Catherine Bannister

Me too! (And Nick takes great pics)

D!! 😊 ❤️ 🐶

A bright full moon in an otherwise dark clear sky illuminates a few passing clouds over an illuminated white stone building in Split, Croatia

Harvest moon doing its shiny thing over Split tonight

The town of Trogir is nestled on a tiny island (across from another island) off the central Dalmatian coast of Croatia.

The architecture of Trogir covers all bases, but has strong Venice vibes (given they owned it for like 500 years) especially in the piazza with the bell tower

A main plaza within the Palace of Diocletian, in Split

The very top of the bell tower in the Palace of Diocletian is visible through the round hole at the top of a stone dome. The acoustics within the domed room were perfect for the A Cappella trio that regaled us with traditional Dalmatian tunes

Today we explored Trogir (a medieval town on a small island near Split) and then the Palace of Diocletian in Split. Hard to choose just four photos from the 100s I took!

The Hope diamond, big and blue and surrounded by other white diamonds, is alone on a pedestal in a display case at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History

#AlphabetChallenge #WeekOForOpulence
#SmithsonianCampaign

Multiple waterfalls, of varying heights and force, cascade over the rocky crags and treelined cliffs.

The big waterfall under a bright blue clear sky. Our guide told us that before yesterday’s torrential rains, only a couple of small streams had been visible.

The water is crystal clear and reflects a perfect mirror image of the shore line of one of the lakes. The water in the lakes is high in calcium and so they change color from light to dark green and even turquoise.

Brilliant green water from a higher lake cascades down into a lower one

Today we visited Plitvice Lakes - along the Croatia/Bosnia & Herzegovina border - the oldest and largest nat’l park in Croatia and on the UNESCO world heritage list. Yesterday’s deluges were today’s roaring waterfalls! Absolutely gorgeous.

Clouds of all shapes, sizes and colors of white, pink and grey suspended over the blue sea and sunlit mountains off Split, Croatia

Look at these ridiculous clouds. Like they’ve been pasted onto the sky from a comic book! 💕 ☁️ 🇭🇷

The Hall of Mirrors in the palace of Versailles in France. Huge crystal chandeliers light the length of the enormous room

#AlphabetChallenge #WeekOForOpulence

I wonder what her family and the people of Romania thought about her just giving millions of dollars of artifacts to a random US museum? 🤔
But that dress!! Gorgeous!

A modern sculpture of a violinist in Park Angiolona in Opatija, Croatia

Blue sky with some passing clouds (although the wind is still quite brisk) above a blue Adriatic Sea and a gnarled pile of rocks and boulders jutting from the shore

The Maiden with a Seagull statue stands high upon a rock outcropping in the sea in Opatija

More blue sky and blue sea (with grey rocks and green trees). Quite a change from even 20 minutes earlier - the rain had been coming down in buckets all day and the winds were howling

And then…the sun came out in Opatija! 🤩

A tall square of Bled cream cake, original recipe from the Park Hotel on Lake Bled, Slovenia. This cake has been traditionally made since 1953 and has a thin, crispy crust of butter dough topped with a thick vanilla cream and a layer of pillowy whipped cream, another layer of butter dough and a healthy blanket of powdered sugar.

Our guide for the afternoon in Ljubljana introduced us to pumpkin seed oil - it has a dark green color and tastes like caramel and nuts. It can be mixed into or poured over vanilla ice cream, and it’s also delicious as an alternative bread dipper to olive oil.

We tasted five flavors of olive oil this afternoon - here, four tiny glasses on a white plate have about 1/2 inch of golden liquid and the fifth glass is an olive green (go figure!). The green one was the just pressed oil taken directly from their stainless steel vats (and it was so fresh and fruity - yum!). The one I bought was the spiciest.

The young (15 years old!) host at the olive oil tasting spoke excellent English and his parents were so proud - rightfully so. He answered all of our many questions (about olives, oil and just life as a Croatian teen, in general). Then he served us flourless chocolate cake that his Nonna had just made - dark rich moist triangles made only from eggs, olive oil and dark chocolate heavily sprinkled with powdered sugar. Heavenly.

Blustery travel day with a stop at a family-owned olive oil mill before a night in Opatija. All the food and drink in Slovenia & Croatia has been top-notch, tho we declined the horse meat at the place in Ljubljana. I love the Istrian Teranino liqueur - like a vanilla + cinnamon infused port!

OMG!! Elvis and Lisa Marie! ❤️ 🐽

London!! ❤️ 🐶

Catalina! 🧑‍🎄 ❤️ 🐶

A bright turquoise rectangle shining against a dark sky and yellow-orange lights in the background is the illuminated infinity pool outside our villa atop Lake Como, Italy

#AlphabetChallenge #WeekNForNight

Sailboats moored in the harbor near Rovinj, Croatia

The tower of St. Euphemia church in Rovinj, Croatia can be seen in the far distance from a small cove nearby

The Adriatic Sea dramatically lit under a moody grey cloud layer

Rovinj skyline in silhouette atop a rippling sea and pink stripes of sunset clouds

Another beautiful day in Rovinj

OMG Cubbies

Our government is shameful

I actually agree! (I’ll be surprised if Cubs get to the WS anyway)

The Wrigley Field marquee is brightly lit against a dark sky, ballpark and sidewalk filled with fans in early November, 2016. The red neon on the sign says Wrigley Field Home Of Chicago Cubs and in big bright white lettering: WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONS. The Toyota logo is visible beneath the neon lettering.

#AlphabetChallenge #WeekNForNight
Wishful thinking

IKR??? 🤣

Two wax figures at the museum in the castle at Lake Bled against a beige wall with the words “Prebivalci” and “Inhabitants” above them. They are dressed in historical clothing. The male figure has longish blond hair and a goatee and his eyes are staring intensely into the distance as he appears to be unsheathing a sword. The woman also has blond hair and her eyes are comically wide open - her right hand is cupping her hip.

Met these folks yesterday in the castle atop Lake Bled and I cannot stop laughing. They look like an SNL skit.

A large plaza in Rovinj with a fountain in the center, various buildings in shades of beige and yellow around the perimeter and a square pink-based clock tower.

Sunset on the Adriatic

Boaters in small wooden craft row out into the bay at sunset (the guides stand and row with very long oars while their passengers take in the view) - in the sky on the left is the waxing moon, brightening as the sun goes down

The sun has dipped below the horizon, creating an orange line with an almost fuschia center glow

This morning we left Ljubljana and drove thru the Vipava Valley, visiting a family vineyard and winery to sample some remarkable Slovenian wines.

Now we’re in Rovinj, Croatia, for a couple of days. A beautiful seaside town and absolutely stunning sunset.

Needs to be Cubs-Mariners now! @goodport.bsky.social 🙏🏻

Last night on our walk home from dinner in lovely Ljubljana, Slovenia. The castle up on the hill is illuminated against the pitch black sky. A brightly lit bridge crosses the river to a rollicking street in Old Town full of umbrellas and dinner guests at the riverside restaurants and cafes.

#AlphabetChallenge #WeekNForNight

Sorry ‘bout your Sox. Theo Series next year?!

Cubs win?!? Now I can get some sleep!! #FlyTheW

A large brass hand, with a ring on one finger and a ruffled cuff and a surreal head & face atop its “wrist” sits atop a stone pillar that’s about waist high.

When you turn the spigot head at the hands wrist, water shoots out of one of the fingers in an arc toward the pavement below

The center of the cobblestone lane is a trench for the water runoff, filled with small bronze heads of different shapes and contortions - the entire length of the lane

At the end of the lane the water runs under a raised platform topped with more sculpted masses - as if the heads had melted together into big bumpy blobs

This is a (drinkable) water fountain and its wonderfully creative drain system that runs down the center of a small lane

One of the many bridges in Ljubljana leading into the Old Town and toward the castle far up on the hillside.

A close up of a bronze dragon (green with patina) on the aptly named Dragon Bridge.

A fountain with statuary under an obelisk and in front of city hall and a looming clock tower

A cobblestone street in Old Town Ljubljana with pedestrians, cyclists and sidewalk cafes

Then we returned to Ljubljana for a walking tour of this absolutely lovely city.

Lake Bled, Slovenia, rippling from the wind, with the mountains in the background (on the other side is Austria) and a distant castle high up on a bluff over the water

Flat bottomed wooden boats, similar to gondolas, are docked and ready for passengers to be rowed across from the shore to the island with its church and bell tower.

The boats are all rowed by a single person standing in the back. I had to inch closer to the person beside me to avoid being smacked in the head on one of the strokes. The water was a beautiful green-blue.

Looking down at the turquoise water and wooded shoreline and hills of Lake Bled from the top of the steep stone steps scaling Bled Island. Two wooden boats are docked below.

What a fun day in Slovenia we had! First up: Lake Bled.