Villa Grabau

Posted on July 6, 2016 by kathy

Lucca is surrounded by magnificent historical residences of the 16^th century. On a perfect spring day, three of us ventured out to discover a couple of them. Villa Grabau was first built in Renaissance style in the late 16th century,

1.villa 2.villa

then renovated in the 19th century in a neo-classical style.

3.villa

Following a tour of the villa, owned by the Grabau family since 1868, we explored the 9 hectares of beautiful gardens. Starting with the formal Italian garden behind the villa,

4.Italian garden 5.Italian garden

the pond lilies enjoying the sunshine.

6.lily pond 7.lily pond

We meandered along mysterious paths

8.path 10.path

never knowing quite what we would find.

The 17^th century limonaia was fascinating.

12.limonaia

Over 100 lemon trees are moved inside, in their terracotta pots, to shelter in winter.

13.limonaia

There are many rare species in the park,

we didn’t expect to find giant bamboo in an Italian garden.

The ‘Box Hedge Theatre’ was enchanting.

27.box hedge theatre

A stage defined by box tree hedges set in a secluded position,

28.box hedge theatre 29.box hedge theatre

the theatre garden contains two marble lions and a bubbling fountain.

30.box hedge theatre

Having worked up an appetite, we had a delicious al fresco lunch at a small roadside Osteria, Bottega sulla Fraga.

32.osteria

The English translation of the menu was dubious

but the meals were superb.

After lunch, we made our way to Villa Reale but that will be another post.

Trevigue Farm

Posted on June 29, 2016 by kathy

While travelling through Britain, we stayed at many wonderful B&Bs. Trevigue Farm was no exception.

1.Trevigue Farm

We navigated the narrow lanes of Cornwall, getting momentarily lost in Crackington Haven, to find this beautiful 16th century farmhouse.

2.Trevigue Farm 3.Trevigue Farm 4.Trevigue Farm 5.Trevigue Farm

Located high on the Cornish cliffs, this 200 acre farm is set around an ancient cobbled courtyard.

6.courtyard

We were welcomed into the gorgeous entrance hall

7.entrance hall

and shown to the sitting room

8.sitting room 9.sitting room

where we enjoyed a cup of tea and home baked treats.

10.sitting room

There was a snug alcove tucked around the corner.

11.alcove

We were then led up the stairs

12.stairs

to our bedroom.

13.bedroom

The room was magnificent with a huge French style bed, vaulted oak beamed ceiling

14.bedroom 15.bedroom

and a lovely outlook over the courtyard.

16.bedroom view

We strolled around the farm admiring the stunning views

17.view 18.view

and the contented animals.

21.cows

22.cows

The next morning we were treated to a marvellous cooked breakfast in the cosy dining room

23.dining room 24.dining room

before heading off for a day of discovery in Cornwall.

desert delights

Posted on June 25, 2016 by kathy

As we journeyed through the Northern Territory, we were randomly distracted from the vastness of the desert by some very interesting features along the way. Central Mount Stuart is a mountain peak, about 200km north of Alice Springs, named in honour of the Scottish explorer John McDouall Stuart who reached the area in April 1860. He determined a point approximately 4km south of the peak to be the centre of Australia.

1.Central Mt Stuart

Stuart originally named the peak Central Mount Sturt after former expedition leader Charles Sturt but the name was changed soon after Stuart’s return to Adelaide.

I was very excited to find a winery in the desert, although there was little evidence of vines.

‘Shatto Mango’ at Ti-Tree, 180km north of Alice Springs had some surprisingly palatable offerings.

We tasted a crisp Mango Magic, fortified Mango Moonshine liqueur and sparkling Mango Mist. We even bought a couple of bottles.

Not too far down the road, we stopped at Aileron roadhouse

to meet ‘Anmatjere Man’. The statue, based on a traditional man from the local Anmatjere tribe, is 17 metres tall and weighs 8 tonne.

10.Aileron

He took twelve months to build and was joined three years later, in 2008, by a wife and child.

11.Aileron

30km north of Alice Springs is the Tropic of Capricorn marker, a stylized globe of the world on top of a 6.5 metre slanted pole.

In 1987, the local Alice Springs radio station ran a competition for design sketches from the public. The winner was a part time announcer for ABC radio. A local artist was commissioned to carve the Capricorn Goats in either side of the cement base.

90km west of Alice Springs, we had a brief stop at Stuarts Well roadhouse.

17.Stuarts Well

The pub/ campground is also the site of a camel farm, set on 9 acres at the foot of the James Ranges.

Continuing westward, we discovered the Cannonball Run Monument.

22.Cannonball Run

The race, run in 1994, was 3200km along the Stuart Highway from Darwin to Alice Springs and return.

23.Cannonball Run

On 24^th May, a Ferrari F40 crashed into a checkpost killing the two Japanese occupants and two track officials. The cause of the accident was found to be excessive speed.

We lunched on the lawn under some magnificent gum trees at Curtin Springs, a cattle station 100km east of Ayers Rock. The station covers just over a million acres – that’s 100km long x 40km wide!

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Back on the road, we soon spied Mt Conner, at the border of Curtin Springs station, often mistaken for Uluru by excitable tourists.

29.Mt Conner

There are so many wonderful surprises in the Australian outback, many we would have missed without our fabulous friends to guide us.

Lugliano

Posted on June 18, 2016 by kathy

On a warm, sunny morning, while the boys were busy building guitars, I drove with two of the wives to a nearby village in Bagni di Lucca – Lugliano. Having learned how narrow the village streets can be, we opted to park at the church

1.chiesa di San Jacopo

and discover the rest on foot. Lugliano dates back to 853 AD and as we had anticipated, the main road

2.main road

soon became narrow, cobbled streets

3.walk 4.walk

7.walk

full of wonderful surprises.

The village had a serenity, enhanced by the sunshine,

21.walk

20.walk

the four legged residents were testament to the tranquility.

The views across the mountains

31.view 32.view

and the valley below were spectacular.

33.view

36.view

I couldn’t resist the intriguing doorways

as we returned to our starting point.

44.walk 45.walk 46.walk

The Chiesa di San Jacopo was magnificent when viewed from the village.

47.chiesa di San Jacopo

The wildflowers were lovely

and the gardens had colourful blooms.

We wandered up the road in the other direction

53.walk

and discovered the village cemetery

with a striking view across the mountains.

59.cemetery view

It was time to return to Benabbio for lunch, with one last view of the Chiesa di San Jacobo.

60.chiesa di San Jacopo 61.chiesa di San Jacopo

Launceston Castle

Posted on June 10, 2016 by kathy

Following our adventure in Britain, our plan was to relocate to Tasmania and rent a house in Launceston while we searched for a property of our own. Little did we know, in the early 19^th century, Launceston had been given the name of the town in Cornwall (although there it is pronounced ‘lawn-sten’). Known as the Gateway to Cornwall, Launceston is just across the border from Devon and so, to control the river crossing, a castle was built soon after the Norman Conquest of 1066.

2.Launceston Castle