Italy

The blue grotto is arguably the most famous point on the Isle of Capri, located off of Naples in the Tyrrhenian Sea. The only way to get there is by boat. I took a short, small boat cruise that circumnavigated the island to get there.
Once there, it's a transfer to small rowboats as that's all that will fit into the grotto. The 1st picture shows why it got its name. Light reflecting off the white bottom is refracted, rendering the water blue. This grotto was also known as emperor Vespasian's private swimming pool as he had a villa atop the island with a tunnel directly to the grotto.
The 2nd picture is a long distance picture of the Punta Carena lighthouse. This is the 2nd oldest lighthouse in Italy, built in the 1860s. In ancient times, a fire was lighted here for the same purpose.
The 3rd picture is of the faraglioni rocks of Capri. I understand that these formations are known as stacks, coastal geologic formations eroded by wave action. The arch is large enough for local tour boats to pass through, which we did.
The 4th and 5th pictures are 2 more named grottos of Capri: the green grotto and the white grotto respectively. Much like the blue grotto, light is refracted in the former causing the water to appear emerald green. The white grotto is named for the white limestone rather than refracted light. The white light plus stalactites and stalagmites, though not clearly visible here, are said to make an intriguing sight. The sea was too rough on this side of the island to get a good picture.
The last picture looks straight up at the limestone cliffs on the south side of the island. Capri is an extraordinarily beautiful place.Читать далее

To provide some closer looks at what is arguably the world's most famous archaeological site, here are a few still pictures to add to the panorama (see another post).
Originally called the Flavian Amphitheater (because it was built by the Flavian emperors), the coliseum was started in 72 CE and completed in 80 CE. Only 8 years to build it! Seating is estimated to be as many as 80,000 people in 4 levels of seats, with each higher tier being for lower strata of Roman society.
The 1st picture is a model of the Coliseum, showing it with all the statues around the outer perimeter. The 2nd picture is in the outer ring hallway that was a passageway under the spectator seats at ground level. It looks amazingly like the same space in modern stadia.
The 3 remaining pictures are inside, all taken from the top of the 2nd seating level. Both higher level are gone, except for some of the walls. The 3rd picture looks toward 1 end of the oval to a small area reconstructed over what were the 2 floors beneath the arena floor to give a sense of what it might have looked like. The 4th picture looks down along the aisles of the lower of the 2 sub levels. The upper level is gone. This is where the animals were caged and the elevators were located for lifting animals, gladiators, etc. into the arena. The 5th picture looks at the Coliseum from outside as it is today.
The last picture is across the street. This is the gladiator's school. Here they trained and lived and where they entered the tunnel into the sub levels to be lifted into the arena to perform.Читать далее