Euro-cruise: Amsterdam to Barcelona

Ágúst and I did a ten day cruise from Amsterdam to Barcelona. I had never been to any city of the stops we made, so it was really an adventure even beyond the amazing food, parties, DJs, performers, and other boat amenities.  Here you can see our boat, the Celebrity Constellation, with the fortress in Ibiza in the background.






I wanted to get this giant Jesus statue copy of Rio, behind the golden gate esque bridge, and I got a bonus sail boat in the front.



So many amazing sculptures and the weather was gorgeous.



I really loved this turtle fountain.



Many epic churches, this was the largest we saw.





I loved how the sun was hitting this beautiful cubic house.



A hike out to the fortress yielded clear skies and ocean for kilometers in every direction.








This is my favorite shot from the entire trip, definitely getting a print.







This photo really encapsulated the weather for me. So sunny, warm, and perfect, the opposite of most days in Iceland.





Ibiza at night with yachts coming in.



Our ship's main deck at night.









From the top of the hill in Ibiza.



My second favorite shot from the trip.



The sculptures littered around the cities we visited were superb.



An art museum of some sort with gorgeous sculptures outside.





Looking straight up.



Even the regular windows were bedecked in crazy details.



A front door in Barcelona surrounded by plants. I love this!









From the Orient Museum, so many beautiful decorative items. I much preferred this museum to the Guggenheim which was filled with too much modern art for my taste.



From the Maoist propaganda exhibit. Very cool.



Gorgeous juxtaposition of shipping cranes against the blue sky.





So many cool harbors.



The walk up to a beautiful church.



I liked the combo of palm trees and sunlit buildings.



These tuna cans had so many interesting colors and patterns.



There were so many beautiful and calm courtyards in the Spanish cities we stopped in.



On the way back to Iceland by way of Oslo.

There are a few more I did not link to directly, but are available in the set on flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mr_chompers/sets/72157637678770904/

Italy - Sorrento, Milan, Naples

Ágúst and I spent 10 days of December in Italy. It was a fantastic experience. I am going to do something different with this blog post and put my favorite photos first, since there are so many pictures in total.




While the weather was not often sunny or too hot, I loved the color of the water in this image and how it shows the difference between Iceland and this warmer coastal city. This is in Sorrento.



The Duomo Cathedral was breath-taking and awe inspiring. The sheer size, height, and openness of the space took my breath away. I cannot imagine what it must have done for ancient people bereft of hollywood blockbusters and modern architecture for comparison.



I really liked the line of candles, the soft glow, and the people in front for perspective.



The repetition of these windows combined with the strong yellow color is what I loved about this image.



This one might be my favorite from the trip. So much rhythm, soft colors, the blurry snow streaks, I really love it.



The bounced orange glow of the painted wall outside casting into this hallway was beautiful.



A long exposure of Naples, what a city. That is Vesuvius in the background.



This is Positano. We rented a car for one day to make the drive, and while it was rainy the whole time and shops all closed, it was still worth it. Beautiful city with a winding tiny road going all the way down.



From an empty room in a museum in Naples. I purposefully front focused to increase the softness and blur of this beautiful window and light.



The tail end of Sorrento on the drive out around the Amalfi coast.




This was shot from a private hotel garden that we managed to get into. I love the streak of light cutting across, the red stripes, and the ornate door.























Mmmm... gelato. I ate way too much of this. Center top was Baba flavored gelato, simply amazing. Baba is a bread soaked in liquor, shaped like mushrooms.