Just back from a trip to northern Italy, where I gave a couple of talks at a conference. I couldn't resist taking a few personal days to tour around; my wife and I flew into Milan and drove to Trieste, stopping in Venice in between. Here are a few of the highlights, from the viewpoint of a tourist's camera.

This picture shows some of the decorations on the top of the cathedral in Milan (il Duomo). The front was entirely covered for renovation, unfortunately, but it was possible to go up on the roof and wander around. Mark Twain wrote, "They say that the Cathedral of Milan is second only to St. Peter's at Rome. I cannot understand how it can be second to anything made by human hands."

This is a typical snap of the Basilica on the Piazza San Marco. It had just rained in the late afternoon, but the sun was coming out. (It would rain again, heavily, into the evening.) The little kid in red in the center of the picture is typical of kids on the square: he's ignoring one of the grandest spectacles in the world, wondering how to catch one of those pigeons.

This is a late afternoon shot of the Canal Grande in Trieste. It's one way to enter a walking district where we spent some time in the cafes and shops. The Adriatic Sea is directly behind.

I wish we could have spent more time in Italy, though even a week was long enough to require readjustment of my taste buds in the way of coffee and red wine.