Vatican

We were told by the guide that this was a good day because we could still see some of the floor and not just shoes. After sorting out hundreds of small groups at the meeting point we proceeded to the Vatican entrance. On the way the queue for tickets was 1km long and would take 3hrs to get to the door by which time we would have finished our tour.  We followed like sheep thru room after room. I preferred the hall of maps and did get a photo of the Port of Ostia when it was working.  The Sistine Chapel is impressive, with the famous painting of creation at its centre.  St Peter's Basilica was huge and a bit over the top. There were a number of dead Pope's and many statue's.  Much of the time it was just a shuffling step but we made it to the end.

Evening view of St Peter's

Ostia

Inside the Mega Dome

Ile Sainte-Marguerite

We have been to Cannes before so we opted to take a small boat across to the island, just 15 minutes and 15€ return p/p.  This is a varied island with a Fort at one end also housing a Maritime Museum, mainly showing ancient boat wrecks and their salvage, like amphora. There is a bit of forest, like the Avenue of Eucalypts, where all we needed were Koala Bears.  And plenty of spots to swim.  Our lunch spot was on a rock seat with baguettes and wine from the kiosk. How civilised. The wine was 3€ and our ship was in full view.

The only street on Marguerite

Oil ain't just Oil

The History Room

All the local history has been placed into a museum called the History Room. The storm had mostly abated by then but there was still rain.  By the afternoon it was gone and we did a short walk on the beach and found a track back to our house via the lagoon bridge.  Hopefully the power will stay on tonight and we can get back to the netflix that was rudely interrupted.

Storm in the Morning

History Room

Sun in the Afternoon

It's BathTime

We were all over Bath like soap suds. The actual bath house is a huge complex which we spent hours wandering through.  We drank some of the water which was warm and metallic. Also we checked out the Royal Crescent but the centre of Bath is High Tea heaven.  And now we have a Jane Austen tea pot for the occasion.  The Bath Priory has better gardens than the local Botanic Gardens.

Crescent Moon

Roman Baths

Jane's Biggest Book

Lisbon

 Lisbon is an interesting navigation challenge.  This is the most complex find your way city I have ever been to including Venice.  We went from the National Pantheon to the Castle of St George and down to the Main Square.  The route has complex switch backs, with dangerous cobblestones jutting at all angles.  A hidden twisting tram route cuts through all obstacles and don't get in the way. The castle is always above you somewhere but you can't see it unless you are in the right street.
 Another navigation feat was demonstrated proving that motivation conquers all. Prior to the trip I thought the Pandora bracelet was full, however with some squeezing and rearranging, new trinkets can be added.  With an unerring skill that Vasco Da Gama would have been proud of (we saw his tomb in the pantheon), Debbie found her way through the commercial district, past a train station, through heat infested crowds, up some steep streets to emerge into a shopping centre with a Pandora store.

Pantheon

1 Picasso 2 Picasso 3 Picasso 4

I've seen better on my kitchen Floor.  Due to the juxtaposition of light and the subjugation of lateral movements at the time not to mention the menstrual affectations requiring an intensity of thought throughout his containment period, I believe many of his works look a bit kindergarten.  I did like the sculpture better especially the Bicycle Bull.  Now that is genius in simplicity.

Barcelona Day 1

We have been to Barcelona a few times. No 1 this time was the Maritime Museum. The Spanish Galley preceded the Spanish Galleon. They have a complete Galley except for the masts in this museum.  These were oared ships, 4 slaves to an oar. They were chained to the seat and that is where they lived, slept, ate and crapped.  We took the cable car to Barcelonetta, also a first for us. This beach is an old haunt and we couldn't resist the Seafood Paella and Sangria. We took a taxi to get back at 7 Euros, while the cable car was a 1 hour wait and 8 Euros each.

One cable or two

Galley Slave

Cruise Liner Museum

The Germans chose St Nazaire to build a submarine base after they took it over in WWII.  But what to do with a huge concrete construction that will last another 1000 yar?  For one thing there were huge shipyards here where cruise ships such as the Normandie were built in the 1900's.  So they have built a museum for cruise ships in the submarine pens.  There is also a sub still here as well but we didn't get to see that.

Cruising already

Zeig Heil

State Library

Last time I was at the State Library was in the RMIT Cartography days around the 1977 era. This place is huge and getting bigger. The art gallery left, then the museum left, so more space for the books. But not just books although there are now 4.4 million of them, mostly in Ballarat where they can be retrieved over night. There are still exhibitions, historical displays  weddings, lectures and you can also read a book.  But only for reference not for lending.  The tour lasted 90 minutes and that was trying to be quick.

Vacated Museum

Reading Room

Shakspere

LeggoLand

There seems to be a bit of a resurgence in Leggo lately.  I notice that Chadstone and Southbank have some sort of Leggo activity opening up. We rode to the International Leggo Show at the museum however the entry was via an appointment time session, so when we arrived at 11:30am we could not get in until 4:00pm.  Then they wanted $70 for the fee.  So we just snuck a look at some of the exhibits anyway and gave the rest a miss.

Ben Lexcen NOT

Another DumDum

Wild Colonial Boys

Rode back to the old treasury building to check out the Bushrangers. The Kelly gang were the main interest but Jack Duggan and Mad Dan Morgan were also on show.  Had a closer look at the gold vaults and picked up my gold license.  There was a section on Alma Tirtschke and how Kevin Morgan got her hair analysed thereby posthumously pardoning Colin Ross of her murder. The ride in to town was via Rathdowne St with a short cut through the Exhibition buildings. There is a bike lane most of the way.

Gun Alley

Gold

License to Riches

Treasury Building

When this was built they didn't have weddings in mind. The banks couldn't handle the amount of gold coming into Melbourne so they built this to store the gold.  Eight gold vaults were placed in the basement.  This is now a freebie museum we only had a quick look inside. There are permanent displays and temporary shows like the Wild Colonial Boys.  Will have to go back to check that out. the wedding parlour has 58 seats and one desk.  So we should all fit.

Complete with aisle

The Lobster Pot

No not another eatery or cafe, this is the Barwon Heads historical collection. We have never been inside and from what I can tell is rarely opened other than weekends in January. Today however is the Festival by the Sea. This place is typical small museum but with fish tanks, stuffed animals. lots of stuff that's washed up.  There was much info on shipwrecks but they could not pinpoint what the funnel is that appears from time to time on our beach.

Musty

Heritage

Jurassic World

I remember going to a dinosaur park in Creswick about 35 yar ago. You walked along a path through the bush and a dinosaur would be around the next bend. Those were concrete critters. The Museum has animatronic versions that do everything except eat.  The show has been running 6 months but will be dismantled next week.  The rest of the museum could also be viewed. Had a quick look at the forest section. This is a lame imitation of the real thing. They have a lot of stuffed animals, bones and rocks. This new location and building has much more space than the old spot in Swanston street.