(Porto, 11/12/11)

(Porto, 11/12/11)

If I were an architect, I would include as much color as possible in my buildings. Why stick with earth tones when your city can look like this?

(Venice, 08/21/11)

The first day we arrived in Venice, we walked by a hole in the wall pizzeria that proclaimed it made the best pizza in the city (see the black sign to the right). We pointed it out, laughed, and continued on our way. Two days later, we wanted an easy dinner, so we bought pizza there. Plain, because we didn't understand any of the other italian words. While we waited for our food, we drank coke (made with actual sugar) and watched the sun go down over the city. When our pizzas were ready, we sat at the edge of the water and feasted on...

...the best pizza in Venice. The best pizza I've ever had. The best pizza in the world, for all I know.

(Salamanca, 09/04/11, 10/27/11)

Catedral Nueva, Catedral Vieja. Salamanca's the only city in the world, so I'm told, with two cathedrals. Instead of (the pre-industrial revolution equivalent of) bulldozing the first cathedral, they just built another one onto it. 

It finally rained here after months of living in an unopened box of saltines. I was excited to capture the cathedral(s) at dusk, because monuments always look more epic with clouds in the sky. It's alright during the day as well, I suppose.

(Salamanca, 09/11)

For a week every september, Salamanca hosts a huge festival. There's lots of cultural events, but my favorite part was the casetas. Every bar moves into the streets, offering cheap drinks/tapas. This picture was taken in the morning, but from the late afternoon until the close at 12:30, I could hardly move in the crowd. Everybody was happy, the weather was nice, and the tapas were delicious. 

The second picture is from a tapas restaurant after the ferias were over, but that would have been available for 1.80 euros--about 2.20 dollars. 

(Manarola, 08/27/11)

More sunsets, Italian style.

(Interlaken, 08/16/11)

The water in Lake Brienz and Lake Thun was a particularly interesting shade of green/blue--not from contamination, but from the minerals it picked up on the way down the surrounding mountains.

Fresh enough to drink.