Landscape Phot-o' the Day: the Rape of Czechia, near Kuks, Czechia

Today's landscape photo features rape. It's not in the foreground. It's in the background. See it?

It's the yellow plant that dominates the landscape of the Czech Republic. Rape is prized for the oil in its seed, which once was known as rapeseed oil, but is sold in the United States under the far more marketable name of "canola." The farmland of the Czech Republic has been replanted as far as the eye can see in rape, pursuant to E.U. mandates on biofuels and renewable energy. Crops that had been grown for decades, even centuries, are gone and all that is left is the rape.

This photo was from outside Kuks, Czechia, near Betlém (translation: Bethlehem), a nativity scene that is found walking through a beautiful section of forest.

Visited May 2019.

Landscape Week! Phot-o' the Day: Southern Colombia, near San Agustin

All the cool kids on Facebook are posting landscape photos, I think as a distraction from the social distancing and self-quarantining associated with the coronavirus pandemic. I may not be cool. And I am not a kid. But I am slavishly devoted to following internet trends. And I have a boatload of landscape photos that I can post accumulated over years of travel.

So let's start with this one. This is the southern Andes of Colombia, near the town of San Agustin (and, more importantly, San Agustin Archaeological Park). The smoke in the foreground, right, is from a sugar cane house, squeezing the sugary juice out of the sugar cane stalks.

Landscape scenes are always more beautiful in person than in a two-dimensional photograph. So you don't get the full sense of how beautiful this area is, with the sheer cliffs and amazing greenery. You just have to visit here.

Visited September 2012.

Sunday Church Phot-o' the Day: St. Mark's Church, Zagreb, Croatia

Crkva sv. Marka. Saint Mark's Church. Located on St. Mark's Square, in Gornji Grad, Upper Town, the historic old town of Zagreb, Croatia.

The church dates back to the 13th Century. However, the iconic tile roof dates back only to 1880, with the coats of arms of the Triune Kingdom of Croatia, Dalmatia and Slavonia (not to be confused with the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, the original name of Yugoslavia) (left) and of the City of Zagreb (right).

Visited May 2010.

Phot-o' the Day: Woman Dances with Peruvian Paso Horse; Trujillo, Peru

Saturday is the day for horse pictures. This is a woman dancing with a horse.

And not just any horse. This is a Peruvian Paso Horse. Peruvian Pasos are renowned for their smooth gait. When you find yourself in Trujillo, Peru, and I do hope that someday you do, please go to the Peruvian Paso Horse Show on the outskirts of town.

Trujillo, Peru, is an awesome place to visit, perfect for several days of tourist fun. There are amazing, one-of-a-kind sights to see, including some of the absolute most important archaeological sites in the New World. The food is amazing (with some of the best ceviche on the planet found in nearby Huanchaco). Beautiful buildings. Cheap prices. It is a tourist mecca with everything ... except tourists. (Yes, there is far more to Peru than Machu Picchu.)

Visited April 2018.

Phot-o' the Day: Boy in a Turret, Cartagena, Colombia

A boy. In a turret. In Cartagena, Colombia.

This is from inside the Castillo de San Felipe de Barajas complex, the massive hilltop fortress overlooking the old port area of Cartagena, Colombia. While touring the fortress, I wanted to go inside one of the turrets to see what I could see. But the I chose was occupied. And he was having more fun inside that turret than I would have had, so it was his.

Visited May 2015.

Phot-o' the Day: Sunset over the Beach, Nazaré, Portugal

Sunset over the south end of the beach in Nazaré, Portugal, as seen from the grounds from the appropriately-named Hotel Miramar Sul. ("Miramar Sul" translating roughly to "Seaview South. Which it provides quite beautifully.)

The water looks placid from way up on the bluffs. But Nazaré is not known for placid water. What's it known for? Ask your surfer friends. The answer is: the highest, largest, surf-able waves on Planet Earth. But those waves roll in during the winter and can be found on the beach north of the town. This picture is from the last days of summer, and at the south end of the beach,

Visited September 2017.

Phot-o' the Day: Plaza Simon Bolivar; Casco Antiguo, Panama City, Panama

Casco Antiguo, or "Old Quarter," is the "Old Town" of Panama City, Panama, the historic downtown core. It is not to be confused with Panamá Viejo, the really old "Old Town," the ruins of an indigenous settlement that pre-dated the arrival of the Spanish by a long time.

Today's "Phot-o' the Day" is Plaza Simon Bolivar, with the historic San Francisco de Asis Church in the background (left) of the statue at the center of the Plaza. Every city in Latin America has a Plaza Simon Bolivar and every city in Latin America has a San Francisco de Asis church, usually in close proximity. Usually close enough to get both in a single photo frame.

Visited November 2013.

Phot-o' the Day: Cable Car to Monte; Funchal, Madeira, Portugal

Madeira is a volcanic island over 500 miles off the coast of Morocco. It is part of Portugal, but Madeira's main city, Funchal, is closer to Casablanca, Morocco, than it is to Lisbon.

The reason to visit Madeira is ... well, you don't need a reason. It is beautiful. The weather is perfect, year round. The food is delicious. And the place is awash in its awesome namesake wine, madeira, which I think has a slight caramel flavor. Funchal is a great home base to explore Madeira. And, when exploring, take the cable car to Monte. And then take a wicker "toboggan" down the steep hillside on a wild ride through city streets with cars that have dodge these runaway wicker baskets.

The trip up Monte via cable car is much more subdued. And you have time to enjoy the beautiful scenery on the trip, unlike on the almost-nearly-out-of-control "toboggan" ride downward back to the city.

Visited September 2017.

Phot-o' the Day: Rio Grande, Big Bend National Park, Texas

The Rio Grande is not so "grande" when it flows through the isolated wilds of Big Bend National Park in Texas.

Big Bend National Park is probably the most isolated, inaccessible national park in all the Lower 48. It's a six-hour drive from El Paso -- a tank of gas, basically -- and El Paso isn't really near any other population centers. And the Rio Grande is just a shallow creek, at least late in the year, in this part of Western Texas. I remember reading on the park brochure that, at certain parts of the park, you might see people on the other riverbank trying to sell you things, and that, if they cross the river (which would get their feet, not their backs, wet), they would be in the U.S. illegally. From wading across a very shallow creek.

So if you want splendid isolation as part of your national park experienced, Big Bend definitely should be under consideration.

Visited December 2008.

Sunday Church Phot-o' the Day: St. Stephen's Basilica, Budapest, Hungary

Szent István Bazilika. St. Stephen's Basilica. On the Pest side of the Danube in Budapest.

Churches are closed all over Las Vegas today due to the coronavirus shutdown, so we have to enjoy our Sunday Church Phot-o' the Day from the outside,

Visited May 2010. I walked past it on other visits to Budapest, but I only went inside on my first visit to Hungary. No flash photography was allowed inside, and the inside was very dark, so the interior photos are extremely dark. And that's the real reason why I am not posting any pictures from inside this beautiful basilica.

Phot-o' the Day: Lipica Stud Farm, Lipica, Slovenia

Meet a real Lipizzaner stallion. Lipizzaners are those snowy white performing horses that are a major tourist attraction in Vienna. But they are not Austrian. They are Slovene. From Lipica, Slovenia, to be exact.

And you can see the Lipizzaners up close and personal at the Lipica Stud Farm in the southwest of Slovenia. I would say that it is not far from Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia, but everything in Slovenia is not far from Ljubljana. Ljubljana is in the dead center of the country, and it's not an especially large country.

Visited October 2019.

Phot-o' the Day: Near the Praça da República, Belém, Brazil

Sunday in the park. In the days before enforced social distancing. In Belém, Brazil, in the area around Praça da República, Republic Square.

Belém might be the quietest, most low-key city of 1.5 million on the planet. Maybe it's the equatorial sun. Maybe it's the Amazonian humidity. Maybe it's just the way the people of Belém want it to be.

And they have the most excellent Brazil nut flavored ice cream you would ever want to taste. You know those cans of Planters' mixed nuts and the Brazil nuts would be the last ones left? Well, pulverizing those Brazil nuts and mixing them into vanilla ice cream is far and away the highest and best use of the Brazil nut, or castanha do pará. So grab a cone with a scoop or two of the castanha do pará flavor and head to the Sunday market in the park.

Visited June 2014.

Phot-o' the Day: Monserrate Palace Ticket Office, Sintra, Portugal

When you find yourself in Lisbon -- and you should -- someday -- it's beautiful, it's friendly, it's affordable -- the best day trip to take is to take the train to Sintra, about an hour west of Lisbon in the cool green mountains near the Atlantic. Just don't do what I did and go on a Monday.

Everything in Lisbon is closed on segunda-feira. Everything in Sintra is open. So every Lisbon tourist has the exact same idea:  head out to Sintra that day of the week. So Sintra is mobbed. Today's Phot-o' the Day is from that "packed to the gills" visit to Sintra. This is the main entrance to the Monserrate Palace. The ticket office to be precise.

Visited September 2017.

Phot-o' the Day: Andres D.C., Bogota, Colombia

A glimpse back in the days before "social distancing."

The Phot-o' the Day is from a different era. This is Andrés D.C.- Bogotá. It is a streak house and a nightclub. Simultaneously. On the Las Vegas Strip, there are fancy restaurants that turn into fancy nightclubs as the hour gets late. Not so in Bogotá. Andrés D.C. is a loud, pulsating nightclub that serves delicious perfectly grilled steaks (and other meats) right in the midst of the nightclubbing.

Only in South America.

Visited November 2017.

Phot-o' the Day: Jelačić Square, Zagreb, Croatia

Trg bana Josipa Jelačića. Jelačić Square. Zagreb, Croatia.

I have been to Croatia three times. It is not enough. I have flown home into, or out from Zagreb's Franjo Tuđman Airport on two of those trips. I have actually been within the City of Zagreb only once, for about 24 hours. It was enough.

Zagreb is a perfectly nice, modern city. It has some interesting museums. The Croatian Museum of Naïve Art is an absolute must. It has a funicular. It was well worth the limited time there, but there are so many greater priorities to see when visiting Croatia.

Visited May 2010.

Phot-o' the Day: San Agustin Archaeological Park, San Agustin, Colombia

The Andes highlands of Southern Colombia, around the area of San Agustin, is maybe the most beautiful land I have yet seen in my travels. I visited there because I had been planning a trip to Peru and Machu Picchu. I got discouraged reading about the extreme crowding at Machu Picchu and how that was ruining the experience. So I thought: where will be the next Machu Picchu? Where can I go before it gets over-run by tourists by me?

I decided to visit Colombia, with the intent of visiting the San Agustin Archaeological Park in the Andes in Southern Colombia. It was beautiful. It was amazing. It was beyond awesome. While Colombia itself is getting more and more tourists, the Archaeological Park is not on its way to becoming the next Machu Picchu. It's still not even on the radar for most travelers to Colombia or South America. I'm very glad I went.

Visited September 2012.

Sunday Church Phot-o' the Day: Church of Saint Spyridon, Trst, Italy

In solidarity with the people of Italy, who are in the midst of being especially hard hit by the COVID-19 coronavirus, the Sunday Church Phot-o' the Day is from my only trip inside the borders of Italy. It wasn't too deep into Italy, and it may be the least Italian city in Italy, but it counted sufficiently for purposes of checking off Italy in my list of countries visited.

From Trst, the Church of Saint Spyridon Serbian Orthodox Church. It seems especially appropriate to refer to Trieste by its Slavic name, given that this is a Serbian Orthodox church.

Visited October 2019.

Phot-o' the Day: Hospital Kuks, Kuks, Czech Republic

In honor of the pandemic obsession gripping the world, today's Phot-o' the Day is a hospital. Hospital Kuks, in Kuks, Czech Republic, to be exact. It is located in the north central area of the Czech Republic, a few hours northeast of Prague. This historic mansion was built as a convalescent home for soldiers in the late 17th Century by Austrian nobleman Jan Špork.

This would be a lovely place to convalesce as needed from the disease hysteria.

Visited May 2019.

Phot-o' The Day: War Emblem, Old Friends Equine Center, Georgetown, Kentucky

While I was traveling earlier this week, I learned of the passing of the great racing thoroughbred War Emblem. War Emblem was the surprise upset winner of the 2002 Kentucky Derby, then followed it up by an equally impressive win two weeks later in the Preakness Stakes. His Triple Crown chances were doomed, however, when he stumbled out of the starting gate at the Belmont.

This photo was taken during my March 2019 visit to Old Friends Equine Center in Georgetown, Kentucky, a retirement home for champion thoroughbreds.

Last Day in Quito: Church Church Church Church Church Museum

View of Panecillo from Santo Domingo Plaza

This was a mini-vacation. And when one is on a mini-vacation, the end comes soon. Tonight. Technically, tomorrow morning, but is 12:30 a.m. really tomorrow morning? Or is it simply tonight?

Today's agenda was to visit the churches that were pointed out in the free walking tour. Most of the churches has small admission fees, so this was, in effect, a $10 walking tour of Centro Quito. I started at the southern most point of this walk and would walk northward, hitting the National Museum just in time for the regularly-scheduled afternoon thunderstorm.

My walk started in Santo Domingo Plaza, with the Iglesia Santo Domingo. And who's the statue in the center of the plaza? Mariscal Sucre, the second most important liberator after the internationally-renowned Simon Bolivar. Sucre is more "local famous."

Let's go in.

It was a very nice church.

Mass was in session so I had to be discrete with my photographing.

I knew there were more spectacular churches ahead, so off we walk.

You can see the Basilica del Voto Nacional, Basilica of the National Vow (or Vote, but Vow makes more sense) off in the distance. We'll get there soon enough,

Next up was the spectacular Iglesia de la Compañía de Jesús, the Church of the Jesuits:

Spectacular is in understatement.

There's almost too much gold ornamentation inside.

Unfortunately, no photography was allowed inside. Not just no flash photography. No photography of any sort. And I do not violate church law on photography, based on a really weird experience years ago. So nothing from inside Iglesia de la Compañía de Jesús. Just picture gold gold gold gold and more gold.

Next up: Iglesia El Sagrario. Church of the Tabernacle.

I was in the neighborhood.

I was en route to Catedral Metropolitana, on the Plaza Independencia, a.k.a. Plaza Grande.

It was still beautiful and sunny at the time so the plaza was packed.

There's one huge massive mega-reason to pay the fee to go inside Catedral Metropolitana.

The painting of the Last Supper where cuy (guinea pig) is being served.

Alas, no photography of any sort was allowed inside Catedral Metropolitana, too. You couldn't even tell it was cuy being served, the painting was so high up, anyway.

Now, in true Quito fashion, it was time to trudge up hill.

The Basilica del Voto Nacional.

And look who's there to greet me. Saint John Paul II.

The Basilica is a very recent addition to Centro Quito.

And its twin spires sore over Quito.

The tower in the back is the one you can walk up in, and get spectacular views of the city. You can. I can't. Mi piernas! My legs are still in a gelatinous state. So no climbing a million billion stairs just for yet another spectacular view.

Despite its recent vintage, the interior of the Basilica is quite impressive.

This is a small chapel in the back:

And that concludes my tour of Quito's churches. Now, it was on the National Museum.

Free admission! My kind of National Museum.

These are the Pescadores (Fishermen) from Ecuadorian artist Jaime Andrade.

And this is a scene from the rearing of the Baby Jesus you've never seen before:

Virgen de La Leche. The Virgin Mary feeding the Baby Jesus as only a mother can. It's from an anonymous painter in the 19th Century. But definitely a showstopper.

Not all inside was either religious or modern art. Inside were artifacts from pre-Columbian civilizations in Ecuador.

We interrupt the pre-Columbian artifacts for this work: La Nariz Del Diablo, by Guillermo Muriel, 1960. This is a stylized painting of Ecuador's famous "La Nariz Del Diablo," or "Devil's Nose" train ride through the peaks of the Andes.

Back to the pre-Columbian artifacts. This time in gold:

There was not anything even remotely close to the amount of gold ornamentation on displays in Colombia's absolutely spectacular Museo del Oro in Bogota. But the collection was quite nice.

We now come to the "interactive" part of the museum.

This is a three-dimensional rendering of this work:

El Club Estrafalario, by Juan Agustin Guerrero. Why do you need a three-dimensional version of this work?

So you can put yourself into the artwork. They did not give me a musical instrument to play, so I just stood there useless like Suzanne Crough in the Partridge Family. Or Davey Jones in the Monkees. Or Stevie Nicks with Fleetwood Mac, all of whom just stand there while the others in the band do the heavy lifting.

One last item from the collection of pre-Columbian artifacts:

And then we move on to the museum's masterpiece. From the interactive art section:
 

And that concludes my Quito vacation. Not sure when the next vacation trip will be since the May trip is looking like it's in serious jeopardy from the coronavirus scare. Here's hoping I get back to, and back into, the U.S.A. tonight.