Our Lady of the Rocks is a Roman Catholic church on a small man made island off the coast of Perast in the Bay of Kotor, Montenegro. Legend has it that over the centuries the island was built, rock by rock, by local seamen who kept an ancient oath after finding a picture of the Virgin Mary on a rock in 1452. I’ve seen countless photos of this little island and always wondered what it would be like to step foot on it and see this church for myself…well, I got to do that today and it was surprisingly more beautiful and intimate, even with groups of people, than I had expected. (May 20, 2019)

The west side view of Our Lady of the Rocks church off the coast of Perast in the Bay of Kotor, Montenegro. (May 20, 2019)

Berat, Albania (May 16, 2019)

The Church of St. Nicolas (to the right) was built around 1591 and the Church of St. Mary Blaherna (to the left) built mainly from the 13th century at Berat Castle in Berat, Albania. Both of these churches contain frescoes by Nicolas Onufri from the 16th century. (May 16, 2019)

Inside the Church of St. Nicolas at the Berat Castle in Berat, Albania. The 16th century frescoes were painted by Nicolas Onufri. (May 16, 2019)

Inside the Church of St. Nicolas at the Berat Castle in Berat, Albania. The 16th century frescoes were painted by Nicolas Onufri. (May 16, 2019)

Inside the Church of St. Nicolas at the Berat Castle in Berat, Albania. The 16th century frescoes were painted by Nicolas Onufri. (May 16, 2019)