Thursday, May 15, 2014

Roman Holiday

Yes, blog activity has been quiet for a fortnight but for good reason.  I have been on a Roman holiday in Italy.
My wife and I began the vacation in Rome tackling the biggies of the early Etruscans and Romans; 
Colosseum
Forum
moved into the medieval and renaissance periods in Florence, Lucca, and Pisa; 
Florence
Lucca
Pisa
three days of tranquility in the Cinque Terre; 
Vernazza
and finally, a couple of days to prepare for the journey back to the states in the comfort of Milano. 
Duomo in Milano
I have a number of interesting photos showing items in the various museums visited as well as city scapes and important buildings in many of the cities.  Over time, I will add an occasional posting detailing these travels and, hopefully, tie these photo journals into an historical context that might be of interest to wargamers or readers interested in ancient and renaissance Italy.

In the meantime, I return to the painting desk and wargame table.  I have a good chance of participating in at least one game this upcoming weekend and figures await the brush.

That is all for now...

18 comments:

  1. Awesome pictures and that ocean front town is fantastic!

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    1. Dean, that photo of Vernazza is taken from the terrace of the rental in which we stayed; a mere 270 steps up from the town itself!

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    2. Go ahead and rub it in:)! Actually, growing up in Hawaii, Vernazza rivals anything there.

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    3. No rubbing it in intended. Those 270 steps were nearly straight up! Hawaii is quite beautiful. We visited two years ago and seem to be drawn back every few years. In Hawaii, you were living in paradise.

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    1. Yes, it is and massive. A visitor can even clamber about on the roof among the spires and buttresses.

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  3. Good reason, you've said it!

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  4. Awesome! and welcome back home
    I hope you have some snap shots of Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn during your Roman Holiday :o)

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    1. The only such snapshots are of my wife and I on OUR Roman Holiday! No Peck and Hepburn...

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  5. A trip of a lifetime! I'm green with envy.

    I suspected you were in Italy after you said you'd been looking at Trajan's Column AND I realized you hadn't posted in a bit. To which you might say, "No BLEEP, Sherlock!"

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    1. Very funny, Monty!

      Yes, indeed, it was a good trip! We were in Italy in 2009 but stayed primarily in the north between Milan, the Lakes, and Venice. On that outing, she was quite a good sport and let me drag here to a couple of battlefields and army museums.

      Since she has always wanted to see Florence and the Vatican, it was time to indulge her desires. Oh, we still hit a few military museums on this trip too...

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  6. Sounds like a great trip; look forward to the future posts! I am envious!

    We got Duiaghter #1 graduated with her Master's Deegree in Speech Language Pathology today. If all goes well, Daughter # 2 should graduate from Veterinary School in 2 years. Then we might have money again, LOL!

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    1. Good trip, for sure!

      Peter, I understand only too well the financial drain of kids in university! Luckily, our higher ed expenses are finished as are the large outlays for weddings for two daughters.

      If you have yet to be tapped for the wedding funding, you may not have money quite yet!

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  7. Hi Jon,
    Looks like you a lovely time and I'm sure you must be feeling quite chilled after two weeks in Italy. Your pictures of Rome brought the memory of last month straight back.

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    1. Hi Jonathan, temperatures are warming up in the Pacific Northwest of USA as well but you are quite right; it was very pleasant weather in Italy. We did experience a cloud burst of rain on the day we visited the colosseum. Luckily, we carried umbrellas and the downpour did not last long.

      How did you manage to take such excellent photos of Trajan's column? Your photos of the monument were quite outstanding.

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  8. It looks fantastic! I've been to Italy a couple times, but oddly I've yet to see Rome itself which needs to be corrected.

    Christopher

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    1. It was fantastic! Anyone with a passing interest in ancient Rome ought to make the journey for a visit. Now, we have discovered that we enjoy Etruscan pottery.

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