As we drifted down the river in Botswana we came across this guy posing perfectly for the camera. I used to know what kind of bird it was, but now I can’t remember for the life of me what it is. Can anyone provide a suggestion in the comments below?
San Gimignano is an amazing little place. The town has successfully preserved fourteen medieval towers. These were built for defense and from the top, as you can see below, you could see people coming from miles around. They were built by wealthy families living there. Each time someone built a new tower, someone would begin plans to build a taller one. Apparently towers like this were common in Tuscany but most were lost to war, catastrophe or urban renewal.
I’ve been to San Gimignano a number of times. I remember visiting with my parents on a trip where I insisted on climbing to the top of anything we could climb and dragged them up more than one of the towers.
This time, one tower was enough. We were actually looking for lunch when I spotted a little doorway inviting you to climb to the top of the tower. It wasn’t the usual tower that tourists climb (the tallest one), it had actually been renovated to act as a vacation home. As we entered, I said we’d missed out on our chance to stay in one of these towers, thinking it would be amazing.
It wasn’t long before I changed my mind. Each floor was only big enough for one small room. So, we saw a sitting room, a kitchen, a bathroom, a bedroom, another sitting room, a bedroom, another bathroom, and another kitchen on our way up. I was four flights of tiny spiral stairs in when I concluded that staying there would be absolute torture. Eventually, we burst through the roof into the sunlight, panting for air, and interrupted what appeared to be a romantic moment.
I set about taking photos from the tower. I actually liked being able to look up at the taller tower more than I think I would have enjoyed being up on it. It was full of tourists and after the happy couple descended, we had the place to ourselves. This photo is actually a panorama comprised of five photos to let me show you the whole scene. I actually wasn’t able to see down into the courtyard as the walls were so thick, but I edged my camera and tripod out as far as I could and let it peak over for me.
Once we returned to Earth we went to a little restaurant for a seriously garlic-heavy bruschetta while a man in a tailcoat with a bushy beard and sandals played the flute beautifully, before packing up, hopping on his bicycle and weaving away through the crowd.
The Heineken experience in Amsterdam is pretty cool. It’s located in the old Heineken Brewery. I visited it for the second time on my last trip. You learn about the history of Heineken, how they make it, and then they teach you how best to drink it. Then, you drink more of it.
These are the coppers, it’s where they heat various mixtures at the various stages of beer making.
After leaving Sienna, we plugged a few villages with “in-Chianti” in their names into the GPS so that we’d wind our way through the vineyards as the sun began to dip towards the horizon.
Before going to Tuscany I’d had a special request for those “round-bottomed pointy trees.” So, I was pretty glad when I found this row, lining the road we’d just driven down.
I’m not sure I really need to say much about this interesting detail of the fountain in the central plaza of Antigua, Guatemala. Except, maybe, the fact that this is one of four of these lactating ladies lining the fountain.
The drive to Walvis Bay to the dunes at Sossusvlei is pretty barren. It’s mainly a long flat road, not suited to the vehicle we were in. We bounced along at half the speed limit as giant overland trucks sped past us. Still, it was an exciting drive. Every now and again, dotted across the landscape we’d spot flocks of ostrich strolling about. This group corresponded with a driver change 2 hours into the drive.
On my first day in Amsterdam, immediately after an overnight flight from Bermuda, there was a beautiful wispy cloud draped blue sky. I was tired but decided I’d better get out and take advantage of it. It was a good decision, because it was grey and rainy for the rest of our trip!
I’m back from my 11 day bounce around Europe. Our last stop was Florence, Italy. From there we drove out into Tuscany to visit Pisa and then Sienna. It wasn’t the most logical route but the journey between the two was beautiful, as was the drive back from Sienna to Florence.
Pisa is famous for the leaning tower, but the inside of the cathedral may be more jaw dropping.
There’s a lot of detail here, so I’ve linked the photo to a larger version… just click it for a better look.
I’ve finally gotten my laptop sorted so can get back into processing photos, just in time for me to head off to Europe and take some more. I’m flying out on Wednesday and will be visiting Amsterdam, Barcelona, Florence and London.
For now though, here’s a picture of Mount Island I took earlier this year, complete with turquoise waters.
Here’s another shot of the beautiful fountains in Antigua, Guatemala. Antigua really is a beautiful city in range of some breathtaking areas outside town, like Lake Atitlan. Three days really wasn’t enough time to spend in the place, I’d love to go back there.
After the stifling heat of Flores and Tikal it was a relief to get to the cooler climate this area has to offer.
