Burial of Count Orgaz by El Greco. This magnificent painting hides many stories:
And one more view of the Tagus River…
I really don’t understand anything about the Damascene Steel from Toledo.
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Madrid – People Outdoors
Madrid in the center of Iberia experiences a continental climate. The majestic city was built on 21 hills. One of the parks is called Parque del Oeste (Western Park).
– One of the hills has the Temple of Debod brought in from Egypt in 1968.
The Spanish people of Madrid love to be outside walking through the wide plazas, pedestrian shopping centers, tree-lined walkways, parks, green spaces, and the historic plazas. Modern Spain united in 1492 under Ferdinand and Isabella when the kingdoms of Castilla, Navarra, Leon, and Arragon joined together and the Moors were evicted from Granada. The King moved the seat of government from Toledo to Madrid in 1764 when he started building his Palace.
– A cortado (strong coffee) in the Plaza de Mayor with friends. This says Madrid to me the most.
Madrid boasts incredible art and the Prado shines the most. But the beauty of the streets and buildings stunned me…
We tried calamari sandwiches, chocolate and churros, Jamon, and delicious desserts like this…
– Pastries in the San Miguel Market next to the Plaza de Mayor in Madrid.
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Freshly "Pic'ed" 