Walking Around Venice 2015

On my one full day in Venice, I took a walk in the early morning from my hotel near the Piazzale Roma to St. Mark's Square. Took over an hour one way. It was a gorgeous walk. The sun was out. It wasn't too hot yet. 

There are just so many wonderful things about Venice - all the stuff going on and how it is all done on the water, the buildings crumbling in to the sea with such grace, and the most delightful architectural features. 

When I finally reached St. Mark's Square at 9am, it was already mobbed with people. Long lines waiting to get in to the Cathedral. I didn't see the need to tour inside again. I was happy to people watch.

Way more photos and architectural goodies to follow!

Gargoyles of Paris

Photo courtesy of Florian Siebeck

I wandered on to a wonderful link for gargoyles today,Paris Evolving Under the Gaze of Notre Dame's Gargoyles. These three great photos are from this site. Definitely worth a look.

Photo courtesy of Carlos Eduardo Seo

Photo courtesy of Laertes

I haven't posted on either Gargoyles or Graffiti lately. Have to get back to it! So this is a gargoyles post ... graffiti to follow.

Canterbury: Funky Paradise

Canterbury Abode Hotel entrance - #1 in my book

After I wrote the post on Canterbury exposing the things I didn't like about it, I felt bad, disappointed in myself for not liking it more. Like a lot of places, it isn't perfect but it really isn't all bad either. I spent two days there and I did like a lot of things. As I said earlier, I loved the Abode Hotel. Information can be found here


Of course after I raved about it, I got a message from the hotel that they didn't like me posting one of their employees with a thumbs up on tripadvisor. I don't know what to say about that. Where is their sense of humor?

If you want a small town feel, medieval charm and a great place for walking, Canterbury can't be beat. I also loved the funky feel of the place. From the musician singing and playing for spare change to the Third Eye tattoo and body piercing shop, Canterbury is as much a 60s throwback as it is a medieval tourist destination.

Tattoo and body piercing shop

Street musician

Street vendors

Canterbury is also pretty famous for its graffiti, so this will be a graffiti post. Have not done one in a while. The following photos are compliments of Canterbury Bombs

No post would be complete without an architectural detail or two, so here goes.

Funky door stop

Rooftop of the Prezzo Building in Canterbury