The Domes of Rome

On June 5, 2018 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Italy, Photo Challenge12 Comments

When traveling throughout Europe, the domes of cathedrals tower above the cities. Rome, however, seems to have more than its fair share of domes that dominate the skyline. It isn’t just the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica, domes seem to be almost everywhere in the city. As interesting as domes can be when seen from the outside, they are often elaborately decorated inside and were often the focal point for the artists of their time. This week’s Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge is Arch, Dome, or Half-Circle. Looking at the skyline of Rome it almost seems as though you can find a dome around every corner.

A Show of National Pride

On May 31, 2018 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Photo Challenge3 Comments

One of the things that seems universal about traveling is that residents of a country, region, or city are fiercely proud of their country and culture. Even if they aren’t particularly pleased with the people in government at the time, they still remain very passionate about their country and want others to know that it is a wonderful place to visit. Even if the country is struggling financially, tourism is always a valuable source of income and pride for the citizens. This week’s Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge is Flags or Banners and we have enjoyed seeing flags of various countries during our travels.

Many Flags at Mount Rushmore in South Dakota

Capturing History Through the Written Word

On May 22, 2018 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Austria, Egypt, Ireland5 Comments

In this digital age, we actually still are fans of owning physical books that we can open and read. Throughout history, the sharing of stories by writing them down has been an important part of preserving knowledge about the cultures that they represent. To some extent, everyone who has a web site and shares their stories is continuing in this same tradition, but obviously on a grander scale in this world where we are all connected electronically. One of the things that we find fascinating is when we come across an ancient text during our travels. Whether it is the Book of Kells in Ireland, papyrus hieroglyphs in Cairo, or just an ancient bible in a church, seeing the care given to these books and manuscripts is an important reminder of how much respect needs to be given to what has been written by our ancestors.