Laveno - Italy

Laveno-Mombello is a small town in the Province of Varese in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 60 km northwest of Milan and about 20 km northwest of Varese. 

As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 8,991 and an area of 25.9 km². The municipality was formed in 1927 to encompass the previously separate centres of Laveno, Mombello and Cerro. The name of Laveno comes from the Latin word "labes", that means "landslide".

It is common thought that the name comes from the Roman general Titus Labienus, but actually just the main road of the town, via Labiena, is named after him. Titus Labienus is considered responsible for naming Mombello too, after a battle against the Gauls ("mons belli" means "war hill"). 

A different interpretation says that the meaning is "monte bello", that is "beautiful hill". In the 19th Century, Laveno Mombello was home to important ceramic industries. Today, it is a port town that connects the province of Varese with Verbania and the famous Borromean Islands across Lake Maggiore.

This picture were taken from the docks of the gorgeous view of the lake.

Empire State Building - NYC - USA

The Empire State Building is a 102-story skyscraper located in New York City at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and West 34th Street. 

It has a roof height of 1,250 feet (381 meters), and with its antenna spire included, it stands a total of 1,454 ft (443.2 m) high. 

Its name is derived from the nickname for New York, the Empire State. It stood as the world's tallest building for 40 years, from its completion in 1931 until construction of the World Trade Center's North Tower was completed in 1972. 

Following the September 11 attacks in 2001, the Empire State Building was again the tallest building in New York (although it was no longer the tallest in the world). The Empire State Building was once again demoted to second tallest building in New York on April 30, 2012, when the new One World Trade Center reached a greater height.

The Empire State Building is currently the third tallest completed skyscraper in the United States (after the Willis Tower and Trump International Hotel and Tower, both in Chicago), and the 15th tallest in the world (The tallest now is Burj Khalifa, located in Dubai). It is also the fourth-tallest freestanding structure in the Americas.

It is still an icon for the American and world-wide culture.

This picture was taken from Rockefeller Center.

Silk Worms - Part 2

Here is a quick follow up of my previous post regarding silk worms! Amazing creatures!

After they've eaten about 10 kg of leaves, the close up in a silk ball like this:

Eventually, after about 1 week they will crawl out of the silk ball and...

Tadaaaaa! This is how it looks like after the transformation is complete!

Not quite a beautiful butterfly, but after all this time together I kinda start liking the little fellow :)

And off you go! :)

Riviera Maya - Mexico

Riviera Maya, also known as the Mayan Riviera, is a tourism district following the coastal Highway 307 which parallels the Caribbean coastline of the Mexican state of Quintana Roo, located on the eastern portion of the Yucatán Peninsula. 

This district historically started at the city of Playa del Carmen and ended at the village of Tulum, although the towns of Puerto Morelos situated to the north and between Playa del Carmen and Cancun as well as the town of Felipe Carrillo Puerto situated 40 kilometres (25 mi) to the south of Tulum are both currently being promoted as part of the Riviera Maya tourist corridor. 

The Riviera Maya was originally called the Cancun - Tulum corridor, but in 1999 it was renamed as the Riviera Maya with the aid of Lic. Miguel Ramón Martín Azueta who at the time was the mayor of the municipality of Solidaridad. The municipality of Solidaridad includes the whole of the official Riviera Maya from Playa del Carmen in the north and south to Tulum and extending to some 40 km inland with the border with the state of Yucatan. 

In this picture, a Gorgeous view of the Caribbean Sea in Mexico taken from the Barceló resort.

Louvre - Paris - France

The Musée du Louvre is one of the world's largest museums, the most visited art museum in the world and a historic monument.

A central landmark of Paris, France, it is located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the 1st arrondissement (district). Nearly 35,000 objects from prehistory to the 19th century are exhibited over an area of 60,600 square metres (652,300 square feet).

The museum is housed in the Louvre Palace (Palais du Louvre) which began as a fortress built in the late 12th century under Philip II. Remnants of the fortress are visible in the basement of the museum. The building was extended many times to form the present Louvre Palace. 

In 1682, Louis XIV chose the Palace of Versailles for his household, leaving the Louvre primarily as a place to display the royal collection, including, from 1692, a collection of antique sculpture. In 1692, the building was occupied by the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles Lettres and the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture, which in 1699 held the first of a series of salons. The Académie remained at the Louvre for 100 years.

During the French Revolution, the National Assembly decreed that the Louvre should be used as a museum, to display the nation's masterpieces.

Today is still one of the richest and biggest museum on earth.

Avila - Spain

Ávila is a Spanish city located in the autonomous community of Castile and León, capital of the province of the same name.

"Ávila de los Caballeros" is an honorific title of the city and others are "Ávila del Rey" and "Ávila de los Leales" which are all present in the flag of the city.

The city is notable for having complete medieval city walls which were built in the Romanesque style. It is also one of the cities with the highest number of Romanesque churches, Gothic churches and catering establishments in relation to the number of its inhabitants.

It is known by many as the city of «Pebbles and Saints». The writer José Martínez Ruiz Azorín, after writing The Castilian Soul, said it was "perhaps the most 16th century city of Spain".

Crocodile

Crocodile in the Sumidero Canyon - Chiapas - Mexico

Sunset

Beautiful Sunset over Brianza - Lombardy - Italy