Quite frankly, after this experience I would love to be on a cruise ship again. I don’t know how the bigger cruise ship’s cabins look like but this one on Stena Baltica was cozy and warm. Hubby booked the Captain’s Suite cabin and when we arrived the champagne, strawberries, chocolates and cheese welcomed us in great delight. Perfect for our 10th Wedding Anniversary.

The cabin was like a hotel room furnished with the latest technology. It surprised me that they have this cozy cabin though Stena Baltica was not intended for leisure cruising but crossing Poland and Sweden. Unfortunately, the ship’s cruise ended mid last year and it was replaced by Stena Vision and Stena Spirit.~

~ Mellow Yellow Monday ~

Me about 10 yrs. ago

My good old photo on our first travel to Paris in August of 2002, at the Champs-Élysées with the Arc de Triomphe in the background. I just scanned the pic because we didn’t have a digital camera at the time. It was in late summer and I remember it was a bit chilly.

at the Champs-Élysées 4 yrs. ago

Revisiting Paris in the winter of 2008 to spend the New Year (of 2009) was more than exciting. It was cold but it was not snowing. Standing in the street of the Champs-Élysées again made me recall the first time I was there.

A man standing on....?

Really, what was that man doing? And what was that he was standing on? I can’t seem to figure out what it was but in one of my photos I saw a man getting on that thing. I did not see it in my own eyes then but only when I was browsing my pictures.

People admiring the place?

Some were posing for picture taking and some were just looking around. Even on a cold winter day they didn’t mind at all. They must be tourists, too. I was admiring the entire structure and I didn’t mind getting these people in my photos.

Some people outside the Louvre Museum

What's hubby looking at? The people or the museum?

I’m not sure if we can visit The Louvre again but if not, then I will say that was an awesome once in a lifetime experience.

The Theatine Church at Odeonsplatz, Munich

It’s the Theatinerkirche at Odeonsplatz in Munich, Germany. I thought for a while it’s a theater basing from its name. Yeah, what do I know about the German language, anyway. It’s a Catholic church, a baroque-style architecture that was inspired by the Roman Catholic Church. Looking at the picture, I couldn’t tell it’s a church maybe because of the absence of a cross, or there’s probably one but just couldn’t see it. The color is relentlessly attractive apart from its captivating structure.

I also learned that the place is called the Odeonsplatz in central Munich. I would love to visit the place again as it came out while I searched for the name of that building that there are a lot of remarkable architectures in the city.

The church and oh, what is that, at Odeonsplatz

I couldn’t find the name of the image below. It looked like a place for demonstration or something. It’s also at the Odeonsplatz though, close to the Theatinerkirche.

A historical platform?

Not bad for a film camera at the time even when taking pictures from the car. I remember we bought our digital camera a year and so after this travel.

Hubby's standing in front of the Luxor Obelisk

There is an underlying reason about the existence of obelisks. Although the term obelisk is of Greek, the object itself is Egyptian in nature. It symbolizes the sun god Ra and the pointed top is shaped like a pyramid believed to appear like a “petrified ray of the sundisk”. There are several ancient Egyptian and modern obelisks in different locations. It is said that the objects were built in pairs at the entrance of a temple but now we can see a single obelisk standing elsewhere. It’s astonishing to learn that some of them were shipped from their place of origin.

Can you see the obelisk behind me?

I had no idea that the obelisk was in this picture. Hubby and I were interested of the lustrous wheel but it turned out that he captured three in one. Four including me. Anyhow, the Luxor Obelisk in Paris can be seen at the Place de la Concorde. It is one of the two obelisks that originally stood at the entrance to Luxor Temple in Egypt. It was shipped to Paris as a gift from the viceroy. The other one remained in Egypt. It’s hard to believe how this 23-meter high, weighing 250 metric-ton obelisk was transported. You may want to research for this.

I would love to know your knowledge of an obelisk, if you have seen one and where.

There’s no Santa Lucia church here but in Syracuse (Italy), where Lucia is the patron saint of the city, the Santa Lucia Church is a must-visit on the day of the celebration. It is said that Lucia was buried in the church but we could not get in to see her tomb with our own eyes because it was closed then. We came a few days after the observance of Lucia Day ( December 13). We saw it in an Italian newspaper that this place was packed with people. But quite empty when we arrived.

That’s hubby looking closely to the church, hoping the door would be opened long enough to let us in. With hopes in vain, we just satisfied ourselves by taking pics, posing and staring at the church.

Oh, I do remember why we couldn’t get in the church. It was lunchtime and everything is normally closed in Italy from 1 p.m to 3 p.m. I also recall that hubby was in a hurry to find a restaurant, afraid we would miss lunch and wait for dinnertime at 8 p.m. Anyway, have a peaceful Santa Lucia Day!