Tag Archives: photography

Sant’ Antimo Abbey

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Leaving Asciano, we weaved our way through the beautiful Tuscan countryside to Sant’ Antimo Abbey, not far from Montalcino.

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The Benedictine monastery dates back to the Middle Ages and the abbey was completed in 1260.

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I love the solitary cypress next to the bell tower.

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The landscape of olive trees, vineyards, fields and cypress was an artist’s dream

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and the town of Castelnuovo Dell’ Abate stood guard over the abbey.

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We wandered around the grounds of the monastery

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before entering the abbey to observe the prayers and chanting of the monks.

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We were awed by the light streaming in, accentuating the 13th century wooden crucifix behind the altar.

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The interior was stunning, the alabaster walls reflected the light

and there was so much detail wherever we looked.

The capitals had intricate carvings,

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the most impressive depicted Daniel in the Lions’ Den.

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The abbey was known for its Gregorian chanting and the monks started at exactly the scheduled time of 12.45pm. Words can’t describe our ethereal experience, surrounded by those exquisite voices with the Tuscan countryside offering a tranquil portrait in the window frame.

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Returning to reality, we spent some time admiring the architecture of the exterior

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and found more intricate carvings of animals and humans.

One last look at the spectacular surroundings

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and we headed for our next destination, Montalcino.

Stirling Castle

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Soon after arriving in Scotland I discovered my trusty old hiking boots were no longer waterproof. There was nothing else for it but to seek out a new pair so we ventured to Stirling for the big event. Newly booted, we paid a visit to Stirling Castle.

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Dating from the early 12th century, the present buildings were mostly built between 1490 and 1600.

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Unfortunately, the Royal Palace was undergoing a £12 million refurbishment so there wasn’t a lot for us to see.

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Judging by the weather, the walkway between the Palace and the Great Hall was a necessity.

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Just outside the castle walls lies Ballengeich Cemetery and gorgeous views across the River Forth and countryside beyond.

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The inclement weather put a dampener on the National Wallace Memorial, standing on the summit of Abbey Craig.

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The 13th century Scottish hero, Sir William Wallace, is commemorated by this 67 metre high sandstone tower, built in 1869.

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We didn’t explore the monument as we were short of time. We had a dinner date back in Greenock with some of Michael’s long lost relatives.

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Next time, we will visit the monument and climb the 246 steps to the top, hopefully on a clear day.

end of the line

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We awoke on the last day of our transcontinental rail journey to blue skies and a verdant landscape.

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The Nullarbor Plain was behind us and our destination, Perth, was merely hours away. While enjoying our breakfast in the Queen Adelaide restaurant car, the vista suddenly changed. We were passing what appeared to be massive salt lakes

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and the heavily clouded sky emitted an eerie glow.

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The lakes seemed to stretch for miles, yet, despite lengthy searching, I can find no reference to them.

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By lunch time, the scenery had changed again

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and before long we were passing through the wheat belt,

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the outer suburbs of Perth and finally, East Perth Railway Station.

Asciano

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On a perfect spring morning, we set off for a day of exploring the Tuscan countryside and some of the towns along the way. Our first stop was Asciano, an Etruscan hill town in the province of Sienna. We parked our trusty Fiat

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and wandered through the quiet streets.

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From a high point in the town, the 13th century campanile of the Church of Saint Agatha complemented the surrounding verdancy.

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We indulged in coffee and chocolate croissants

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before meandering back to the car. An Australian cycling team were taking a break, they were probably in the area for the Giro d’Italia.

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The clocktower was topped with a beautiful decorative feature.

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The 11th century Basilica of Saint Agatha looked quite different from this angle.

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I couldn’t write an Italian post without including at least a couple of doors.

As the cyclists left town,

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it was time to continue on our way, too. We didn’t get far before stopping to admire the breathtaking panorama.

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I think I found my dream home.

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Bayviews

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We don’t usually do anything special to celebrate our wedding anniversary, but last Wednesday we broke from tradition and dined at our favourite restaurant. We were surprised to see a new addition on the way from the car park, a very impressive sand sculpture.

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Bayviews Restaurant is so named for obvious reasons.

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Every seat in the house has a wonderful vista of Bass Strait, beautiful in any weather.

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We opened proceedings with a glass of exquisite Josef Chromy Pinot Gris

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and were soon presented with a tasty pre-dinner morsel of beef fillet with carrot and cumin purée.

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Dogs are prohibited on Burnie’s West Beach but we were entertained by an ambitious young fellow walking a rather uncooperative shopping trolley.

The palate cleanser of Pink Grapefruit sorbet was dispatched too quickly to photograph, you’ll just have to imagine it.

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The main event was superb. I had slow cooked lamb shoulder on butternut pumpkin gnocchi, mushrooms, shallots with a salad of baby cress, toasted walnut, sheep’s fetta and 8 year old balsamic vinegar.

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Michael chose from the specials board, pan fried Tasmanian scallops with housemade fettucine tossed through lemon beurre blanc sauce with cherry tomatoes and fresh dill.

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A glass of d’Arenberg The High Trellis Cabernet Sauvignon complemented the flavours perfectly.

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It was very relaxing watching the gulls mingling on the shore below and their indifference to the appearance of a pied oystercatcher.

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For dessert, Michael once again chose from the specials, lemon curd tart with crisp meringue, local currants, raspberry coulis and honey & vanilla bean ice cream.

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I couldn’t decide what to have, so I had them all!

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The dessert tasting platter had smaller versions of Snickers semifreddo, chocolate mousse, caramel sauce, almond crumble, peanut praline & dark chocolate;

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salted caramel tart layered with caramel sauce, banana chip praline, fresh banana & chantilly cream served with salted caramel ice cream;

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basil crème brulee, Tamar Valley yoghurt, sable biscuit, fresh berries, passionfruit & lemongrass sorbet.

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A big thank you to my husband for gallantly assisting with the devoration of my dessert. Sunset is past our bedtime these days but the shadows were lengthening as we made our way home.

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I think we may have just created a new anniversary tradition.