Category: Photo Gallery

A Tour of Venezia: “La Serenissima”

by mattathomeintheworld, posted in Italy, Photo Gallery, Venice

My first visit to Venice was in 1999 and that was the start of my love affair with what has become my favorite city in the world. I’ve returned to “La Serenissima” (the most serene one – a nickname often bestowed on Venezia), many times since then and I’ve probably taken a few hundred photos as I’ve wandered the city. Yet, with every new visit I add a few dozen more because Venice has to be one of the most photogenic places on the planet. The light, the shadows, and the reflections on the water change a thousand times a day and look different with each season. Join me for a tour of La Serenissima and hopefully you’ll see why I love her so much. (Be sure to click on a photo to see captions!)

Andiamo!

Road Trip! A Journey Across the USA

by mattathomeintheworld, posted in Photo Gallery, USA

My first cross country drive was in summer of 1976 at the ripe old age of 18, and since then I’ve actually lost count of how many round trips I’ve made from coast to coast to coast, but I do know that it is close to 50. One of those trips actually took me from San Francisco to Texas to Virginia to Massachusetts to Alaska and back down to California… a mere 10,000 miles. Many people can’t understand why any sane person would opt to drive for six or seven days rather than taking a six hour plane flight, but these pictures may give you a glimpse of why I crave the open roads. Here’s a compilation of photos I’ve taken along the way over the years. (I first posted this photo gallery in 2016, but have made significant updates and additions to it since then, so I decided to republish it now.)

Let’s hit the road!

Notre Dame: The Soul of Paris

by mattathomeintheworld, posted in Paris, Photo Gallery

Paris was the first city in Europe that I ever visited, way back in 1986. Since then, I’ve spent countless days and nights in the “city of light”, and even had an amazing opportunity to “live” in Paris for a month on University business. It has remained one of my favorite cities in the world.

seine by night
Evening along the Seine, with the glow of Notre Dame to warm our hearts
Continue reading “Notre Dame: The Soul of Paris” →

Spring Break: New York and New England

by mattathomeintheworld, posted in New England, Photo Gallery, United States

When planning for my Spring Break trip this year, I searched the Internet for hours to find the best travel bargains on my airfare and rental car. I could have flown round trip to Boston and rented a car for 10 days and spent over $1000; instead I discovered that if I flew to Newark, spent a couple days in New York, took the train to Albany to visit friends, and then rented a car in Albany that I could return at Boston, I would save about $400. And on top of the saved cash, I got to experience several different places, making for a much more diverse vacation!

Who says winter isn’t a great time to travel?
Come along for the ride…

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year…

by mattathomeintheworld, posted in New England, Photo Gallery, United States

I’ve always loved fall in those places where there’s a definite change in the seasons, and there’s probably no better place to be than New England at that time of year. The cool, but sunny days and chilly nights, the explosion of a palette of colors that have always been my favorite hues, the reflections of what’s happening above that can be found in any still body of water, and the heady smell of wood fires, damp leaves, and hot cider donuts… These are the things that make me return to New England every October with the determination of a salmon swimming upstream to return home!

B14 B maybe once, maybetwice

Before Winter sets in, let’s take a last, fond look at the Autumn. All of the photos below were taken in New England, mostly Massachusetts and Hew Hampshire.

Go to the photo gallery…

Finland: Helsinki and Lapland

by mattathomeintheworld, posted in Finland, Photo Gallery

Arriving in a blizzard… where are my huskiies?
My cozy room at Hotel Klaus K, Helsinki
Walking to dinner with 40 mile per hour gusts of wind…
Respite at Ravintola Kuu: Hot Salmon Soup with Potatoes and Dill
Reindeer Steak… as tender as butter, with mashed sweet potato and mushroom risotto
Finnish cheese with fresh fig jam
Chocolate brownie with sea-buckthorn berry sorbet and assorted garnishes
The chef peeks out through the window from the kitchen, likely due to my loud moans of pleasure
Walking home in the snow
A beautiful night once the winds died down
The Helsinki History Museum Building
And its Tower
and it’s front entrance…
Quick stop-over in Kittilä on the way to Ivalo… the ground crew appears ready for any emergency!
Flying over Lapland
My chariot awaits at the Ivalo Airport
Guesthouse Husky
Husky puppy greeting me
Maya, the pup’s Mom
My room at Guesthouse Husky
Lunch in Ivalo: a reindeer burger with blue cheese sauce
The Aurora makes its first appearance on the northwestern horizon.
Then, the aurora explodes in all its glory. Note: ALL aurora pictures were taken by our tour guide, Mr. Jouni Männistö who runs Ivalo Trek Lapland. My camera could not capture any photos of this. I am so grateful that Jouni took these images of what I saw!
Our little group, posing for Jouni
So beautiful it brought tears to my eyes… which froze instantly!
I will never forget this night!
Like a shimmering rainstorm of light
Jouni captured the night sky above us
Lights over the lake
constantly changing patterns
What a night… I didn’t even care that it was about 1 degree Fahrenheit!
Thank you Jouni! Thank you to the Heavens for providing me with this show I will never foget.
May I have this dance?
In the morning… you can’t be sad when you’re hugging a husky!
Who is visiting me?
Look at those faces!
How cute is this?
Now that is a beautiful animal!
My new friends, Melody and James from Singapore
On the banks of Lake Inari at 1PM
Lake Inari
Frozen Lake
Salmon soup for lunch
Our hostess at the Reindeer Farm near Inari
A snow white reindeer… perfectly campuflaged!
Wow, this guy really loves his lichen!
“This is all that he’s got left for me? A twig?
Eating out of my hand…
James plays a game of tug of war with one of the deer!
“Where were you when I needed you in Helsinki?”
Trying on a pair of handmade reindeer slippers!
Sparkling sunny “morning” at 12 noon…
The road from Ivalo to Saariselka
Nice to see sun, even if it’s only for 3 or 4 hours!
Saariselka
Festive fence in Saariselka
Snow and sky
A grazing deer beside the road
An almost frozen river
Dusk in Lapland… the time: 2:15 PM
Dinner of reindeer, masked potatoes, lingonberries and pickles… delicious!
Negative 17 Celsuius or 1 degree above zero in Farenheit….
Waking up to a foot of new snow on my morning of departure!
My snowed in car, last morning in Lapland
The scenery on the way to the airport.
Goodbye Lapland… for now
The ground crew at bustling Ivalo airport watching us depart

Wales and England, November 2016

by mattathomeintheworld, posted in Photo Gallery, Wales and England

 

The beach view from my hotel near Cardigan, Wales
The view from the property
The view from my room at CLlff Hotel
Beautiful, crisp morning
The wee trail to Peltre Ifan
Peltre Ifan, a burial site dating back to 3,500 BC
Peltre Ifan
The coastline of west Wales
A patch of green at the end of the tunnel
What an expression!
Fishguard, Wales
Fish & chips… mushy peas in the little plastic container, of course!
Aberstwyth, Wales
Aberstwyth
Entering Snowdonia National Park, Wales
A tinge of autumn
Serenity
Looking very Celtic…
Snowdonia
Near Beddgelert
Winding roads
Fall Foliage
What a beautiful canopy over this road…
This must be Wales…
Snowdonia countryside
Nearing the sea again
Caernafon, Wales
Every town must have a castle!
Castle Square, Caernafon
Back in the high country of Snowdonia
Chester Cathedral, England
The cathedral from atop the city walls
Chester shopping district
The irony… old guys obviously don’t rule, as the store is out of business and a young guy is using it as a place to text! Sigh.
An atmospheric pub in Chester
Guard tower on the Chester walls
I love cider!
Cute labeling
Steak, Ale & Mushroom pie
Rhubarb Creme Brulee`

Summer Turns to Fall in New England

by mattathomeintheworld, posted in New England, Photo Gallery, United States

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Summer turns to fall…September and October 2016

Because I was on sabbatical from my university during Fall semester, I decided to go “home” to New England for a few weeks to enjoy the gradual arrival of autumn. I stayed in a rented property at Fogland Beach in Tiverton, RI and from this beautiful home base, wandered all of New England trying to capture it all in photos.

Take me to the gallery!