HOLY SKY - ST. PETER'S BASILICA - ROME, ITALY

Attending Mass at St. Peter's Basilica on July 8, 2008 was one of the top ten most memorable moments in my life that I will always treasure. These photos were taken during our tour of the Vatican on July 7th. The tour went a bit longer than we expected. The next day was the scheduled tour of the Forum and the Colosseum. That also took almost the entire day. We only had time for a brief visit to the Pantheon. Prior to our trip I already commented to my husband that if I had to miss everything else, so be it, but I would not forgive myself if I did not attend Mass at St. Peter. I was so glad we did.

FAT TUESDAY

We did not go to Soulard last Saturday for the Mardi Gras parade, so I post these photos from my trip to the Caribbean in 2006 instead. In my young and foolish days, I was among these dancers dressed up in colorful outfits, wild and crazy, dancing and drinking all nights. (Ya right, everyone knows I am a stuffed-shirt and stiff like a hockey stick!) Happy Fat Tuesday everyone. Reminder - just because tomorrow is Ash Wednesday, don't eat too many punski (or paczki) ** heh heh **

We were embarked at Puerta Maya because the ship could not get into Cazumel due to major damage from a recent storm. My sister and I did not care to take the bus into town (we still remembered the incident at Atlantic City back in 1983 - I will tell that story in future post), so we just stayed around Puerta Maya. There were a lot of shops and of course, entertainment such as the parade and street performances.

PS: Instead of the regular delicious salad, since it is Fat Tuesday, we "fell off the wagon" and had grilled chicken for dinner and cheese cake for dessert.

YOUR PHOTO COULD FRONT FROMMER'S BOOK

Above - A sunny afternoon at the Pier in Grand Haven, Michigan. Below - A foggy morning along the lake in Muskegon, Michigan.

I saw the information below in USA Today and thought other bloggers might be interested (just in case you don't already know about this.)

"If your vacation shots are too good just to hang on your walls or share via Facebook or Flickr, you can enter the first cover photo contest from Frommer's guidebooks. Anyone - amateur or pro - can submit any number of photos at www.frommers.com/go/photocontest.

Top prize: $5,000 and a spot on the cover of a Frommer's guide. Four runners-up get guidebooks and travel accessories. Enter by March 31. Winners will be notified in mid-April."

Good luck to all who enter the contest. If you enter your photos after reading this post, remember to mention me, TOTA - the Hockey Junkie, in your acceptance speech :)

HELL, THE DEVILS AND DEVILS ELBOW

These photos were taken in February 2006 when my sister and I went on a "Sistas Time" on a Caribbean Cruise. I am so proud of myself for being so clever and witty (ya, I am so full of it!) by posting photos from Hell, Cayman Islands, the New Jersey Devils and Devils Elbow, Missouri.

Not the real devils, only the New Jersey Devils hockey team - haa haa.

The original route into Devil's Elbow is now Teardrop Road. The name Devil's Elbow was given by the lumberjacks floating logs past a sharp bend in the Big Piney River. They cursed it as "a devil of an elbow".

The steel truss bridge was built in 1923 (photo below). The bridge still stands today allowing traffic to cross over the Big Piney River.

Photo below shows Benjamin at Hooker Cut (I assured him that I would not drop him again. And besides there was not even one vehicle passing by the entire time we were there. The road looked almost abandoned as it was featured in a twilight zone movie.) When it was opened in 1926, the 90-foot deep Hooker Cut was the largest rock cut in the United States. This section is now County Route Z.

BENJAMIN AT ROUTE 66

If only Benjamin could find a custom-made small, very small Harley-Davidson, he would be all set to enjoy a journey and an adventure following America's historic Mother Road Route 66. Ode to the slow pace when life was much simpler and magic happens if only we allowed ourselves to get off the fast lane. Would you care to share your trips following Route 66 or Lewis and Clark Trail stories?

SAN PIETRO - ROME, ITALY

San Pietro, Rome - Italy July 2008

SAN GIORGIO - PORTOFINO, ITALY

San Giorgio - Portofino, Italy - July 2008

The church overlooks spectacular view of the harbour and the cliffs cascading down into the sea below. According to the travel guide, sailors returning from the Crusades brought with them the supposed relics of St. George, enshrined here in the oft-reconstructed Chiesa di San Giorgio. The saint's feast day is celebrated on April 23rd with a ritualistic bonfire on the piazzetta.

ST. JOHN'S CATHEDRAL - VALLETTA, MALTA

St. John's Cathedral - Valletta, Malta - July 2008

SANTA IGLESIA CATEDRAL - VALENCIA, SPAIN

HAVE A SEAT - HUMOR OF THE WEEK

Love Seat in the Alley - Nice, France - July 2008
We were on the bus leaving Cannes and on our way to Nice when I saw the love seat in the alley. It worked out great for this post, Have a Seat - Humor of the Week, specially with the photo below showing a chair in the snow in my neighbor's backyard. I don't care that others think of my constant snapping of photos. I will keep capturing images so I could have fun, trying to be creative with my blogs.

Chair in the Snow - St. Louis, Missouri - February 2009

ROAD & STREET SIGNS IN ROME

OLD SAIGON IN NICE

I was not suprised to see this Vietnamese restaurant Old Saigon when we were in Nice last July. Viet Nam was a French colony from 1861 to 1954 when the French was defeated in the fierce battle of Dien Bien Phu. The owner of this restaurant could be among the large population of Vietnamese living in France even before the Fall of Saigon in April 1975. It was nice to see Old Saigon in Nice!

Nice, France - July 2008

A STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN

If Tears Could Build a Stairway

And Memories a Lane

I'd Walk Right up to Heaven

And Bring You Home Again.

(Portofino, Italy - July 2008)

THE KNIGHT IN THE SHINING ARMOUR

These photos were taken when we visited a museum in Valetta, Malta. The museum housed a large collection, displays of statues complete with mid-fifteenth-century plate armours with shields, banners and surcoats, of the Knights Hospitaller (known as Knights of Malta Orders of St. John). Lately there are a lot of talks about "a tall, strong man on a large white horse", the knight in shining armour, and that he would come to the aid of people in distress, to defend the weak from oppression, re-distributing wealth taken from the rich to give to the poor and with his charm and gentle smiles, he would bring peace to the world!

What is a real knight? How would we recognize the real knight and how do we know to dismiss the impostor? The real knights have "no consideration of personal advantage, nothing could sway him from adherence to his beliefs and loyalties". The real knights followed a set of high standards from a system of values in which the principles of personal integrity, the practice of virtues such as generosity, compassion and the desire for the highest honour. If these are the characteristics of a real knight, I don't see any around, definitely not in the neighboring State!