A familiar site for Canadians in winter but the neighbours say it is the most snow they have ever seen. It effectively shut down Northern Ireland for several days - Dave even had a "Snow Day" from school.
Christmas Day on the beach. We didn't do much
suntanning but had a lovely walk.
Another photo of Christmas Day on the beach. Love the birds lined up to take advantage of the warmth of the sun.
Milan is a huge capital for the fashion industry so even the Christmas tree displays are fashionable.
Downtown Milan with electric trams - very environmentally friendly!
One monster cruise ship. Yes, it is the one we were on along with 4,000 others. Dave says it felt like a shopping mall in December. We worked hard to find some quiet places to relax.
First stop - Barcelona. We did a tour that looked at the work of Anton Gaudi. He worked in Barcelona more than 100 years ago and had a fantastic imagination. This is in a park he designed and all the columns are shaped like trees.
This is a famous cathedral he designed, Sagrada Familia. Work began in 1883 and is still ongoing. The sanctuary was just opened in November 2010 by the Pope. It is an amazing structure with so many interesting details.
Gaudi designed the building to have light entering from several angles. The stained glass windows are not story windows but coloured glass windows that reflect the various colours into the sanctuary.
Looking up on the inside you can see the entrances for the light in a sort of honeycomb style.
Casablanca - from the movie, a restoration of Rick's Cafe, close to the harbour front. We just happened upon it as we walked about the city.
The interior of Rick's Cafe. No, Humphrey Bogart wasn't there, nor was the piano player, but the piano was!
Dave reading on the wee balcony off our cabin on the boat. We had amazingly calm seas the whole time.
A Nativity Scene made with flowers on a central street in Malaga.
Poinsettias on display along the streets of Malaga.
One of the main shopping streets in Malaga with beautiful polished stone sidewalks and walkways. It was a rainy day but it was mild.
Along the promenade in Alicante.
Such an interesting tree in a small square in Alicante.
Dave with Jens, one of our new friends from dining on board the boat.
The ladies of our table - Mitzi from Copenhagen, Marion, and Carolyn from Boston.
Dave and Syed at dinner.
Visit to the Vatican treasures in Rome. Even the ceilings
were amazing.
Beautiful dome allowing natural light to enter this particular room.
Here we are celebrating 35 years of marriage in front of St. Peter's Cathedral in Rome. A great way to spend our anniversary.
Welcome to Venice! This is a city built on top of the water and traversed by canals. No cars are allowed in the central parts of Venice. So you walk or you can take water taxis to get about.
Another photo looking down one of the canals in Venice.
Dave standing in front of San Marco Cathedral. It was a chilly day there with a breeze coming off the water. San Marco was amazing. There is so much amazing workmanship everywhere. It does take your breath away.
And now to Florence and Il Duomo. What an amazing place built with several different colours of stone. Our photos do not do it justice. It is so beautiful.
Another view from the side of Il Duomo. The architectural engineering that went into making this dome was revolutionary. It is really a dome inside a dome which allowed the architect to make it so large.
This is a live mime working along a side street. He is Leonardo da Vinci and he moves when you put money into
the bucket at his feet. He was awesome.
There is art at every turn in Florence. Even their chairs are arty! This one was inside the entrance to a museum.
There were vendors with stalls everywhere in Venice and Florence. Many had the most beautiful bags and purses. Each night they had to pack everything up and roll their carts out of the streets and set them up the next day.
Old city, small streets, lack of parking spaces, no problem. Motor bikes fit much more easily!
This is the Ponte Vecchio, a bridge over the river complete with shops along both sides. Apparently they used to be butcher shops but one famous person bought a house across the bridge and didn't like the smells from the butcher shops, so he had all those shops evicted and recruited gold and silver merchants to set up shop instead. For several hundred years the tradition has continued.
Here is Dave in the middle of the Ponte Vecchio with Cellini's statue behind him.
We watched amazing street artists at work in Florence. Two of them were working together on this amazing drawing. They came back the next day to continue their work.
Here is a statue of the "other" David. We did get to see the original and this is a copy that stands outdoors. It is an amazing piece of work and stands about 9 ft. tall.
In one of the city piazzas we came across a South American group making music to an audience that was a huge crowd.
Both in Spain and in Italy we kept seeing Santas climbing up balconies, onto the roofs of houses and decorating restaurants.
Back to Northern Ireland and cooler weather, but still warm enough for a nice walk by the sea.
Definitely warm enough for golfers to be out on the golf courses.
Helen's Bay near Crawfordsburn. A lovely place to walk by the sea.
A real rhododendron bloom at Mt. Stewart. We are talking about January - amazing!
Mount Stewart gardens in the winter.
The white stag in winter at Mt. Stewart.
The original gateway to enter the grounds of Carrowdore Castle.
Bronagh and Owen's home in a stone schoolhouse built in 1904. Not the best photo but it will be a well remembered and favorite place that we have visited often. Bronagh has been a wonderful encourager and support to Dave throughout his time here. They worked together at Movilla High where Bronagh is an art teacher as well as working with the Pupil Support center. A lovely family!
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