Holland - The Hague and Delft

We really enjoyed our stay in The Hague and the side trip we took to the town of Delft, home of the famous Delft dinnerware.  The places were fun and the Dutch were so laid back and welcoming.

The scene above is a traditional one and perhaps stereotypical Holland but there was so much more to see.

 The Academy's master likes to keep his bike in plain site.

 Is this really the best marketing strategy for a  cafe ?

 At last.  A place where girls can shop without being bothered by pesky boys.

The local optician thought the eyeglasses would improve on the world famous painting of the Girl With The Pearl Earring.

Actually, I still think cream cheese and bagels make a better combination .

The Delft Town Hall.  The day we visited  there was a marathon with hundreds of participants and we found ourselves dodging runners instead of the usual assortment of killer bike riders.

And the band played on !

And the crowd danced on !

And the Gouda stayed on !

Medi, my colleague, Paul,  and his wife, Gertrud, outside a furniture store.  I think I can understand 7 days more living but I am still struggling with 7 days more character.   A Dutch koan?

There were a number of stores selling "Delft Ware".  Some of the lamp-posts in town  were made of the same material.

The competition

For those not planning to buy Delft ware but who want to shop.

Italy - Pompeii / Naples

Romans took control of Pompeii around 200 BC. On August 24, 79 AD, Vesuvius erupted, burying the nearby town of Pompeii in ash and soot, killing 20,000 people, and preserving the city in its state from that fateful day. Pompeii is an excavation (It: scavi) site and outdoor museum of the ancient Roman settlement. This site is considered to be one of the few sites where an ancient city has been preserved in detail - everything from jars and tables to paintings and people was frozen in time, yielding, together with neighboring Herculaneum which suffered the same fate, an unprecedented opportunity to see how the people lived two thousand years ago.   (Wikitravel)

The Forum

Temple Grounds

Another area of the city

Houses destroyed in the eruption

         

 

Temple grounds


Naples

 Naples is just a short drive from Pompeii.  Mt. Vesuvius is in the background.

Paul and Gertrud Carpenter.  Paul is a fellow auditor and most senior in length of service. He has visited 140 countries and plans to see many more.

Rome is known as a city of hills but the same designation could be given to Naples. We only drove through Naples on a bus tour (something we almost never  do)  to Pompeii but did get a chance to see some of the city.

Naples  - By the harbor

The winding streets of Naples.

The historic fort in Naples

I am glad we had a chance to stop and see the  beautiful Naples cathedral. 

Italy - Rome

We returned to Rome and found the Holy City as awe inspiring as before.  This was the view from the Central Museum.

We found the walls the Romans built in the first century that still stretch four miles around the city to be a phenomenon of engineering.

The Trevi Fountain, completed in 1762.  Legend has it that if you stand with your back to the fountain and toss a coin over your shoulder, you will one day return to Rome.  In our case, it worked.

The Pantheon, built 1800 years ago as a pagan temple. In 609, it was converted to a church.

This was the view of our favorite cafe.

This was our favorite waiter at our favorite cafe.

This was the scene every morning for the six days we were at our Rome hotel.  I would pass this room with a room service tray outside the door on the way to breakfast and see the same tray coming back.  When did they get around to breakfast ?

The entrance to the Central Museum.  We went there to see an exhibit of many Vatican documents  never seen by the public. It was a trip through history from  the middle to the modern ages.  We saw the minutes of the Galileo trial, the decree excommunicating Martin Luther, the grant by the pope to Spain of all the lands in the Americas, the document permitting St Francis to start a new order and a later document decreeing him a saint.  We saw a letter from 22 noblemen to the pope asking him to annul the marriage of King Henry the VIII .  Later the daughter, Elizabeth, would use a copy of the letter to execute all the petitioners.  We saw many other original documents (all in Latin , of course) that made a difference to Western civilization.

Statue of Hercules. It has been in this museum (or its predecessor ) since 1510

Marcus Aurelius- The Philosopher King.  His statue lay buried under the earth for centuries.  It was discovered  in perfect condition.

A sculpture of the the legendary founders of Rome - Romulus and Remus.  Legend says they were raised by a she-wolf

Even the outside grounds were highly artistic .

And statuesque

And humbling ... a great man whose statue is now a perch for pigeons

The Victor Emmanuel Monument built in honor of the man who united Italy.

Austria - Vienna

The Parliament Building is one of many incredibly beautiful public buildings. They seem to stretch endlessly, block after block.

There are many beautiful churches in Vienna but this is not one of them.  It is the City Hall Building.

This is the beautiful church just one block down from the City Hall

An Art Museum is down the block.

Mozart's statue with the Mozart museum behind it.

Beethoven's monument with the museum behind it.

The world famous Vienna Opera House

The Schonbrunn Palace, the home of the Hapsburg dynasty since the late 1500's.

St Stephen's Cathedral is the most famous church in Vienna and the square around it filled with cafes and restaurants in one of the most popular areas in the city.

These horse drawn carriages form an essential part of city life with many songs and poems written about them and the drivers.

For serious sightseeing, the Hop On Hop Off bus is preferred.

During the Cold War, Vienna was a den of spies and espionage.  The movie, The Third Man, was filmed here with the classic scene of Holly Martens ( Joseph Cotton) holding on to the side of the ferris wheel for dear life while the evil Harry Lime (Orson Wells) wishes him harm.

Whether fighting spies or finishing a ferris wheel ride, the Irish pub and its Kilkenny beer will set you straight.