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Eating in Italy - Dolci

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You saved room…right?! I always do.

Desert (the hot and dry place) is spelled with one ‘S’. Dessert (that sweet stuff) is spelled with two ‘S’s. My sister helped me with that, saying that Mom used to say, “…dessert has two s’s, because it’s super sweet”. I have to admit that I had problems with that until about 3 years ago. Enough etymology, let’s eat!!!

Ellen did not eat that soufflé all by herself

Today’s article is the last of the ‘Eating in Italy’ series, as far as solid food goes. There will be one more surprise article in the next couple of weeks…yes, there is one more oft used course in the Italian meal.


The Dolci (Dessert)

In the gastronomical dessert battle, those Frenchies seem to come out on top time after time. However, their close neighbor has a few tricks up their sleeve, too. Over the last decade, Italian dolci (sweets or desserts) have come a long way…and often right down to my tummy.

Typical of the dolci menu is tiramisu, panna cotta, zabaglione and grandma’s cake (torta di nonna). I’m pleased to say that I have had each of these offerings in during 2022…though sadly, not in Italy, itself.

As this isn’t a cooking class, I will jump right into the typical offerings of the Italian menu itself, rather than handing out recipes. What follows are actual offerings from Italian menus…real Italian menus…from Italy. Sorry, but I wanted you to get the point.

And, those photos you see to the right (or who knows where on a mobile device) are photos of our actual dolci experiences within Italy. Enjoy!


Dolci Menu Offerings

Crostata

A crostata is a baked tart filled with…you’ll see just below…

  • Cioccolato e Caffe’ (chocolae, crema, and a chocolate streusel)

  • Mele e Albicocca (apples, apricots)

  • Mandorla e Amarena (almond, pastry cream, and Fabbri amarena cherries…one of our favorites)

Classics

  • Tiramisu (espresso soaked biscuits, tiramisu cream and cocoa powder)

  • Limoncello Profiteroles

  • Afogato (espresso poured over gelato)

  • Zabaglione (egg custard and sweet spumoni wine)

  • Torta di Nonna (sweet crusted tart with custard and a fruit filling)

Other Desserts

  • Chocolate variation (a variation of exactly what, I know not)

  • Crunchy puff pastry, pumpkin and chestnut cream, almond milk, pomegranate, sour cream gelato, salted caramel, and kitchen sink…just kidding.

  • Mountain panna cotta

  • Caprese cake

  • A patisserie mignon

  • Millefeuille with chantilly cream, orange sauce

  • Warm Zabaglione with De Bartoli reserve marsala and panettone

  • Babà with rhum and whipped cream

  • Kiss of cream meringue and dark chocolate flakes

  • Warm Chocolate cake made with rhum with coconut gramble and blackberries sorbet

  • Variation of coconut, banana and lime

  • Rhubarb gel with hazelnut creams and sponges

  • Ricotta cream with marzipan, soft pistachio and sorbet of candied oranges

  • Consistencies of dark chocolate, cocoa grué snow and hemp [I have no idea, don’t ask]

  • Slice of homemade cake

  • Crêpes à la crème

  • Fete Biscottate Homemade

  • Cremoso al Rosmarino

  • Marmellata di Fragole e Rabarbaro

  • Honey mousse

  • chamomile pannacotta

  • Florus-flavored tiramisu (Florus? Obviously a Banfi menu item…and tasty)

  • Paffpastry cannolo, custard and plum jam ice cream

  • Tuscan biscotti parfait with vanilla ice cream

  • Mascarpone cheese mousse, hazelnuts praline cream, crunchy chocolate, coffee gelato

  • Rhubarb sphere, vermouth cream, beetroot macaron, raspberry sorbet

  • The Fregolona (a crumbly dessert made from butter, flour, sugar, almonds and yellow flour)

Fruit as Dessert

Boring? A Little, but then again, it is healthy

  • Fruit tarts

  • Sliced fresh fruit

  • Fruit Plate

  • Fresh fruit salad with vanilla ice cream

Gelato, Sorbet & Ice Cream

  • Cassis sorbet, coconut milk-flavored winter salad

  • Lemon sorbet, apple and celery, first pressed oil, timur berries

  • Millefouille with vanilla cream

  • Tofu soft cream, tangerine sorbet, citrus fruits, ginger, kale chips

  • Lemon sorbet with grated licorice

  • Vanilla ice cream with gelè of smoked whiskey

  • Selection of housemade sorbets and ice creams

  • Gelato al Pane

  • Pollen ice cream [you didn’t know that bees can make ice cream, did you?]

  • Homemade crema gelato, raisins and Moscato Romano Levi grappa

  • An ice cream made with the collaboration of Marco (Ricotta Ice Cream w/ Amarone Grappa)

Cheese As Dessert

Yes, I’ve had cheese for dessert…and then I order an actual, real, traditional, sweet, and pleasing dessert! Listed here are just a few Italian cheeses you might order from the dolci menu:

  • Caprino

  • Morlacco

  • Gorgonzola naturale

  • And many other Italian cheeses


Other Ways to Get Dolci

Wow, so many tasty sounding variations of dolci. And, I can’t leave off just plain, old gelato…scooped up at that “best gelato in all of Italy” place around the corner from wherever you happen to be in Italy. And, if your friend hears you are going to Italy and says, “You’ve just got to go to this gelato place…it’s the best ever…it’s just a 45 minute walk from the places you will be!”, don’t fall for it…find the one that’s handy and go for it!

And then there is what you find along the way as you stroll the calle of Italy, like cookies, candies, and such. It’s hard not to run across these hand-held treats…except when you are actively looking for them, of course.

Below are photos of tasty treats you might find whilst in Italy.


A Short Anecdote

When we were in Amalfi, we had a nice meal at a Michelin-starred restaurant called Ristorante La Caravella. It was a lovely dining experience.

On the menu for dolci, we eyed an item called Soufflè al limone d'Amalfi, or lemon soufflé, made with those huge Amalfi lemons.

I’ll forgo telling you more about the dessert…I’ll let you see what happened to it. Ellen will demonstrate. Nough said, right?


If you need to catch up on the earlier installments of Eating in Italy, here are the links:

  1. Eating in Italy — The Courses and Apertivo [the types of dining establishments, the menu, and a sip of an apertivo — a good place to start your dining journey]

  2. Eating in Italy — Antipasto

  3. Eating in Italy — Primi

  4. Eating in Italy — Secondi


Thank you for joining me today as we discover that sweetest of Italian meal courses, the dolci course. If your sweet tooth has been activated, get yourself to Italy. If we are there with you, we will help you get your just desserts! Until that happens, I say…

Ciao for now,

Steve

p.s. Before you ask, I’ll answer your question: No, Ellen did not eat that soufflé all by herself. I had a hand in that task, also.

If you feel compelled to subscribe to Italy, Our Italy’s articles, click here

Transforming a Door with Garden Above

Let’s take a break from eating Italian style for a quick photo transformation. Working to transform a blah snapshot into a fine art image is where I find myself in my happy place. I like being happy, and I hope that you do, too.


The Starting Snapshot

That lock now raises an interesting dilemma

Today’s starting snapshot comes from Venice. I had visited the Rialto Market early this morning, as one must do in order to see all of the fresh seafood produce displayed. The Rialto Market is in the San Polo sestierie of Venice. Now, I am venturing into new territory to the northwest of the Rialto, and here I came across a rather unusual façade, as you can see in this snapshot.

As usual, things are a bit wonky before the photo editing begins. First of all, the photo has been saved as a RAW image by my camera, rather than the ubiquitous JPEG format of 99.9% of cameras, like the one on your telefonino (mobile phone). If you want to know more about RAW vs JPEG, my previous article here will explain all.

[If you click on an image, you will get a full-screen view]

The starting snapshot

So, this first image has no contrast, saturation, or sharpening applied before it is saved…so it looks rather flat…not to mention distorted. A JPEG would look a lot better, initially. Using my digital darkroom tools of Adobe’s Lightroom and Photoshop, I can fix all to my satisfaction. So, let’s get started on that.


Step 1 - Distortion

My first action is to get rid of the distortion caused by a wide-angle lens as it is aimed up just a bit.

Distortion eliminated

The distortion has now be resolved.


Step 2 - New-World Distractions

I don’t want to present to you an Italy of today, with its modern distractions, like the electrical conduits and house numbers you see above. I explain more about this in my previous, almost ancient, article titled ‘The Venice That Isn’t There’. I want you to see the old Italy…the Italy of 600 years ago. I’m going to get rid of these modern distractions.

Electrical conduit removed

Done. No more electrical conduit or house number.


Step 3 - Saturation, Contrast & Sharpening

Now I will do what your camera does when it saves your images…I’ll add just a bit of saturation, contrast and sharpening.

Saturation, contrast and sharpening is done

Mission accomplished.


Step 4 - That New-World Security Grating

The metal grating to the right of the photo is grating on me…it doesn’t elicit the old-world charm that I am working toward. It has to go.

Metal security grating removed

Gone. It took awhile because there is a shortage of ancient-looking brick in Venice at the moment. They said it has something to do with Covid. After keeping at it, I was able to find the materials and laborers (me, by the way), to get the job done.


Step 5 - Let’s Work on the Door

That door is just a tad too old world…Or just battered and faded. I’m going to give it a quick paint job.

Ouch! It looks more psychedelic than old, like it is from the 70s (the 1970s, not the 1470s). Sorry, I couldn’t help myself. I’ll have to tone it down a whole lot. Now, what color do I want to end up with? Hmmm…


Step 6 - A More Subtle Door Painting

Mi dispiace (I’m sorry). That paint job was horrible. I’ve removed that garishness and I’ve decided to spruce it up with a nice red…not too jazzy…but just right…like the color of a nice glass of Banfi Brunello.

OK, I know…you’re saying, ‘Hey Steve, you left a modern convenience on the door’. You saw that lock, didn’t you? It’s dead-center in the photo to the right. I didn’t see it until I was putting on that horrible paint. I’ve now removed it.

That lock now raises an interesting dilemma. It looks as though the door is in two parts…basically a double door. So, what is the lock doing over to the side of one of those doors, rather than at the middle, to secure the two doors together. A mystery what we won’t be able to unravel at this time. A great excuse for going back to Venice, right? But that’s nothing folks. Some of you may remember a door that had at least six locking mechanisms on it. Refresh your memory, or create a new memory, by checking out this very, very secure entrance door.

Enough talk, I need to get painting.

Red paint applied

The painting has been resolved.


Step 7 - The Patina

Those of you who have been around for a bit know that I always like to finish with the nice patina of old Italy. So, that’s what I’m going to apply, now.

The finished transformation


I hope that you have enjoyed the after-my-journey-in-Venice digital-journey-of-transformation that I’ve produced for you today. We’ve taken a very blah snapshot of an unusual façade, and we’ve transformed it into a fine-art photo.

It was a pleasure to have you beside me on this journey. But, better still, let’s do this…rather than a digital journey into the vast intrigue of Venice, let’s do it together…in person. Oh, I do hope we can do that together some day. But until then, I say…

Ciao for now,

Steve

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Eating in Italy - Secondi

Elizabete presents our branzino tableside at La Terrazza on the rooftop of the Hotel Danieli in Venice

Thus far in our Italian dining journey, we’ve sipped an apertivo (my, oh my, that Campari and soda took my breath away!), had some tasty bites of antipasti, and we’ve gorged ourselves on a nice primi.

By the way, how was your “Lasagnette with Pierina's traditional ragu sauce”? Pierina is famous for her ragu at her Trattoria Caprini. I had the “Ravioli filled with goat cheese, and with “datterino” tomatoes and basil”, and I’m glad I did! Those little datterino tomatoes (the size and shape of a ‘date’…’il dattero’ in Italian) were bursting with flavor.

But, as we knew that we would be dining Italian-style, we’ve left room for a secondi, or second main course. Will we have room for the dolci? We’ll see.

So, let’s see what that second main course is all about…


WHAT TO EXPECT OF A SECONDI

When we think of the secondi course, we should be thinking about flesh…whether it be the flesh of the fish (il pesce), or flesh of a mammal like beef of a mature cow (manzo), veal (vitello), lamb (agnello), pig (maiale), or the wild boar (cinghiale). Are you wondering where chicken (pollo) fits in, it is occasionally on the menu, though not as often as even wild boar, it seems.

I want to expand a bit on the fishy part of secondi. In Italy, it is done superbly. Typically, the fish is prepared whole. It is brought out for you to see and admire (yes, be sure to ooh and ahh over it as we did when Elizabete made her presentation to us as seen in the photo, above). It is de-boned on a small cart near your table. It is then placed on your plate and set before you. And then, you’d better eat it before I eat it for you! The flesh of the fish is moist and oh, so tasty. And buttery? Yes! Expect at least one contorno (side dish), like roasted potato, and maybe a green vegetable, like broccolini. Want to see the whole process from presentation to dining? Relive our experience at Da Gemma in Amalfi, here.


WHAT’S ON THE MENU?

Click the image to see a real-life Italian secondi menu…this one from Ristorante Verbano on Lake Maggiore

Just as I did with the primi, I will share with you below actual excerpts from menus of places where we’ve dined…from ristorante, to trattoria, to osteria. If you want to know more about those three categories of dining establishments, as well as four more, then click here.

Please note that the number of menu items in each of the three categories below of seafood, meat and poultry, indicates that actual prevalence of those types of items on the Italian menu; i.e. lots of seafood, a good bit of meat, and not much poultry.

So, here are menu items taken word-for-word from actual, real-life, we’ve-actually-been-there, dining places in Italy. Along with photos, of course.


Frutti di Mare (Seafood)

  • Fillet of sea bass, grilled fennel and pistachio cream

  • Turbot with winter scents [yes, just the scent!]

  • Baked squid gratinated

  • Mix of fried selection of seafood from the Rialto market

  • Deep fried soft-shell crabs 

  • Imperial Shrimp with seven spices, shiitake mushroom and red rice

  • Wild seabass fillet cooked in the oven, on a mirror [what?!] of bread, potato sauce and chicory

  • Crispy Octopus with cream beans from Lamon and celery sauce

  • Sea bass melted “Acquerello” rice risotto, lightly smoked, citrus hint, raw scallops

  • Seafood paccheri, late Treviso radicchio, tomatoes confit, glasswort

  • John Dory fillet "Antico Martini" style

  • Turbot fillet, braised Jerusalem artichokes, fresh horseradish, clam sauce -

  • Seared cuttlefish, its cream and liver, fennel seed sponge, parsley and baccalà sauces

  • Daily fresh fish from the Rialto market, grilled

  • Nordic cod confit, “acqua pazza”, kale, nori seaweed flavored potatoes

  • Turbot fillet, braised Jerusalem artichokes, fresh horseradish, clam sauce

  • Giant scampi grilled with fried zucchini

  • Steamed fish flavored with herbs and ginger

  • Scampi with curry sauce and Pilaf rice

  • Fried fish from the Adriatic sea

  • Fillet of sea bass with lime and cumin carrots

  • Roasted wild eel with honey, bitter orange marmalade, beer, celery cream and mashed potatoes

I can’t move on until I’ve commented on the last item in the frutti di mare category…the eel, or anguilla. Here’s my comment: “Yuck!!!” Though we’ve often seen them on menus (mostly in Venice), we’ve never gotten up the nerve, or insanity, to try them. The sign in the first photo lets us know that these eel were caught in ‘our own lagoon’. The eels in the second photo are alive and squirmy…I’m not even sure how you would hold onto them to dispatch them, nor how one would clean them. Sorry to belabor the point, but they give me the creeps.

Here are photos of more palatable eats in the frutti di mare category.

Just two more seafood photos…these of a lobster that we consumed on the Isle of Capri. Here it is as Ellen selected it right from the tank, and then as it appeared on our plates…one-half for each of us. I must say that this was One Fine Day! on the Amalfi coast, which you can read about here.


Carne (Meat)

  • Lamb with offal sauce [an acquired taste, yes?], scent of fennel flower heads, and wild herbs

  • Fillet of veal with broccoli and cabbage

  • Slow-cooked beef in Valpolicella wine

  • Venetian-style veal liver with white polenta and new onion

  • Jowl braised veal with Valpolicella Ripasso and mashed potato

  • "Antico Martini" veal petals

  • Sliced beef Angus with rosemary

  • Chateaubriand, Béarnaise sauce, grilled vegetables, ratte potatoes

  • Venetian-style veal liver, polenta in two consistencies

  • Fillet of beef with Norcia black truffle sauce

  • The "Florentine" of Sorana T-bone steak (45 days of maturing)

  • Sorana rib steak (45 days of maturing)

  • Juniper-flavored venison loin, cranberry jam, pine needle powder, rye and tapioca brittle

  • Grilled lamb chops with ginger baby carrots and mashed potatoes

  • Veal liver "Venetian style" with polenta


Pollame (Poultry)

  • Pigeon with black salsifies in cooked must [maybe a bit of discussion is required here…for ’pigeon’, think quail; for ‘salsifie's’, think a tuber from a plant in the daisy family; and, for ‘must’, think about grape juice, before it is fermented into wine…ok, please continue without further interruption on my part]

  • Free-range chicken terrine, plum and “pevarada” sauce, three potato pavé

  • Chicken supreme with "malga" butter emulsion and sage

  • Duck breast served with honey sauce and Recioto wine [it was soooo good…sorry, I wasn’t going to interrupt]

Not many photos in the poultry category, as it is not very prevelent on the Italian menu. The first photo is duck breast described just above. This was from the fabulous Enoteca della Valpolicella, which you can read about here.


Is your mouth watering? Mine sure is. I hope you enjoyed seeing some of the typical menu items in the secondi category, as well as photos that we’ve taken over the years…just before devouring the secondi.

In the next installment of Eating in Italy, I’ll be covering the dolci, or dessert. In the meantime, if you need to catchup on the earlier installments of Eating in Italy, here are the links:

  1. Eating in Italy — The Courses and Apertivo [the types of dining establishments, the menu, and a sip of an apertivo]

  2. Eating in Italy — Antipasto

  3. Eating in Italy — Primi

  4. Eating in Italy — Secondi [you don’t need a link, just scroll to the top of the page!]

OK, here’s the deal. Tomorrow it will be St Patrick’s Day. I found a four-leaf clover, which means that I get a wish on that day. I’ll tell you what that wish is (will it still be granted if I divulge it? I certainly hope so). My wish is that I will get to have each course of a meal in Italy with you. That’s it. Let’s work toward that. Until that happens, I say…

Ciao for now,

Steve

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Transformation to Remove a Warning

Way back in 2016…you remember 2016 don’t you?…I took you to the island of Burano. You can tap here to recall this very colorful island which sits in the Venetian lagoon. Whilst exploring this unique place, I came across yet another door. I know, I know…that’s what I tend to do when I’m in any part of Venice…or Italy in general, for that matter.

This particular door wasn’t all that photogenic, but I made a snapshot anyway. I thought that I might be able to spruce it up a bit. There was a bit of faded graffiti to the right of the door. And on the door was a dire warning of some sort. But, as you know, that just doesn’t stop me.

The Snapshot

Here is the snapshot…


The Warning Placard

Regarding that warning on this door…what is that, anyway? Let’s take a look. You can click on the image to get a closer look.

We can see that lightening bolt, which normally means ‘electricity’.

And one of the warnings seems to say, “Don’t touch this”. While the other warning lets us know that we shouldn’t throw a bucket of water on a fire here, should we encounter that.

Below that graphic we can see that this is the Mandracchio area of Burano. A mandracchio is a small inlet where one would tie up a couple of boats, which fits well with this island/town of Burano. And the logo at top left suggests that the Enel energy company put this label there. And this ‘cabin’ has been here since January of 1989.

I’ll be darned, this isn’t a door to a residence or business, but its an electrical closet of some sort.

I can hear you now, “Don’t worry about any of that, Steve…go ahead and do your transformation thingie!”. Ok, ok, I’m on it.


The Transformation

The first item is the removal that warning placard. And hey, did you see that kids have been playing a bit of soccer here, as we can see from the soccer ball imprint on the door. Careful kids! And, while I’m at it, I may as well straighten and crop a bit.

The placard is now gone, as is the soccer ball imprint.

Let’s now give the image a bit of color…it’s much too blah.

We’re getting close, but I’m wanting to see a bit more of that Venetian patina. I forgot all about that bit of graffiti to the right of the door…sorry about that. It has to go.


The Final Image

OK, here it is…the final image.


Disclaimer!

Uh oh, the carabinieri are here! I swear that I didn’t remove that placard. Well, maybe I did. But, I’ll put it back, ok? Done!


Endings

Not a lot of charm in this doorway, but what would one expect from an electrical closet, right?

I’ll keep wandering the calle of Burano to see what I can see. I know that there are a few women around who still make handmade lace, so I’ll see if I can find some.

There they are. Well, it appears that one is making lace, one is checking out a catalog, and one is thinking about what she will make for her dinner’s secondi course tonight. Come back next week to find out.


That’s it for today’s transformation. Come back next week to see what sort of possibilities abound with the secondi course at the Italian mealtime. Until then…

Ciao for Now,

Steve

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The Results Are In: Part 20

Index of Articles

“My goodness gracious, me sakes alive!”

That’s what my dear mother would say when something happened that surprised her in a pleasant way. And, that’s what I uttered when I opened the latest issue of Black & White Magazine. This is the premier publication for black and white photography. You’ve seen recognition related to this publication in some of the past articles beginning with the words, “The Results Are In:”. However, the honor of today’s award is greater than just having a photo recognized amongst all of the others in a particular issue. Read on to see why.


2021 BLACK & WHITE SINGLE IMAGE CONTEST

This is the contest for which I a submitted photos. Six months from now, you would see awardees for the “portfolio” contest, where several photos with similar theme are grouped into a portfolio of more than just one image. I’ve garnered recognition for portfolio submissions, also…like here, where you see a portfolio of 5 images in New Orleans.

The awardees for the 2021 Single Image Contest were recognized in the January, 2022, issue of Black & White Magazine…the cover of which you see here. Note the words at the top of the cover, “SPECIAL ISSUE 2021 CONTEST WINNERS”.

But alas, my winning photo was not in the issue with the rest of the awardees.

It turns out that it was set aside for special recognition in the now published April 2022 issue (I know, strange how these magazine issues work, isn’t it? It's the first day of March, yet the April issue is out).

So, why was my winning photo held back for publication in the April 2022 issue?


2021 SPOTLIGHT AWARD

When my latest issue of Black & White Magazine came, Ellen was the first to open it and was surprised to see this photo on page 35…a mug shot of me.

[I’ve published this photo twice before within my articles. 5 points if you can identify an article with this photo…that would be 10 points if you get both!!! Well, to be honest, which is a trait for which I strive, the previous versions showed a glass of wine that I was enjoying in my hand…that is not to say that I was enjoying the fact that it was in my hand, but that I had the glass of wine to enjoy, and it happened to be in my hand. I think you get the drift.]

And, there was the write-up, which you can see here, that I had submitted explaining my winning photo.

Many photographers are aware of the beautiful Upper Antelope Canyon on the Navajo reservation of Arizona, with beautiful light rays streaming through. But there are other slot canyons in the same Antelope Canyon wash. ‘Never’ was captured in the seldom accessed Rattlesnake Canyon. On my fifth Antelope Canyon trip, the formation of ‘Never’ immediately captured my attention. Though the two walls of sandstone were obviously fused together as one for millennia, that joining is NEVER to be repeated – that’s just the quality of geologic time in a seldom-flowing river’s progress.

That’s when I had my own utterance of those memorable words of old, “My goodness gracious, me sakes alive!”


THE WINNING PHOTO

OK, that’s enough buildup. Right? Here’s the photo that was recognized as the 2022 Single Image Winner in the Landscape/Nature category.


The Whole of Page 35

You don’t need to rush out and purchase the April 2022 copy of Black & White Magazine to see the page of honor…here it is. If it tends to not fit your whole screen, click on the image to get a ‘fill-screen’ version.


I’m sorry that you had to endure a non-Italy photo, but that’s just the way it is.

I have a hope for you, and here is that hope: I hope that if you are in the northern-Arizona area of Antelope Canyon (just outside of Page, AZ), you will arrange a visit to Upper Antelope Canyon. Tours are readily available. And, there is much, much less crowding than in the past, as the Navajo have installed a one-way system by creating an up-and-over-return system that takes you back to your guide’s vehicle. In the past, there we groups coming and going at the same time, and congestion was the rule of the day. And, I would suggest skipping the Lower Antelope Canyon…just not as adventure worthy.

I’ve used more than one tour outfit, and I highly suggest Adventurous Antelope Canyon Tours.

If you happen to be on a tour in the Antelope Canyon area, perhaps I’ll see you in the less-visited Rattlesnake Canyon, or Mountain Sheep Canyon, or even Owl Canyon. We can say ‘hello’ and compare photos. Until that happens, I say…

Ciao for now,

Steve

p.s. Oh hey, if you want to see the other photos I submitted for this particular contest, here are the other five, which did not receive recognition. From left-to-right and top-to-bottom they are: boulders lodged within Mountain Sheep Canyon - a side canyon in the Antelope Creek wash; hot-air balloon from our own hot-air balloon drifting over the vineyards of Napa Valley; ‘slurred’ bicyclist in New Orleans; abandoned drive-in theatre in central Nevada; and, the underside of a highway interchange in New Orleans. Click the first image and then arrow through the photos.