Category: Europe

 

I never tire of visiting the many countries that make up Europe.  I share all my stories, photos and travel experiences from my many travels to this continent.

PhotoPOSTcard: At the Abbey de Fontenay

One of the excursions on my European Waterways Burgundy Canal cruise was to the UNESCO listed Abbey de Fontenay. The abbey was founded in 1118 by a group of Cistercian monks.  On our tour, I leaned that the Cistercian order was established in response to the excesses displayed by the Benedictine monks. The Cistercian’s believed in hard work in a simple, austere environment and they built this large abbey to insure that they would be self-sufficient. Much of the original abbey architecture remains to this day, including the cloisters seen in this photo.

Thanks for visiting.

Rose

PhotoPOSTcard: Slow Cruising on the La Belle Epoque

The canals of France were built in the late 1700’s to provide a means of transporting goods. Barges were loaded with timber, limestone, wine and other desirable products and they were pulled along the canals through the many locks that controlled the flow of water. Today, the canals still support boat traffic, but these historic barges have now been converted into luxury floating cruise experiences that offer a unique means of exploring the French countryside. For the next six days, I will be enjoying a one of a kind cruise on the La Belle Epoque along the Burgundy Canal, one of the many barge cruising options offered by European Waterways.

Thanks for visiting

Rose

PhotoPOSTcard: Still Standing Strong

After 1000 years of history, Our Lady of Notre Dame de Paris still stands strong. She is a little rougher around the edges, but her soul still shines through. The spire and the roof are gone but the site looks remarkably clean. For the time being, you can only admire her from afar. Unlike my previous visits, there was no revelry as people stood to watch and take photos. There was a quiet worshipful reverence as tourists continued to admire this historic Paris icon.

Thanks for visiting

Rose

PhotoPOSTcard: The Red Vespa

There are over 1000 years of history in this photo. The round church in the background is the Rotonda di San Lorenzo in the city of Mantua, Italy. This is the oldest church in this UNESCO designated city, built in the late 11th century, and still has some of the original frescoes visible inside. The red Vespa in the foreground is another classic Italian legacy, but only since the 1940’s.

Thanks for visiting.

Rose

 

“Remembering Venice” – Original Quilt Design

Quilt Inspiration – I made this quilt to commemorate our 30th wedding anniversary trip to Venice.  Blue and red seem to be the traditional colors of Venice – gondoliers wear blue-and-white or red-and-white striped shirts. The traditional carnival masks tend to use red or blue diamond patterns, so I knew those would be the predominant colors in the quilt.

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PhotoPOSTcard: St. Mark’s Square at Night

When I first saw the puddles in St. Mark’s square in Venice, I thought it had rained while I was having dinner. But when the puddles kept getting bigger, I realized that the high tide was seeping in from underneath the paving stones in the plaza. I could not resist the opportunity for another reflection photo.

Thanks for visiting.

Rose

PhotoPOSTcard: Venice From a Gondola’s Perspective

The gondola is a form of transportation that is totally unique to Venice. For many, a trip to this city is not complete without a gondola ride through its canals. Most people though take a gondola near St. Mark’s square and as a result, their gondola experience is nose to tail with other tourists. For a less touristy alternative, I picked a gondolier on one of the quiet back canals in the Dorsoduro district of Venice. This district is an easy vaporetto boat ride across the Grand Canal from St. Marks square, yet not many tourists seem to go there. As a result, I had peaceful and relaxing gondola ride that gave me a different perspective of this city built on top of the water.

Thanks for visiting

Rose

“Burano Sampler” Quilt – An Original Quilt Design

Quilt Inspiration – This Burano Sampler quilt was inspired by the many colorful houses on the island of Burano in the Venetian Lagoon. Each of the houses on Burano is painted a different bright shade, so that as you are walking through the town, it feels like you are in the middle of a big box of crayons.

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Reflections From 2018

2018 was an especially good year for travel. I was fortunate to be able to travel somewhere fun almost every month, both in the US and overseas.

Many of the locations that I visited were new to me, including a new continent-Africa. I also revisited some of my favorite cities-London, Istanbul and Washington D.C. I have written about my experiences for many of these destinations-but some are still sitting in my draft que, waiting to be finished (one of the resolutions for 2019 before I start traveling again).

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PhotoPOSTcard: Remembering With Flames

To commemorate the 100 year anniversary of the end of World War I, 10,000 flames were lit nightly for eight nights in the moat surrounding the Tower of London. Beyond the Deepening Shadow is a public project designed to commemorate the lives of the fallen. A moving choral sound track also accompanied the flames and provided a somber setting as London residents walked the full circle of the tower in order to take it all in.

Thanks for visiting.

Rose