OMG! Did I love Christchurch!

Christchurch Cathedral is the center of Cathedral Square.

A lot of fun and quirky things go on here.
There is also some amazing art, such as
this great flowering vase. Totally cool!

Close by is Town Square with these amazing fountains.

And finally, you can see the British influence
with these old phone booths. Rick is found here
looking for his I-phone, wondering how
he is going to get game scores from this old thing.

Mt Cook and Surrounds, Whoa!

We drove to Mt Cook and encountered these lakes
with the most amazing turquoise water. It turns out
that the glacier washes bits of rock as it tumbles down
and this sediment called "glacier flour" is dazzled
by the sun and reflects this color. Sweet!

This is Lake Pukaki...

And, this is Mt Cook as seen from our window.
Sweet squared.

A room with a view, what is not to like about that!!!!!

Milford Sound

Milford Sound is possibly beyond description. It is so beautiful. 

Rock formations jutting out of water so dark.
Waterfalls plummeting from the sides. 

Seals, dolphins and penguins all together in one place. 

It is simply amazing.

What do you think of this?

Queenstown, New Zealand

A view of the harbor in Queenstown. What a beautiful spot...

Another view of the harbor which includes some of the hillside town.

Dunedin, New Zealand

A few photos from our first days in New Zealand.

What is wrong with this picture?

My girl on campus: U of Otago: Dunedin.

St Clare's Beach, a wild and wonderful beach.
Feet in the Pacific, a long way from the Oregon coast.

10.14.10

Today is "try to find an apartment" day.
No luck.

10.13.10

This day nearly killed us. We left KC at 6:45 and hit road construction on our way out of town. When we drove through St Louis, it was a long slow ride. We hit construction stoppages in southern Illinois and northern Kentucky. I had to drive that stick shift through rush hour in Nashville. Stop and start, stop and start. YUCK! We finally arrived at our destination at 11:30 PM. Dog tired but we survived.
To bed to recover...

10.12.10

We drove into Lincoln and stopped at the International Quilt study Center. The museum had two exhibits: one was antique doll quilts and the other was quilts from Asia. Very nice. I was hoping to show Nick some of Michael James' early work but it was not on display. too bad!

Then on to KC and a stopover at my sister's home. We visited with her family, and got a break from a big drive. Spent the night with the intentions of getting an early start.

10.11.10

Day 2: We made it to York, NE, which is about 40 miles west of Lincoln. Another day of sunshine and the straightest ribbon of highway I have ever seen. Put cruise on 80 and just steered the car. Didn't see too many others. We have 500 tunes on my IPod and have shuffled them. It's sing along time, at least for the driver. Chances are the passenger was sleeping.

10.10.10

Today Nick and I drove 720 miles from Portland, OR to Ogden, UT on our drive to his new hometown of Asheville, NC. I am refreshing my memory of driving a stick shift. This one will floor you: Nick drives 65 miles per hour to maximize gas usage; I drive 75 MPH because I am thinking about the hotel and my oh so comfortable bed awaiting me. Youth and practicality...

Tomorrow, our destination is Lincoln, NE, nearly.

My images are only in my head. Sorry.

The Spanish Steps

The Spanish Steps connect a French church by the name of Trinita dei Monti
to the Piazza Di Spagna or Spanish Square.

The elegant staircase consists of 137 steps over twelve different flights

The idea of connecting the church with the square below originated from the
17th century, when the French also planned a statue of King Louis XIV
of France at the top of the staircase. As one might imagine, Papal opposition
caused the plans to be shelved until 1723, when this enormous staircase was
built sans the statue. The Italian architect was Francisco de Sanctis.

People navigate to these steps. On Saturday evenings, Italians get all duded up
and struscio, which literally means "to rub shoulders" but figuratively means to
visit. We struscio'd along with the best of them.

.

Santa Maria della Vittoria

This is the church for which I have been searching.
No wonder it is difficult to find. The exterior does not really look churchlike.

But wait until you get inside. These churches are all over town,
nondescript exteriors with amazing interiors.

I was interested in this one because it contains The Ecstasy of St Theresa,
a sculpture by Bernini. I am a total fan of his.

Rick was generous to return with me in the afternoon when it was opened.

Are you ready....

The Ecstasy of St Theresa

The main altar

The ceiling in an alcove altar

The pipe organ

The exit door

And something that fascinated me in all the churches of Italy...

the confessionals. Many were marked with the languages
familiar to the priest. They too are beautiful.

Santa Maria degli Angeli

We have been trying to find the church that contains the Bernini sculpture  
The Ecstasy of St. Theresa. I thought I had when we found this church.
Not so but this was yet one more grand find.

























The story goes: In 1541, a Sicilian priest, Fr. Antonio Lo Duca, had a vision
of angels in the ruins of the Baths of Diocletian. As a result, Pope Pius IV (1559-1565)
ordered that a church be built within the Baths. The church was designed by Michelangelo,
who began work in 1563 but died a year later in 1564. His design was completed
by Jacopo Lo Duca, nephew of Fr. Antonio and pupil of Michelangelo.

They say the frescoes have been badly restored.
I guess my eye is not so keen.

 


 
 
 

My favorites, as always are the angels. Here are two.

And finally, there were some unchurchly findings in this church, more science than spiritual unless those combine well to your way of thinking. 

On the left side of the church is the Meridian Line, a sundial laid down along the meridian that crosses through Rome, at latitude 15º. At true noon, about 12.15 pm (1.15 pm in summer time), the sun casts its light on this line.  The markings were made by the astronomer, mathematician, archaeologist, historian and philosopher Francesco Bianchini. who had been commissioned by Pope Clement XI to make them for the Holy Year of 1700. It took a bit longer; they were completed in 1703 with the assistance of the astronomer G.F. Maraldi.

And another one of my favs is this pendulum.
Sorry for the sucky picture but oh so cool, that I had to share.

If you are still with me, thanks.
Leave a comment if you choose.

St Peter's in early moring light

Nothing compares to photography in early morning light.
This is one of my favorites...

St Peter's Square

  Still in Rome after all these posts...

We were lucky enough to get to St Peter's Square three times. 

First Rick and I ended there on our wandering tour. Next, our 

our guide surprised us with a visit on Palm Sunday to witness 

Pope Benedict XVI say Mass. And finally, in the early morning 

when we would do the postponed tour of the Vatican Museum 

and Sistine Chapel. These are some of my favorite photos from 

he visits...

 

Statues of 140 Christian martyrs flank the balustrade.











                                                                                


A fountain by Bernini (1675) 

                                                    

Giant trinitrons just like at sporting events. 

What would these saints think?

But of course, all can see the Pope say Mass.

And this fountain is by Maderno (1613)

A bit farther away

The Sistine Chapel is amazing. no photos are allowed, 

which is OK because the room is dimly lit and  no photo 

that i take could do it justice. This is The Sistine Chapel 

from the square. It is where the Papal conclave occurs 

when the Cardinals are electing a new Pope. It is near 

where the white smoke is seen indicating that a new Pope 

has in fact been elected.

 

And finally my favorite of the day.

A member of the Swiss guard and a wannabe...

How cute is that.

If you are following my journey, thank you.

Feel free to leave a comment.

I would love to hear from you.

St Peters Basilica

St Peter's Basilica is perhaps the most beautiful church I have ever been in. It's size is astounding. There are so many side altars and chapels. Numerous popes have been buried here. St Peter, the first Pope (upon this Rock, I will build my church) is buried beneath the main altar.

The entrance doors are large, as one might expect. There is a set of special doors, more ornate than any other, and these are called the Jubilee doors They are only opened during the Jubilee year celebration, which occurs every 25 years.

Looking down the center aisle to the main altar.

And a closer view

Don't you just love the ray of sun shining through the side window.

The most famous statue is Michelangelo Buonarroti's Pieta. In 1972, someone took a hammer to it and so it is now protected, placed behind plexiglass and roped off so that visitors can not get too close. My photo does not do justice to this work. To me one of the most amazing things is that Michelangelo was only 22 when he began this piece. It was completed within a year.

As with every church I saw in Rome, the beauty lies in all of the details.

Floors...

Columns...

 












Statuary...

There is so much to see.