An American reader on vacation writes:

I thought you might enjoy this view of a handful of fantastic sandwiches in front of St. Kevin’s Church and the round tower of Glendalough, Ireland. A steadfast site of Christian tradition, indeed.

I love the contrast of the picnic’s bright colors with the cold, gray stone and cold, gray sky. Ireland! I really would love to pray in that old church.

Here’s what James C. has been up to in his new country of residence. Notice the light and the stones in this photo. Could there be any doubt that this is Italy?

James writes:

Just a simple post-Latin mass supper: wonderful pizza alla bufala with beer, but what an viewpoint. In the background is a tunnel that runs through the bell tower of the medieval cathedral, which towers glittering above the sea. One of these days, I have to send you some pics of the incredible and dizzying array of seafood that teems as much in the local mercati and trattorie as it does in the Adriatic. And much of it crudo (raw)—yes the oysters come raw as well (of course).

Just an ordinary late Sunday evening in a town on Puglia’s coast. Seriously, post-siesta piazzas in southern Italy offer the best people-watching in the world. Come 7 or 8pm, the eerily quiet village, town and city centres all explode with infectious, intoxicating life. From groups of teenagers to whole families, from affectionate couples to animated clusters of working men, from babies in strollers to the very aged, all chattering away and gesturing wildly while shuffling along the chalky pavements below brilliantly white stone buildings (all the old towns on the coast here glint spectacularly in the abundant sun; the Mezzogiorno indeed).

Does life get any better than that?

Here’s a great little culinary snapshot from my own part of the world. Not really a VFYT (more like a View From Your Kitchen Counter), but I love the colors:

That’s two of my kids, about to taste a box of macarons Dad brought home from New York City. Picked them up at Macaron Cafe in Midtown.