Bill's Blog

In loving memory...

May 28, 2023

Culpepper National Cemetery, VA

Images by Bill: Friends and Family

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/

Images By Bill

April 14-15, 2023

Villa d'Estes

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

Hercules fighting a lion

View from the patio leading to the Gardens

The Gardens and Fountains

Little fountains leading down to the gardens

Another small fountain in a grotto

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)

The ‘’castellum aquae’’ and hydraulics have been replaced with an actual pipe organ

Looking down from the Fountain of the Organ

Fountain of the d'Este Eagles

Looking away from the gardens

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

Looking out from the exit

Someone famous? An untitled sculpture

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. 

December 6, 2022

From 2009 hiking the Grand Canyon with Jodi and Mike

using new Radiant imaging software

Bright Angel Creek trail and the Colorado River

South Kaibab trail

Full sized images are much better: click here

April, 2009

A day traveling around Rome.

Stone Door

Wear caused by water makes it look like he is losing lunch

Famous Fountain Di Trevi

Postcard view

What you actually see

What you actually see !

Office building entrance and self-portrait

Spanish Steps, famous scalinata (monumental staircase)

Sign at a park

A few Roman scenics

Obelisk

Lots of obelisks in Rome

Pantheon- a temple dedicated to all the gods

Fire hose outlet with accompaniments

A little fuzzy; shot through car window

 The Colosseum

Postcard view

What you actually see

Ruins in black and white

Click here to go to all my Rome images

December 5, 2022

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.

Ruth about to be engulfed by the only group that were not tourists

If you look very carefully at the right background you can see the line to get in.

Wilson guarding a fountain. Does he look like a Vatican Guard?

Another view with people

St. Peter's Basilica, a traditional view

Another view of the fountain, no Wilson but better lighting.

A side street beside the Vatican

A very nice upscale tourist shop and art gallery

 12/05/22

Two classical sea images rendered as oil paintings...

12/18 & 21/22

Happy New Year!

The Night before disembarking.

And, since the sun was shining through our balcony window as it set, images of us!!

 12/22/22

Merry Christmas!!!!!
 

A must-have for every trip. 

12/21/22

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!

Rome

St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican

Tivoli

Provence, France

Grape Vine Christmas Tree

Barcelona, Spain

Canary Islands, Spain

Ruth and Wilson showing off a stylized tree

Bottle Tree

December, 2022

From afar on a cloudless, hazy morning.

PhotoGeek:

Thank you, HDR and Perfectly Clear V3

12/21/22

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.

That big raft came out of one of the little drums next to it.

 San Juan, Puerto Rico

12/20/21

San Juan, Puerto Rico

Harbor at night

12/20/22

What the middle of the Atlantic Ocean looks like on a sunny day?

Now you know!

12/18/22

Leaving Tenerife, Spain in the Canary Islands, headed across the Atlantic

12/13/22

After a windy, rainy, all-around terrible weather day (see previous post), the weather cleared just as we sailed away, leaving us a beautiful parting view of the Rock of Gibraltar.

The Rock with a pilot boat in the foreground.

12/11/22

Arrived at the British territory of Gibraltar last night.

Our first view of the famous Rock of Gibraltar was...

underwhelming.

It was a rainy, very windy morning.

The weather and accompanying visibility very gradually improved...

Better, but not nice enough to go ashore and wander.

Finally, in the afternoon just before we sailed away, we got a full view of the Rock of Gibraltar

12/11/22

Rome and Tivoli were amazing...

now its off to sail the ocean blue

(lots more images, these are an appetizer).

Rome

Ruth... and Wilson... throwing a coin into the famous Fontana di Trevi (the actual coin is just above her right hand)

Tivoli: Roman Hadrian's Villa

Tivoli: Villa D'Este

December 5-6, 2022

The Last Two Wineries...

Bodegas Baigorri

In Basque country, an amazing underground winery,

seven levels, six underground

Views from the above-ground entrance,

Scenic with cloud reflections at the entrance moat

Underground:

The wines: we went together with our group and bought a case shipped to us in September

Bodegas Casa Primicia

Views of Laquardia township from the vineyards



Lunch in the vineyard

Hidden Rose

Explaining the wine

Outdoor cooking using cut grape vines

Great company!!!!

See full size images at my gallery site: https://billterry1.smugmug.com/Places/Western-Europe-Wine-Quest-2022/

For all our trip stories, go here: https://www.billterry1.com/2022/07/western-europe-wine-quest.html

June 11, 2022

Basque Country

Wine!

Cider!

See full size images at my gallery site: https://billterry1.smugmug.com/Places/Western-Europe-Wine-Quest-2022/

For all our trip stories, go here: https://www.billterry1.com/2022/07/western-europe-wine-quest.html

June 10, 2022