Courmayeur, Italy

I remember Courmayeur as a sleepy little town just before we got to the Mont Blanc Tunnel. We stopped there for lunch on our way from Milan to Chamonix. We got there around 1:00PM and I was surprised as all the restaurants were closed for the afternoon.

My father bought a case of wine there (against the advice of our French host) and it was awful.

Their web site is here and the wikipedia article is here.


View Larger Map

Piazza San Marco, Venice, Italy

Piazza San Marco is the quintessential spot in Venice. Our water taxi dropped us nearby and our hotel was a couple of canals away. Honestly, nothing is very far away in Venice.

Reminiscent of Place du tertre in Paris, there are sidewalk restaurants all along the sides. There are nondescript openings on the north side that open into tiny sidewalks that take you deep into the maze of Venice. On the southeast is the Campanile di San Marco. To the east is St. Mark's Basilica and Doge's Palace.

Then there are the pigeons!

Slide Show

View Larger Map

Moonrise, Gloucester, MA

From the Bass Rocks Ocean Inn, the moonrise was spectacular. I walked across the street to the breakers and set my camera on a hand tripod.

Slide Show

View Larger Map

Bass Rocks Ocean Inn, Gloucester, MA

While on Cape Ann, we stayed at the Bass Rocks Ocean Inn. It is just across a 2 lane road from the ocean. Beautiful view! We requested a first floor room that wasn't supposed to have as nice a view but our view was pretty good!

The advantage to us of the first floor was that we could walk out onto the yard and right across to the ocean.

All rooms had 2 chairs and a table outside and we spent most of the long weekend outside reading John Grisham books and sipping wine.

The Bass Rocks Ocean Inn faces east so the sun set behind us but the moonrise was awesome.

Their web site is here.

Slide Show

View Larger Map