Chasing The Blue Beyond

Rome · Vatican City · Field Notes Foreign Land Rome Sweet Rome: Up on the Roof A climb into the dome of St. Peter's becomes a layered journey through altitude, memory, belief, technology, and the comic distance between salvation and lunch. See Full Image Rome Vatican City St. Peter's Dome 2016 + 2009 Hotel @nyware Show Text Ordinary World The Call Answer the Call Foreign Land Trials The Elixir Not many folks realize it, but you can take the stairs to the top of the dome in St. Peter's Basilica—which is exactly what I did. It is the highlight of my trip so far in Italy. That is saying a lot, since yesterday I was in magical Venice. The climb changes the scale of the place. Marble becomes altitude. Ceremony becomes weather. Rom...

Venice / 2014 + 2016 / A Waterborne City Going, Going, Gondola Where the Earth revolves around the sea—and an ordinary walk feels like moving through a painting. See Full Image Show Text Field Note 01 “It is like I am walking through a painting.” The City That Floats No Cars. No Ordinary Traffic. Venice is a city built on water—a working, living city where everybody gets around by boat. No cars. We tend to remember the gondolas, bridges, and palazzos. But what makes Venice extraordinary is not simply that it looks like a painting. The painting works. Every ordinary urban function has been translated onto the water. Emergency Services Water ambulances, police boats, and fire crews move through the canals. City Operations Rubbish collection, maintenance, and armored cash couriers all travel by boat. Da...

Onboard The Britannia  Cruisers, talk to each other, and influences each other. So progress gets amplified through WOM, Word of Mouth.. The more people who have ocean cruised, the more who will tell others, the more who will want to take an ocean cruise too. I am doing my part by blogging about my travels, with over a million page views. A View with a room- The Gym  with Lisbon as the backdrop Atrium of Britannia is impressive

Maritime Adventure: From QM2 to P&O Britannia Maritime Adventure From the legendary QM2 to P&O's magnificent Britannia Epic Cruise Collection Southampton (QM2) → Gatwick Airport → Porto → Lisbon → Vigo, Spain The Journey Begins After disembarking the magnificent QM2 in Southampton, our adventure continued with a scenic train journey to London Gatwick, followed by a charming flight to Lisbon via Porto in a delightful puddle jumper. Our destination: the newest and most impressive ship in the P&O Fleet—the spectacular Britannia. ...

Guernsey / Channel Islands / 2015 + 2016 + 2019 Three Times in Guernsey The first trip crossed to Herm. The second entered Victor Hugo’s house. The third returned to discover that the island—and the story—had changed because I had. See Full Image Show Text Field Note 01 Same Island. Three Bearings. Guernsey arrived three times, and each arrival found a different version of the island. In 2015, the movement was outward: St Peter Port, a short ferry crossing, and Herm Island. In 2016, the movement turned inward through the rooms, inscriptions, furniture, and stand-up desk of Victor Hugo’s exiled home. In 2019, I returned after the Bay of Biscay and found both the tranquil harbor and Hugo’s house waiting for another reading. 2015 The Crossing Herm Island, manor village, harbor village, and a post office whose stamps traveled farther than most people. 2016 ...

World Cruise / Life at Sea Hong Kong to Southampton A maritime memoir carried by Queen Mary 2: Hong Kong memories, New York Harbor, the Atlantic crossing and the return to Southampton. See Full Image Show Text Opening Bearing It is not a cruise but a voyage; not a cruise ship, but a liner—the last of the great ocean-going liners. The title names the larger journey. The photographs concentrate on its Atlantic chapter: New York Harbor, the open ocean and Southampton. Sarah Kennedy and Ed Reif are onboard the last of the great ocean liners. Passage Log From harbor theatre to open water The voyage moves through six scenes: entrance, arrival, bridge clearance, Manhattan, the Atlantic and Southampton. Stage 01 Sailing Into New York Harbor The magnificent approach aboard Queen Mary 2. Sailing past the Statue of Liberty and beneath the Verraz...