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Cruising to Europe - May 2010

 

London Museums

The British Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum house eclectic collections of art through the ages.  Upon entry to each you are presented with a map and thirty or so exhibits to find.  It is something like a scavenger hunt, but it keeps you from wandering aimlessly through the halls.  We managed to track down the majority of the pieces and were somewhat mystified as to why some of the exhibits made the highlight list.  You can judge for yourself.

       British Museum

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    Victoria and Albert Museum

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Lake Como

If there is a more beautiful place on earth than Lake Como we haven't found it.  We had a short visit many years ago and had always intended to return.  We stayed in Bellagio which is situated on a peninsula near the middle of the lake.  A very good ferry system makes it easy to travel to the other towns on the east or west shore.  Shown below is a collage of photos that can be identified by row and column.  Commentary on some of the pictures appear below the matrix.

  1 2 3 4 5 6
A Como006.jpg (152796 bytes) Como009.jpg (139861 bytes) Como011.jpg (209846 bytes) Como013.jpg (260806 bytes) Como019.jpg (180031 bytes) Como020.jpg (217002 bytes)
B Como028.jpg (319624 bytes) Como030.jpg (238516 bytes) Como042.jpg (103218 bytes) Como043.jpg (322069 bytes) Como044.jpg (267751 bytes) Como057.jpg (205925 bytes)
C Como058.jpg (160955 bytes) Como062.jpg (145011 bytes) Como063.jpg (169484 bytes) Como022.jpg (142428 bytes) Como069.jpg (305680 bytes) Como073.jpg (213340 bytes)
D Como077.jpg (219545 bytes) Como078.jpg (275969 bytes) Como082.jpg (180930 bytes) Como091.jpg (106404 bytes) Como109.jpg (153509 bytes) Como116.jpg (296011 bytes)
E Como117.jpg (243874 bytes) Como130.jpg (167734 bytes) Como132.jpg (114408 bytes) Como125.jpg (147886 bytes) Como142.jpg (309634 bytes) Como143.jpg (191362 bytes)
F Como145.jpg (107623 bytes) Como149.jpg (152617 bytes) Como153.jpg (100080 bytes) Como155.jpg (123240 bytes) Como161.jpg (241922 bytes) Como162.jpg (136163 bytes)

Notes:

 

A1 - West shore of lake as viewed from Bellagio

A3 - part of our suite at the Hotel Belvedere

A4 - the view from our suite's back yard

A6 - the Grand Hotel Vila Serbelloni, Bellagio's most exclusive

B1 - Varenna, on the west shore is noted for its flowers

B3 - one of the lake's many ferries

C1 - a lucia, traditional Lake Como fishing boat

C2 - outdoor dinner at the Trattoria San Giacomo

C4 - look hard and you will find a church built into a mountain

D2 - sign from an owner tired of tourists trying to find George Clooney

D3 - Villa del Barbianello, historical site in Lenno

D5 - built on 1787, Balbianello is now part of National Trust

E2 - Vila Melzi in Belaggio

E5 - Vila Melzi was built in 1808 for the vice president

E6 - the restaurant La Punta is on the tip of the peninsula

F1 - La Punta serves fresh fish from the lake

F2 - friendly group of Polish tourists we met at La Punta

F3 - Pescallo, a short walk from our hotel

F5 - all roads lead to Lecco

F6 - the harbor at San Giovanni