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Monte Solaro Vista
The chairlift in the center of Anacapri takes you to the top of the island at slightly over 1900 feet above the Mediterranean. At the top there is a small restaurant and primitive pergolas where you can sit and enjoy a drink while you take in the cool air and beautiful view. People who take the trip to the top linger there for a while in the quiet, away from the crowds and shoppers of Anacapri below.
Bequia West Indies
The first day of our cruise from Barbados took us to Bequia for a catamaran ride. Many of the people on the catamaran excursion called it the “catamaran ride from hell” because the wind was whipping up the sea and it was rough. Being sailors, we loved it. In the lee of Bequia, we floated near shore to see some ruins and the reef below the shore.
Cinque Terre
This part of Italy features layered rock formations like this one that disappears into the sea. The towns of Cinque Terre are separated by high terraces and rock ledges. It is a fanciful place to build and live because surviving there is very labor intensive. The only industries are the hillside terrace farming and tourism. Here it appears that an entrepreneur built a restaurant among the rubble of an old lookout structure. Many structures are repurposed because it is difficult to build here.
Grand Union Canal Viaduct
When I lived and worked in London for a few months I discovered bicycle touring on the canal towpaths of the United Kingdom. There are many canal branches and arms near London where I was living in Uxbridge. Just a short distance from Uxbridge, there were scenes that seemed incongruous with London. It wasn’t necessary to travel far along the canal to escape the city to find parks, meadows, and English gardens along the canal.
Green Lakes State Park
I discovered this park when I rode my bicycle from Buffalo to Albany for the first time. This was a planned camping place just beyond Syracuse. I arrived at the park early and after setting up camp I had time to hike to the lakes. This is Green Lake, the larger of the two lakes. The lakes are in deep bowls that were carved by the same glaciers that made the Finger Lakes.
Burano Canal
Burano is at least one other Italian Island near Venice that has canals. We had lunch there and had some time to explore the side canals. All of the streets and canals were lined with colorfully painted houses. This is so different from our native New England where the predominant house paint is white. This picture has a predominant left to right diagonal that seems to accentuate the perspective and draw your eyes to the far end of the canal.
La Mancha Windmill
These windmills are on a hill that is high over the plains of La Mancha in Spain. The view from up here is rather boring. The dry plains and rolling hills of La Mancha stretch for miles to the horizon. The only notable features are the windmills themselves, which were historically used to mill grain. Now they are tourist attractions that stimulate references to Cervantes.