Happy New Year Everyone

 Europe, Italy, Travel  2 Responses »
Jan 012017
 

I know, it’s been awhile… and no, I haven’t fallen off the face of the Earth. I just ran a bit low on time and as a result, ran a bit low on photos. I’ve kept traveling though and have a lot of photos to share from Vietnam, Spain, France, Morocco, Greece, Hong Kong, Italy and Switzerland.

I’ve got travel plans for 2017 too. I’ll be kicking off the year with a return to Marrakesh and a weekend in Berlin where I hope to add to my collection of pictures. In addition, I’ll be taking a couple of more adventurous trips through the year, though I haven’t thought about where yet. Suggestions in the comments below are welcome. I’m thinking South East Asia, South America or maybe even Egypt. I’ll be doing my best to get back to regular postings.

My most recent trip was to the Cinque Terre in Italy. It was my third time trying to get there. On my first attempt, the towns in the area were beset by landslides so I had to cancel my plans. On the second attempt, I was driving from Piedmont and stopped at a service station where my car was broken into and cameras, laptops and passports were stolen.

My third trip wasn’t without a hiccup either. When I went to check into the airport in Bermuda for my flight to London, I realized that I’d booked the wrong date for my connecting flight and it had actually already departed! I actually got onto the London flight without a connection and had to quickly sort it out the next day.

In celebration of the New Year and of finally making it to Cinque Terre, please enjoy this photo, taken from my hotel balcony in Manarola while sipping from a bottle of Prosecco.

view from la toretta hotel at sunset in manarola cinque terre

Pisa Cathedral Interior, Italy

 Europe, Italy, Travel  No Responses »
Nov 272015
 

So it turns out I have got a lot of photos I worked up but never uploaded! This one is of the interior of the Pisa Cathedral, which is right next to the Leaning Tower of Pisa. When you see the Leaning Tower it’s hard not to wonder if it was really worth the trip into Pisa. I’ve been a couple of times and the area is always crawling with tourists. The interior of the Cathedral, which seems to draw less of a crowd, is an impressive surprise though.

pisa-cathedral-interior

Cosimo and his horse, Florence

 Europe, Italy, Travel  1 Response »
May 152014
 

It was a cloudy day, but I thought I could still manage an interesting shot of the equestrian statue of Cosimo de Medici. It’s in the Piazza della Signora in Florence, Italy. I liked the idea of making the horse the focus of the image.

equestrian statue in florence italy

Castello di Montegufoni, Tuscany, Italy

 Europe, Italy, Travel  1 Response »
May 102014
 

On my most recent trip to Italy, we were driving through Tuscany, a little lost but enjoying ourselves. Suddenly, everything started to look familiar. Out of nowhere I told my friend Chris to take a left. Things looked more familiar and I suggested driving up a small single track road. Chris is good in that he’s always calm, and happy to go with the flow. In his usual way, he didn’t ask why, and just drove up the little road.

(This is the same guy who paddled me within striking distance of a herd of elephants, in Zambia, and told me to just keep taking pictures)

My suspicions were correct, that track led to the Castello de Montegufoni. I first came to this amazing hotel with my parents as a kid, and we went again, when I was at university, with my English relatives.

The first time we were there two events stick out in my mind. The first was the sound of beautiful violin music piped through the courtyard you see below, played by an artist who is managed by a reputed Artist Management Contract. They seemed to have an amazing sound system hidden away somewhere. At some point, we were sat at one of the communal dinners in the hotel’s vineyard and discovered that a man eating with us was the first violinist in one of the famous European philharmonics (I can’t remember which one). It turns out the music we could hear throughout the courtyard was him practicing.

The other memory was waking up in the middle of the night to discover that my parents had joined me on the pullout couch in the living room. Their bedroom was a loft, up above the living room. As it turned out, they’d been sat enjoying a glass of wine at their open window looking at the moon. Suddenly, a winged creature was silhouetted against the glow. A winged creature that soon winged passed my parents and into the rafters. It was a bat.

Oh, three things. The tuck shop had the most amazing multi-ice-cream sandwich/ice cream bar combo. I’ve never found it anywhere else.

On my second trip there, I remember my uncle Mike preparing the biggest mound of chopped garlic I’ve ever seen, amazing gooey cheese, a night of sambucca and limoncello, and my mom feeling bad for my dad as he seemed to be spending all his time on his Blackberry working. As it turned out, he was actually trying to beat the high score I’d set on Brick Breaker.

I’m not sure I told anyone I stumbled upon this place, so this picture may come as a surprise.

Courtyard of Castello di Montegufoni, Tuscany, Italy

 

Coddu Vecchju, Arzachena, Sardinia, Italy

 Europe, Italy, Sardinia, Travel  3 Responses »
Apr 182014
 

This is Coddu Vecchju, one of the giants’ tombs found scattered around Sardinia. They’re built way back in the Bronze Age by the Nuragic civilization. The Nuragic are named after their circular forts called Nuraghe.

giants tomb in sardinia facade of monolith in front of barren vineyard

Sardinian Rooftops

 Europe, Italy, Sardinia, Travel  1 Response »
Apr 092014
 

The Italian island of Sardinia is one of the playgrounds of the rich and famous. That is if you go to the beaches, in summer. If you go in the winter and explore the interior you see a completely different picture. Sardinia’s interior is rural, rugged and mountainous. You’ll see more sheep than people, and more interestingly shaped rocks than sheep. The harsh landscape is dotted occasionally by tightly packed villages.

I think I’ve just convinced myself I need to make a return trip. I was there during university and went on this trip specifically to get some practice in with what was, at that time, my brand new Canon Rebel.

tightly packed rooftops in sardinia, italy

Roman Water Fountain

 Europe, Italy, People, Travel  3 Responses »
Mar 242014
 

This water fountain in Rome is right next to the Pantheon. I had set this photo up exactly as it is and was just going to take a picture of the taps. Then, this woman walked up, acting completely oblivious to me, and positioned herself perfectly in the frame.

woman using water fountain in rome to fill her bottle near the pantheon

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