May Flowers- Rainbow Fire
May 03, 2023
Out of Business: after-effects of a Hurricane
April 18, 2023
First, a couple of sunsets from Cape Coral, FL, one of the areas hard-hit by Hurricane Ian last year.
Hurricane Ian hit Florida in September 2022 as a Category 5 storm. It was the deadliest hurricane to hit Florida since 1935 and the 3rd costliest weather event on record.
Cape Coral is a smallish city on the west coast of Florida and was in the direct path of the storm. Even now, in April 2023, storm damage is very evident throughout the city as rebuilding continues.
A home's storm Damage at sunset
https://www.imagesbybill.us/Out-of-Business/Sunset-Storm-Damage-Hurricane-Ian/
April 14-15, 2023
Something new for Images by Bill
April 15, 2023
Come see us at www.imagesbybill.us!
Have you seen...
Crossin' the pond
March 31, 2023
The final image was posted in my Crossin' The Pond series last night!
Fifty-one images of a trip from Rome to Miami in December.
https://www.imagesbybill.us/Places/Crossin-the-pond
In addition, there are posts from Rome and Tivoli before the crossing.
https://www.imagesbybill.us/Places/Hadrians-Villa-Tivoli-Italy/
https://www.imagesbybill.us/Places/Tivoli-2022/
https://www.imagesbybill.us/Places/Rome-2022/
If you are looking to decorate a wall, there are some great choices.
More good news: the IT guys are finally done configuring www.imagesbybill.us and the site flows as it should!
Hadrian's Villa
March 08, 2023
The ruins of the villa of Roman Emperor Publius Ellis Hadrian in Tivoli, Italy. Built 118-134 AD.
Click here for full size images that really show the splendor of the villa
We were only here for three - four hours and missed a lot of the Villa... on the list for a return visit!
December 6, 2022
Villa d'Este, Tivoli, Italy
February 26, 2023
A 16th- century villa in Tivoli, near Rome, famous for its terraced hillside Italian Renaissance garden and its profusion of fountains. Construction began in 1560 for Cardinal Ippolito II d'Este. Wikipedia has a nice article on the Villa's convoluted history.
Inside the villa
Frescoes, statues and paintings
The Gardens and Fountains
The Fountain of the Organ (‘’Fontana dell’Organo’’)
is one of the most famous features of the garden; it was described and imitated throughout Europe. Work on the masonry structure began in 1566. The fountain itself was made by the French fountain engineer Luc Leclerc and his nephew Claude Venard. After the death of Leclerc, Venard invented the ingenious mechanism of the water organ, which was installed in 1571.
The fountain was the first of its kind, and astonished everyone who heard it; when Pope Gregory XIII visited the villa in 1572, accompanied by his court of cardinals and princes, he insisted on inspecting the interior of the fountain, to learn if someone wasn't concealed inside making the music.
A massive masonry arch behind the fountain, the ‘’castellum aquae’’ or water castle, conceals the water reservoir and the hydraulic machinery of the fountain. The original design featured a grotto in the niche of the arch, with a view of the twenty-two pipes of the organ. A statue of ‘’Mother Nature’’ or the ‘’Ephesian Diana’’ was placed in front of the arch in 1569; it now has its own fountain in the lower garden.
The water creating the music arrived first at the top of the ‘’Castellum aquae’. It went first through a series of whirlpools, which mixed air with the water; then it dropped down a pipe into the ‘’camera aeolia’’, or wind chamber, where the air and water were separated; the water turned a wheel, rotating a cylinder which opened the valves of the twenty-two pipes, so the air could pass through the pipes and make the music. (thank you, Wikipedia)
Three masks of The Hundred Fountains. When built they were white marble but time has worn them.
The boat with an obelisk mast, symbolizing the Tiburtina island in the Tiber, below the statue of Rome Triumphant
The full-sized images are a much better look. Click here!
Amazing villa. We only had time for a couple of hours there. I didn't capture a lot of this amazing place.
Crank up the Wayback machine...
February 11, 2023
From 2009 hiking the Grand Canyon with Jodi and Mike
using new Radiant imaging software
Full sized images are much better: click here
April, 2009
All around Rome - 2022
February 05, 2023
A day traveling around Rome.
Famous Fountain Di Trevi
Street scene
The Colosseum
Click here to go to all my Rome images
December 5, 2022
New guests in 2023
January 10, 2023
Welcome to 2023!
Our quiet pond, usually occupied by a small quackery of ducks and a few other birds, has seen an influx of visitors over the last several days. The visitors include seagulls, pelicans and an alarming number of turkey buzzards (over thirty yesterday). Thus far this morning only the ducks and a couple of pelicans are out and about.
Hanging out in and around the pond...
These guys, observing in a corner away from the maddening crowd, are part of our usual menagerie.
Turkey buzzards... why are they visiting?
Like at the beach, when it gets too crowded, some leave...
Meanwhile, the turkey buzzards circled in the air currents above the pond, looking very ominous.
01/09/23
A Drive around Rome: Part 1- The Vatican
January 02, 2023
The first stop on our drive around Rome was the Vatican.
Almost an overwhelming number of people, but our driver took us to a less-used entrance to St. Peter's Square. We were told the line into St. Peter's Basilica was so long that almost half the people in line might not make it in before everything closed that night.
12/05/22
At sea in oil
December 31, 2022
Final Sunset at sea
December 24, 2022
The Night before disembarking.
And, since the sun was shining through our balcony window as it set, images of us!!
Merry Christmas!!!!!
Traditional Sunset at sea
December 22, 2022
Images of the Season
December 22, 2022
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!
Rome
Tivoli
Provence, France
Barcelona, Spain
Canary Islands, Spain
December, 2022
The Dominican Republic
December 21, 2022
What do you do...
December 21, 2022
when you're quarantined in your ship stateroom due to COVID and everyone else is ashore having fun?
You watch the crew watching the crew do a drill deploying one of the giant rafts.
San Juan, Puerto Rico
12/20/21