June 7-July 4, 2002
A month in Europe

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France, June 7-10
A rose window in Notre DameInside the Picasso museum... the floating head of Robyn Banino! Those who see it seldom live to tell the tale!The glass pyramid at the LouvreA view of the interior structure of the Louvre pyramidIn the garden at the Rodin museumHead courtesy of RodinA rose in the garden of the Rodin museum after a rain

Sardinia, June 10-14
Robyn & I on the ferry from Marseilles to SardiniaWe were picked up at Porto Torres, Sardinia, by Carlo in his rented Peugot 206. Here it is parked in fron of our place at La PelosaRobyn & Carlo on our porch at La Pelosa in StintinoOur view at dusk--off the side of the beach [La Pelosa] is a tiny island called Piana with an old watch tower on it; beyond that is the uninhabited island of Asino.The beach at dusk, with la isla Piana on the rightCarlo in the town of Alghero. Don't ask.A kid on the beach wearing SPF 200La Pelosa is a ridiculously beautiful beach. Made better with beer and a frisbee.Robyn having a beer in the waterAfter dropping Robyn off at the airport in Alghero, Carlo & I continued south down the coast, stopping here at the tip of the Sinis peninsula at the site of the ancient Phoenecian city of Tharros.Apparently the Phoenecians loved good beaches.Another sweet beach further up the peninusla, I think it was called Udzu Ida. The sand was amazing--fairly uniform 2 mm pebbles, like walking in a sea of glass beads.

Sicily, June 15-19
Overlooking PalermoThe cloister at Monreale, taken from the roof of the cathedralSpectacular gold mosaics cover the interior of Monreale depicting scenes from the old and new testamentHere you can see a bit of the mosaics depicting Noah's floodThe magnificent temple at Segesta in the province of TrapaniFor scale, I'm standing next to one of the columnsOne of the courses at a lunch at Taverna Paradiso in Trapani. If you ever get the chance, eat here!Some of the structures at EriceViews from Erice - here from within a Castle that was built on the site of an ancient temple to Venus.The view from EriceThe ceiling of the duomo at Erice--it looked like it was made out of butter. Mmmmmm, butter.King enjoying the views as we descended from Erice.We arrived in the little town of San Vito lo Capo to stay for a few days, totally unaware that it was the peak of the week-long feast of San Vito. There were reenactments on the beach, fireworks, processions, marching bands, donkey races, you name it. We found out what was going on two days later.Carlo at our table at the local, watching the crowd go by.Here's to... whatever the hell all these people are celebrating!Sunset on the beach at San Vito lo CapoThe road to the Zingaro nature reserve a few miles from San Vito. Go ahead and sing it along with King: "ZingGAAAArooo..."A tiny beach tucked away between two ridges in ZingaroWe went to this beach two days in a row--this was a packed as it gets.A VERY hot day. Even the lizard had hot feet.Sunset from Pocho, our favorite restaurant near San Vito. Again, if you EVER have the opportunity to eat here, take it. Be warned that there is no choice of menu, you eat what they fix. We ate here two nights in a row and almost stayed longer so we could eat here again.King driving across Sicily

Aeolian Isles, June 19-22
Sunset on the ferry from Milazzo to Lipari. On the left is Vulcano, the volcano from which all others draw their name. On the right is Lipari, our destination.An obsidian and pumice beach on Lipari. Hot on the feet, and rocks floating in the water. Unusual.The island of Stromboli, almost a kilometer highOur mission was to climb Stromboli to witness the eruptions. Here's a view of the active cone from the trail.Carlo, halfway up StromboliThe debris slope leading from the crater to the sea--you can see a cruise ship coming in to watch the volcano eruptThe moon rising on the flanks of StromboliAnother view from the trailThe sun setting over the Mediterranean, from 700m or so up StromboliStromboli erupts in a single big explosion about every ten or twenty minutes. You have to be lucky (or extremely patient) to catch it with a camera. Here it is dusk and we're on the trail. Hence the blurry shot.Stopping for a break on the way up the mountainAs night fell we ended up on the ridge of a dormant crater looking down at the active vent, where we stayed for an hour or so watching Stromboli do its thing. Unfortunately these images provide no sense of scale.Boom!The hike down went a different route, directly down a several-mile-long ash field. Ack.Carlo angry! Grrrrr! Carlo no like pumice quarry!An abandoned loading structure at an old Lipari pumice quarry--note the floating masses of pumice near the shore.Carlo in Lipari townLipari citadel from the harbor

Dubrovnik, Croatia, June 23-25
One of the entrances to the old walled city of Dubrovnik... this part of the city is built on a hillside and so the streets running in that direction are all just enormously long staircases.The Stradun, the main drag of the old city. Polished like a mirror by hundreds of years of pedestrian traffic. There are no vehicles in the city.Where is everybody?The city is stunning.You can get up on the walls and walk all the way around the city. If you ever get to Dubrovnik (and you really should), don't leave without walking around the walls!A view of the old city from the wallsAnother view of the old city from the wallsLooking down on the Stradun from the other end.Keep OutWalking the wall

Hvar, Croatia, June 28-30
The castle and old city wall overlooking the harborThe view of the harbor and outlying islands from the castleWe rented a little boat two days in a row to go to the islands beyond the harbor. Boat rental plus gas cost 250 kuna, around 30 bucks.Our mighty vesselSome anonymous beach on an island that probably has a nameWe had lunch both days at a little retaurant on one of the small islands. Good food and lots of local wineBack in Hvar town... Carlo catching a nap while his Fanta warms upHvar at night--the moon emerging from clouds over the convent

Elsewhere in Croatia, June 30-July 3
A surviving tower of Diocletian's palace in Split, CroatiaSunset over the Adriatic, the ancient town of Primosten in the middle distanceThe local hooch dispensary in Primosten. People came by with two-liter bottles, whatever, and filled up with local wine. Pretty good, and a glass cost a few cents.The pier in KarlobagCarlo looking at the water on the island of RabBell towers on Rab

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