STL DPB LOOKING BACK - YOU CAN ALMOST SMELL THE INCENSE

Home now, a day late. The flight from London to Chicago was way behind schedule and, until you have flown on an A380, you have no idea how very long it takes to get 460 passengers' luggage onto the carousel.  Spent the night at an airport hotel and arrived home yesterday.

We will have to look at pictures of Italy for a bit, not too much of a hardship. This is a view from the nave of the Siena Duomo looking toward the altar seen in Friday's post. I get a sense of the enormity, solemnity and overstated grandeur of the place.              

STL DPB ON THE ROAD - BAROCOCO

The nave of the Siena Duomo. I know something about Western art history but I'm no expert. Something here is sliding between the baroque and rococo but I couldn't define where the line falls. In any event, the visual effects are overwhelming. The church construction was begun in the 13th and 14th Centuries, and it is mind-boggling to consider the architectural and engineering skill. The decoration developed over the following centuries. It is impossible for even an interested tourist to take it all in.

As mentioned, lots of flying today. May get some photo editing done on the long London - Chicago segment but I don't know when I'll get my next post up.           

STL DPB ON THE ROAD - THE HEAVENS

Last day of leg wearying, joint aching tourism. We do okay walking around on vacation but Tuscany is full of settled mini-mountains, built that way, I suppose, for defensive purposes. 10,500 step day yesterday, which may be a modern personal record. What the health app on my phone does not record without consulting the altimeter is the hill climbing, many days 300 - 400 feet / 90 - 120 meters. We've had enough.

On our final day here we visited the Siena Duomo, which is an architectural and artistic spectacle. The central dome over the nave invites visitors with a supple enough neck to contemplate heaven. I got the shot because my camera has an articulating LED screen.

Drive back to Bologna today and spend the night at an airport hotel. Tomorrow it's BLQ - LHR - ORD - STL, 11 hours of flying and 5 hours of airport transfers, gods of the air willing. We are ready to go home.