Archive for May, 2010
Here are a couple shots I couldn’t get on the blog while we were in Provence. They are in the same village in the Vaucluse. The blue doors are within the old walls, the other is part of a ruined chateau at the top of the village.
We also had great fresh croissants here!
Ciao!
After we saw our workshop participants off Saturday, we had one last fabulous lunch in our home village. Then we headed down to Rome for our flight on Sunday. We stayed in a nice seaside suburb and spent our last night in Italy walking around the marina and the beach. Also in this post is a photo Joel shot of our hotel bathroom because it was so funky… The Italians are definitely all about style!
As we recover from our jetlag, I’ll make some posts with more photos from the trip.
Ciao!
Today was our last day out and about. My favorite part of the day was our visit to a local organic farm known for their pecorino cheeses and fresh produce. We had an amazing lunch, all grown on their farm! The donkey was actually very friendly and the woman who owns the farm was a wonderful guide in telling us all about the cheese making process.
Here’s our group shot in the winery where we had a wonderful Tuscan lunch of homemade breads, sausages, pecorino cheeses, and of course a wine tasting! All were products of this family winery dating back centuries. The well surrounded by flowers is in our very own little village- built in the 15th century- and recently part of a flower festival that ended a week ago. They only just took the beautiful display down today.
A Domani! (Until Tomorrow!)
We had a much needed day off, for all of us I think, as the last couple days have been very busy. Joel and I took a nice walk today to the old church below town, a small 11th century church of Romanesque design. I took this shot looking up into the bell tower. Joel took the back-lit poppy snapshot on our walk back. Tomorrow we visit a beautiful historic garden, so there may be more flowers coming up!
Ciao!
Here’s a fun festa we watched in a nearby village where the four neighborhoods have a friendly annual competition. The flags represent one of the competing neighborhoods. It was complete with music, jester and a story played out by local actors. Today was a fun cultural day and we were also treated to a beautiful rainbow at our last stop! After another fabulous Italian meal, we’re all ready to rest up a bit for a long day tomorrow…
Ciao!
Rain is not always pleasant, but for this, we’ll put up with it. It really was a spectacular scene! And we couldn’t walk past this lovely gelato shop showing off its rainbow of flavors without sampling some product…
Our workshop participants arrived today and we have our welcome dinner tonight at one of our favorite restaurants… We’ll be busy, so I may not post everyday this week.
Ciao!
This cat had a nice high perch to watch the people walking by… He seemed to be enjoying himself! The alleyway reveals a scenic view of the Tuscan countryside below.
A presto!
Today we revisited a scenic drive we will take with our workshop participants next week, as beautiful as ever! In some places along this road, the green seemed unreal, almost neon. Mother Nature is amazing sometimes! We also walked through our little village this morning to retrieve our laundry… what a nice place to call home for a couple weeks
!
Sometimes inclement weather brings great photographs! Here’s a famous cypress cluster during a thunderstorm… and yes there was a rainbow to the left, but no picture in that direction! We found a nice poppy field near our village this morning and Joel took advantage of it. Tomorrow we head north to check out some other favorite locations. Hoping for more of the dramatic weather as long as we stay dry!
Ciao!
