Sunday Snapshots

For the month of October, I've been reminiscing about a holiday I had in Italy.

The reminiscing was prompted by sorting out my photos in preparation for making a holiday album.

Here is the album:

Here is a snapshot of the album in progress:

The whole process has been time consuming - but well worth the effort.

As I finish each page, I feel as if I've re-lived that particular part of the trip... and taking the time out to put the photos in some kind of order is a nice way to spend a quiet afternoon... along with a good 'cuppa' and some music playing.

Sights on a Saturday

The photos of Italy continue for Sights on a Saturday.

This week, the reminiscing is of the beautiful, enchanting Cinque Terre or 'Five Lands' - five little villages hugging the cliffs along the Ligurian coast of the 'Italian Riviera'.

We set out early in the morning and walked the trail between the five villages. It was impossible for me to say which was the most picturesque village as each town had so much charm and beauty.

The photo below is of Vernazza. It is the 4th village along if you are approaching from La Spezia. The town was full of narrow streets, little town squares and pink houses.

Below is Manarola - the 2nd village on the trail. I remember Manarolo for its little swimming cove, busy harbour and great gelato.  Manarola is also surrounded by ancient steep terraces of vineyards and olive trees. The pastel colour palette of the houses was a beautiful sight against the turquoise of the ocean.

I spotted a lovely jewellery shop in this town too!

Here is Via dell'Amore or 'Lovers' Lane' which is on the path between Manarola and Riomaggiore (1st village). Rumour has it that sweethearts living in these isolated little villages used this part of the path for their secret 'meetings'.

I hope to return to walk the Cinque Terre trail again one day!

Sights on a Saturday

The reminiscing continues - reflecting on the sights from a holiday in Italy. The food, architecture, history, gardens and landscapes were all intoxicating to me.

Why the photo of the car? I even fell in love with their cars!!
I can see this little red beauty flitting through the streets of Sydney.... and taking possession of those petite parking spots that an 'Aussie' car dare not target.

The architecture and design... I stood and stared at the Rome Colosseum in awe for quite some time and just absorbed the sheer size and significance of it as a structure.

Returning from a great holiday is always hard.
My photos give me a nice reminder of the world beyond and all those things that send a tingle up my spine!

Sights on a Saturday

Over the past few months, I've been pulling together my photos from a holiday in Italy and there has been a fair bit of reminiscing going on!

With close to 3,000 digital snaps, the album is slowly coming together as the culling process is fined tuned.  Over the next month - I hope to show some highlights as I re-experience one of my favourite journeys..........

Here are some sights from the Tuscan town of Volterra.

 We spent a few hours in the Guarnacci Etruscan Museum which features an extensive collection of Etruscan artifacts - mostly uncovered from local ancient tombs. The jewellery was fascinating and a lot of the pieces were dated between 3rd Cent. BC to the 1st Cent.AD.

Do I spot a semi-precious gemstone? Isn't it beautiful.. and weren't those Etruscans clever skilled artisans?

Despite being over 2,000 years old and made with a lot less sophisticated tools and implements, the pieces clearly showed intricate and innovative design .... and displayed our perennial fondness for personal adornment and interest in stones, silver and gold throughout the ages.

Walking through Volterra, my radar also detected hand made jewellery in small artistic studios....(loved the little black cat who sat outside the shop amongst all the patient waiting boyfriends, husbands etc).

Going through my photos has got me thinking of new adventures that await......
More Italy shots to appear again soon on 'Saturday Sights'.