It's Saturday so it must be Venice

Arriving on a cruise ship in Venice is an amazing experience! This ungainly ship glides along close to the buildings in order to get to the docking area. All these photos were taken standing on our balcony. We were so high up we could see most of Venice and could look up the canals as we passed. The first photo shows several cruise ships already berthed in the dock.

Still in Pompeii

Just a few more images of Pompeii. As we neared the end of our tour the place began to fill up as more tours arrived. Hence a lot of photos had more people in them than I would have liked! The photo of the garden was taken in one of the grandest houses. The tranquil garden would have been surrounded by the house and other outbuildings.The seated figure was a caste taken from the space left by the person who had died (from gas inhalation).

It's Salerno so it must be Thursday!

From the picturesque port of Salerno where in WW2 the Allied forces disembarked to start battling their way up through the mountainous hinterland.We on the other hand were on a coach heading for Pompeii and 79AD. We will see Mt Vesuvius and a once thriving empire left in ashes following a volcanic eruption. The 3 photos in the post show Mt Vesuvius , a beautiful fresco in one of the houses and a selection of artifacts found on the sight.It is intersting to note that the fresco artist knew how to show perspective as early as 79AD!

It's Wednesday so it must be Rome!

Did not get off the ship. A lazy day and no photos! Instead read an excellent book on Michelangelo borrowed from the ships library. His journey through life was complicated but he brought so much to his art.His story is inspirational!
I picked a photo of David where for the first time Michelangelo turned the head of his subject to create more impact.Prior to this statue other artists always had the head looking directly in front.
Tomorrow we head for Salerno.

More pictures of Pisa

It's Tuesday so it must be Italy!

Docked in Livorno. As a small group we decided to avoid the recommended cruise outings and do it ourselves on a budget. Amongst the 6 of us we has a variety of skills and all could be put to use! From Livorno we took a bus to the train station having bought both bus and train tickets independently and got discount. All this was done with our basic Italian i.e. we could say please and thankyou and sign! Since no one had a street map the Pisa tourist office was visited to find a free one which had the famous Leaning Tower on it.We had a great day out in a beautiful city.

It's Monday it must be France!

Didn't stay long had a bus to catch! Whistle stop tour of Nice but enjoyed galleries in the narrow streets of the medieval town of St Paul de Vance.

Where have I been?

Don't know where the time goes but having attended another funeral (of one of my peers) I've decided to make every day count. Here is a photo of Barcelona airport, HONEST!realise I should have cropped the bottom of the pic but here it is warts n all! This was the start of my grand tour!