World Travels World Travels
With Jan & Russell
We seem to have a thing about mountains. Places like Zermatt, below the Matterhorn, St Moritz, both in the Swiss Alps, Lake Louis & Baniff, Canada, Mt. Rainer, Washington, the Colorado Rockies, the Appalachians, the Scottish Highlands, Mauna Loa, Hawaii. I think its because we live in the flat lands of Florida. ...But maybe its just the scenery.
The Atlantic pounds the Irish Coast - 62K JPEG
The Aran Islands off the east coast of Ireland near Galway, has to be
the most memorable part of our Irish Writers tour of Ireland. The solitude
of climbing up the stone and meadow covered fields, to end at
the shear precipice of a high cliff overhanging the incredible fury of the
Atlantic Ocean pounding hundreds of feet below, is unforgetable. I spent
hours lying a few feet from the edge, contemplating the eternities of
wind, waves, rock, and sky. Humanity far behind, Nature ruled this
moment.
An Irish Bed & Breakfast - 42K JPEG
Waking up to an Irish breakfast is hard to beat. And Kilmurphy House on the Aran Islands serves a mighty good one! Bed & Breakfast inns are an outstanding way to get a real Irish flavor of any visit to Ireland.
Walking through the few remaining ruins of the once great Roman Empire is the best history lesson. A few dozen acres of tree-lined parks, littered with columns, statues, bits, and pieces, in the middle of modern day Rome, is the heart of the once-mighty Roman Empire. Of course, many masterpieces remain, the Arch of Constantine, the Colosseum, an incredible number of statuary and much more, scattered across Rome and Western Europe as well. But, to actually stand on the main street of ancient Rome and look down to your side to see marble blocks bearing the inscriptions that once marked the entrance to the Roman Senate building.
Firenze (Florence) contains some of the most impressive works of art of Western Humanity. Names like Da Vinci, Galileo, Michelangelo, are everywhere. The entire city is a museum of amazing works. So many pieces that art gallery description tags read like a Who's Who of Western culture. So enthralled at Venus DeMilo in front of me, I hardly notice the Raphael beside me.
Please send mail to rgrokett@jax.southeast.net
Italian Bridge - 54K JPEG