Travel Photo of the Week Jan '11

Pont San't Angelo, Rome

The pedestrian bridge, Ponte Sant' Angelo, in Rome leads to Castel Sant' Angelo, a round-walled, battlemented structure that today serves as a museum. Commissioned as a mausoleum for Emperor Hadrian in the second century A.D., it got its current name in the sixth century—a time when a plague was devastating Rome—after Pope Gregory the Great had a vision of an angel hovering over the structure, sheathing its sword. The vision was interpreted as heralding the end of the plague, and a statue of Archangel Michael, the rescuing angel, was placed on top of the structure.

 

Bois Brule River, Wisconsin

Canoes outside a boathouse await paddlers on northern Wisconsin's Bois Brule River. Once traveled by Native Americans and European explorers, trappers, and traders, the river is now a popular recreation area for paddling, wildlife viewing, and hiking. The entire 44 miles of the river is contained within the Brule River State Forest.

Ireland Coast

Caught in the moment by a slow shutter speed, water heads out to sea through a rocky gateway on the Irish shore. Water is inescapable in Ireland; the island—Europe's third largest—is surrounded by the Irish Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the Celtic Sea to the south.

 

Varenna, Italy

Photograph by Raymond Choo, My Shot

Colorful buildings line the small harbor in Varenna, Italy. Located on the shores of Lake Como in northern Italy, the quiet town is an hour's train trip from Milan.

 

Paris, France

On a cold and bright winter afternoon, Parisians and tourists stroll around the marbled plaza of the Palais de Chaillot with a view of the iconic Eiffel Tower. Built in 1889, the tower stands 1,063 feet, or 81 stories, tall.

 

Giza, Egypt

Photograph by Romona Robbins, My Shot

If a camel ride doesn't appeal, visitors to Giza can take in the Great Pyramids and surrounding sites astride an Arabian horse. Memorials to Egyptian kings, the Pyramids have risen above the desert outside Cairo for more than 4,000 years. Stone—not sun-dried mud brick—gave permanence to these monuments, the last of the world's ancient wonders.