You are probably familiar with the image of Piazza San Marco in Venice: the facade of the church, the bell tower, the arches of Doge’s Palace, the saint and lion on their columns.
But taking a look at the details of some of these famous landmarks was a fun way to explore them!
You can focus on more details at the original Lens-Artist challenge.
Ahh the narrow streets of Europe. Many were definitely not built for cars, or for tourists for that matter. But they have so much character!
Isn’t it amazing to find a surprise, like the cathedral of Barcelona above, waiting for you at the end of one of these old streets?
Once, in Toledo, Spain, my friends and I didn’t even bother picking up a map just so we could wander around all the twisted little old streets. (Don’t worry, we didn’t get lost; Toledo is not a very big city.)
You never know what you will find down one of these tiny alleys between buildings, like this one in Dubrovnik, Croatia.
Even Venice, a city without many streets, has narrow, convoluted pathways–they are just canals instead!
You can find more narrow things at the original Lens-Artist challenge.
Venice is a beautiful city, full of architectural details. These are the windows in the Bridge of Sighs; it was through these shaped openings that convicts saw their last view of Venice before they were imprisoned.
The stairs are known as the Giants’ Staircase in the Doge’s Palace. The staircase itself is not overly large, but there are some giant-size statues atop it. Looking closely, you find these intricate designs on the stairs.
I didn’t edit the colors on either of these, so enjoy them in their natural black and white.
You can find more monochrome at the original Lens-Artist challenge.
My cameras and phones have never been really good enough to get good macro shots, so here are some close-ups of architecture: Sagrada Familia church in Barcelona, Spain; the capital of a Corinthian-style column in Venice; a bench wall by the sea in Palma de Mallorca, Spain.
And just for fun, I was playing with my phone today, so here is a close-up of my cat Juhani.
You can find more close ups at the original Lens-Artist challenge.
The Torre Glòries (formerly Torre Agbar) in Barcelona, Spain is an office building in the Poblenou neighborhood where we stayed. It looks even cooler at night thanks to exterior LEDs.
We came into Venice, Italy on a cruise ship, which gave us amazing views down into the city of all the beautiful buildings and canals.
Bellver Castle sits on its hilltop above the city of Palma de Mallorca, Spain. The circular castle was built in the 14th century and is easily seen from the city’s bay.
You can find more cityscapes at the original Lens-Artist challenge.
Jedi by Knight 
