Europe Revisited: Rome

And you thought I was done?


well, almost.

Rome is absolutely fascinating!  Everywhere you look is a ruin- some proof that people were here thousands of years ago.  It still blows my mind, two years later.  And it's still standing. Dang.


We tried to plan our course as best as possible to hit all the major tourist spots.  The Colosseum, Fontana di Trevi, the Vatican.... we missed so much.

 

I tried.

The Colosseum is intense.

Such a bustling city.  So much to see. I so want to go back!

Europe Revisited: Paris

Ahhhhhh, Paris.........

Notre Dame is such an iconic church.  So massive, intricate, and steeped in history.  Also the setting of my favorite Victor Hugo novel.  I loved all of the stained glass.  So impressive and worthy of awe.

 

 Sacré-Coeur Basilica

It is so easy to fall in love with this city.  And the pastries. 

Europe Revisited: Salzkammergut

The Salzkammergut is a beautiful lake region outside of Salzburg, Austria.  A short bus ride to the Alps and we lake hopped from city to city.  It rained all day, which made beautifully overcast pictures.

We went through the towns of Mondsee, St. Gilgensee, Wolfgangsee, and Hallein.

Each town was more beautiful than the last...

Europe Revisited: Venice

 

Such a wonderful city!  Only two days are required to see it, since it is so small and contained, but every corner speaks of something to see.  So much to see in Piazza San Marco alone.

So many town squares just to sit and observe.  And to think, people have been doing the exact same thing in these squares for hundreds of years...

 

The mosaics of San Marco Basilica are fantastically inspiring.  The photo is high contrast so you can see all of the intricacies.

 There are cats all over Italy.  I caught this one sneaking in.

Alleyway after alleyway.  Thank God we had a map.

Europe Revisited: Vienna

 

The Gothic church of St. Stephen's 

Vienna is such a great town.  Ringstrasse brings you to so much as it loops around the city, separating the old from the new, but also joining them together.  There were so many modern elements to the city, the capital and cultural epicenter of Austria, but also so much rich tradition.  The old palaces and jewels remain from the Hapsburg Empire as a perfect shrine to their history. 

Schloss Belvedere.

Vienna is filled with beautiful palaces from the Hapsburg Empire including this one and Schloss Schonbrunn, each with beautiful baroque gardens.

Gee, which ones are the Americans...?  Look at all that Vera Bradley. Blech. 

On the way back we visited the beautiful town of Melk, Austria, known for the Melk Monastery.