Italy Trip (part 8)

The Signs & Symbols of Italy!

How many can you translate into English?

Italy Trip (part 7)

Ah, the abstract photographer strikes this time (and it seems she has a fetish for windows & balconies)!

* The last two photos are:
1. the eave of a building and,
2. looking down the side of a rock cliff face.

Italy Trip (part 6)

An odds and sods selection of photos from Italy this week.

 

Photo 1 - El Leone di San Marco

Photo 2 - The local polizia providing crowd control on their Day of Independence.

Photo 3 - Bikes were everywhere in Italy.

Photo 4 - Open Markets with delicious fresh fruits, vegetables and meats.

Photo 5 - Priests alking along the Rio Grande Canal, Venice.

Photo 6 - Houses in Corniglia, Cinque Terre.

Photo 7 - Pots of plants decorated every house.

Photo 8 - HM&B romance bookstand!

Photo 9 - Romulus & Remus and the Wolf who raised them.

Italy Trip (part 5)

Something a little different from cities and towns - a collection of things that caught my eye.






Photo 1. A spectacular, hand-made carnivale mask from Venice.

 Photo 2. The bell tower clock in St.Mark's Square, Venice.

 Photo 3. The Trevi Fountain in Rome.

Photo 4. Part of the fountain - the statues are intriguing, aren't they?

Photo 5. A bunch of roses I spotted in a market.

Photo 6. Lamp posts like this were a common sight.

Photo 7. The ornate ceiling in an old palazza.

Photo 7. What a great door knocker!

Italy Trip (part 4)

A collage of places from my trip through Italy.

Photos 1 & 2. The Tuscan village of Pitigliano - by day and by night. 

Photo 3. Corte Contarini Dal Bovolo with its famous winding staircase.

Photo 4. Castelvecchio Bridge in Verona. I love castles of any sort!




Photo 5. Manarola village, one of the five villages in Cinque Terre. I was astounded by the terrace farming on the mountain slopes of these seaside villages. You can see them if you look closely.

Photo 6. A church in Monterosso, Cinque Terre. It's made entirely out of solid, black and white marble.

Photo 7.  Palazza Pfanner in Lucca, with beautiful gardens and a statue-lined pathway of all the Roman Gods.

Photo 8. The city of Verona. Have you noticed most cities in Italy don't have towering skyscrapers or lots of tall buildings? Nice, eh?

Photo 9. Piazza Anfiteatro in Verona. Outdoor cafes lined the inner ring of buildings.

Photo 10. The famous Rialto Ponte in Venice - a foot-bridge and shops.

Italy Trip (part 3)

I had such a great time in Italy. I kept a journal while I was travelling and I'm glad I did as there are so many good memories attached to the photos I've taken I need the entries to keep them clear!

Here's some of the shots I took while in crowded Roma!

The first is affectionately dubbed the Wedding Cake! Can you see why?

The Trevi Fountain - it's situated in a small piazza and the place was packed with people. A little disappointing with the huge crowd as you found yourself doing more pushing through bodies than actually seeing the marvellous carvings in the fountain.

The Vatican - and I here I thought the crowd at the Trevi was big. Yes, this is the line waiting to buy tickets to go into the Vatican. It curves in front and then off screen and through those columns I call "the cattleyards" and through the pillars you can see. You had a 3-4 hour wait to buy tickets and then another couple to get audio-guides (if you wanted to understand what you saw when you got inside).

The Forum - situated on the Palantine hill, the first of seven that Rome is built on. The legendary hill where Romulus and Remus established Rome.

The Spanish Steps - again the crowds tended to kill the awe you felt being at such a famous site but I did traverse them (the steps and the people) from top to bottom and checked out the incredible artists who had their work on display on the footpaths.

Another Aussie author I found on a bookstand - this time it was HMB medical author Marion Lennox!

The Colosseum - this was the place I've always wanted to see since studying the Roman Empire in Ancient History in high school. It's huge and could fit 75 000 people inside!

Here I am at the Colosseum!

 The sheer size of the place is intimidating. Standing on the second tier, I wondered how the gladiators and others felt being on the sandy floor looking up at a screaming-for-blood crowd back in the days of the games.

A common sight around Italy - older men sitting on benches watching the world go by, talking about who knows what.

Italy Trip (part 2)

I'm spending a little time on my birthday doing things I really want to do - one of them is catching up with the blog.

Here are some more photos from my trip around Italy!

The Leaning Tower of Pisa - it sure felt weird climbing the stairs inside.

This is a view from the top of Pisa overlooking the field of Miracles and the Duomo.

Piligliano - one of the medieval villages in the Toscana countryside that I visited. I really loved walking the twisted cobblestoned streets. This picture is taken from the window of the albergo (hotel) that I stayed in. It was built right on the edge of the cliff!

Sorana - another of the medieval villages I explored. Lots of friendly cats in these places!



Look what I spotted in one of the many street stalls in Pisa! Our own Aussie author - Kelly Hunter!

Bikes, bikes and more bikes - Italians ride them all over the place!