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Showing posts with the label Ponte Vecchio

Travel in the time of Corona, Week 1

What I miss most about this Stay-at-Home order is traveling. I have many travel plans for 2020 which would have commenced in mid January. Those plans are now on hold but I’m not giving up on them. For now I’m digging up old photos relegated to the “dust bin” so I can travel vicariously and relive the good, old “If It’s Tuesday This Must Be Belgium” days. Join me for Week 1.   Ponte Vecchio, Florence, Italy  Dubrovnik, Croatia  Bato Bolong, Bali, Indonesia Malalison, Antique, Philippines Myeongdong, Seoul, South Korea  No Bucks Cafè (outreach service), Dublin, Ireland Pueblo Blanco, Andalucia, Spain ***** Images by TravelswithCharie

Florence

Mercato di San Lorenzo Thank goodness for long days of summer. We made the most of our 24-hour visit to Firenze. After a nice lunch at Trattoria Dante (which is big on ambiance), we took the bus to San Lorenzo where we browsed the outdoor stalls for decent bargains to take home as presents for family and friends. My cousin was particularly interested in finding a good leather jacket. We arrived at the market just before their fold-up time of 7 p.m. and the bargaining was intense. In the end, I bought four lacy scarves, left the leather bags alone and walked happily away. My cousin found the jacket he wanted the following day. Shopping done, we strolled to the Duomo and Baptistery of San Giovanni for art history lessons. My favorite Florentine story is about the competition for the crafting of the bronze doors of the Baptistery. Both Ghiberti and Brunelleschi submitted their quatrefoil panels of the Sacrifice of Isaac. Ghiberti won and was awarded the commission to sculpt the

Ponte, Puente, Tulay, Bridge

Golden Gate Bridge (Image from Microsoft clip art) The Golden Gate bridge turned 75 years old last week and the city of San Francisco celebrated this event in a big way with a Historic Watercraft Parade, dance, music and local bands performing at Marina Green and Crissy Field, and a host of other activities culminating in a spectacular display of fireworks. I remember when I first saw the Golden Gate bridge decades ago and how disappointed I was then to see that the bridge wasn't really golden at all but a strange orangey color. In fact, it is painted in the International Orange hue. I didn't understand why they called it Golden Gate then but after many years, I learned to appreciate the bridge as it is. Suspension Bridge, Bohol While I'm on the topic of bridges, I found this photo of a suspension bridge over the Loboc River from our trip to Bohol a few years back. It was scary to try to cross this narrow hanging bridge. It swayed quite a bit when I tried to