Thursday 24 January 2019

Italy is full of beautiful cities that are famous all over the world. The country is a fascinating blend of unique architecture, unusual traditions, delicious food and turbulent historical events, set against the back-drop of a stunning natural landscape. It is hard, if not impossible, to visit Italy and not come to love one or more of the aspects that make up this remarkable country.
I could, of course, talk for hours about each of the ten places I have chosen to share with you today. But, since we all lead busy lives, I will try (try is the key word here)to limit myself to a few sentences about each.
Lucca
Lucca, Italy
Lucca is a walled city to the north of Pisa. It is famous for its excellently-preserved  Renaissance walls, cobblestone streets, medieval churches, and the Giunigi Tower that is crowned with holm oaks. It is the birthplace of composer Giacomo Puccini and his house is now a museum. In the heart of  Lucca is the beautiful Piazza del Anfiteatro which was built on the site of a Roman amphitheatre and still retains its elliptical shape.
More about Lucca:

Thursday 3 January 2019

Instead of the usual annual soliloquy that has characterised my end of year posts, this time round I decided it might be more  fun to share some of the highlights of 2018 by using more pictures than words.
In January I started this blog with much high hopes and expectations that I didn’t live up to as well as I should have. Let’s say work got in the way. Hopefully I will do better this year.
After another very mild winter, spring came early this past year with the almond trees blossoming in January. This is probably the earliest I have seen them blossom – which is probably a sign of the times.
Almond blossoms

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Sincerely, Loree. Theme by STS.