Ely Cathedral, April 24, 2005

April 24, 2005--Steve had a day off on his trip to England. I came and joined him via a cheap flight on RyanAir. We drove to Stanstead and then took a train into London. But first, we stopped at Ely Cathedral. The band had played there already that week, and it's one of Steve's favorite cathedrals. It was a beautiful morning and a beautiful building. Here are a few pictures.

Arriving at Ely Cathedral on a bright spring morning 

Inside Ely Cathedral 

A modern piece of art and worship 

Beautiful windows shining with morning light 

Ely Cathedral from the outside 

Detail of the turrets 

The spire in springtime 

Spring trees framing the cathedral 

Florence, April 13, 2005

I'm way behind on posting pictures!

On our way back from Rome, we stopped a few hours in Florence, where we went to see the Duomo, as well as the Ponte Vecchio over the Arno River.

Florence's cathedral is utterly different from any German cathedrals. We didn't do a lot in Florence, but I find the detailed color on the cathedral to be stunning, so I'll post the pictures I took.

Approaching Florence's Duomo, with the Baptistery in front 

Detail, the Baptistery and Duomo 

The facade of the Duomo 

The campanile of the Duomo 

Detail, the Duomo 

Rowers on the Arno River 

The Arno River through Florence 

The great dome of Florence's cathedral 

Close-up of Florence's Duomo 

Rome! April 11-12, 2005

For Spring Break 2005, we spent two days in Rome. We did lots of walking and saw the major sights. Rome is an amazing city. You're surrounded by incredibly old buildings. The ancient is all mixed up with the modern.

We were there after the funeral of Pope John Paul II, and before the new pope was chosen. We expected crowds, but they weren't too bad.

Below are some of the pictures I took. I posted them in order, so if you want to see them in the order they were taken, start at the bottom of this section.