Asciano

Posted on January 17, 2017 by kathy

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

1-fiat-500

and wandered through the quiet streets.

2-asciano 3-asciano 4-asciano

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

5-basilica-di-santagata-campanile

We indulged in coffee and chocolate croissants

7-cafe

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.

8-cyclists

The clocktower was topped with a beautiful decorative feature.

9-clocktower 10-clocktower

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

11-basilica-di-santagata

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

As the cyclists left town,

15-cyclists

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

16-tuscany 17-tuscany 18-tuscany 19-tuscany

I think I found my dream home.

20-tuscan-farmhouse

Emu Valley

Posted on January 10, 2017 by kathy

I am ashamed to say, I have lived near Burnie for nearly eight years and knew of the existence of the Emu Valley Rhododendron Garden but only recently had the pleasure of spending a peaceful afternoon there. The 11ha site is a natural amphitheatre, sloping down to a large basin fed by natural springs that form a series of lakes.

1-lake-grebe 2-lake-grebe-lake-pearl

The scrub and blackberry infested hillside has been transformed over the past 35 years, mostly by volunteers, and is now classified as a plant museum. There are over 22,000 plants to admire

in this lovely, tranquil setting.

6-lake-grebe

The garden is set out in a series of “countries” from which the wild rhododendrons originate, I shan’t try to name them all.

There were other interesting features to be found as we meandered along the paths. Just past the Chinese Pavilion

we caught a glimpse of the Japanese bridge through the cherry blossom.

26-sea-of-japan

Our walk continued past the Japanese ceremonial tea-house

31-japanese-tea-house

and across the covered bridge.

The adjacent lawned area is popular for weddings.

The American Gazebo overlooks Lake Pearl

and the sound of water tumbling over rocks was mesmerising.

Some of the flowers were extraordinary,

all were beautiful.

We were fortunate to find a sculpture competition in full bloom.

I voted for Boho Bungalow.

We made our way past many more magnificent hybrids

and returned, across Olympus Bridge, to our starting point.

77-olympus-bridgelake-grebe

It may have taken years to get there, but it was worth the wait.

The Falkirk Wheel

Posted on January 6, 2017 by kathy

We had seen a documentary on the Falkirk Wheel some time before our travels and just had to see it for ourselves. Near the town of Falkirk in central Scotland, the Forth & Clyde Canal used to be connected to the Union Canal by a series of eleven locks. In the 1930s, the locks were demolished and for decades there was nothing to connect these two canals. The Falkirk Wheel, the only rotating boat lift of its kind in the world, opened in 2002 and reconnected Glasgow and Edinburgh via these canals. We walked along the Forth & Clyde Canal on a crisp autumn morning

1-forth-clyde-canal 2-forth-clyde-canal

and were absolutely awed at our first sight of the wheel.

3-falkirk-wheel

The wheel works on Archimedes principle of displacement. The two gondolas are full of water. When a boat enters the gondola, it displaces a proportional volume of water so that the total mass is equal to the other gondola, whether there is a boat in it or not.

4-falkirk-wheel

The upper gondola is lowered as the lower one rises. Fascinating!

5-falkirk-wheel

The shape of the wheel was inspired by the Celtic double-headed axe. It is 35m in diameter and raises the boats 24m. More than eight boats can be carried at a time, taking around 20 minutes for a one way trip. Of course, we hopped on for a return circuit.

6-falkirk-wheel

I wish I had taken more photos, it was truly amazing.

Rawlinna

Posted on January 3, 2017 by kathy

Toward the end of our third day on the Indian Pacific, the Nullarbor Plain, that had kept us company for so long

1-the-nullarbor

started to change.

2-the-nullarbor

As the sun descended to the horizon

3-nullarbor-sunset

the sky awoke with colour.

4-nullarbor-sunset 5-nullarbor-sunset

Soon after sunset, we arrived at a railway siding at Rawlinna Station. With 70,000 sheep on 8,000 sqkm, Rawlinna is the largest sheep station in Australia.

6-rawlinna

By the light of a spectacular moon,

7-full-moon

hurricane lamps

8-rawlinna

and fire pits,

9-fire-pit

we shared platters of barbecued meats and roasted vegetables while our resident musician entertained us with Aussie favourites.

10-rawlinna OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

The train stayed close, her warm glow welcoming us at the end of a wonderful evening.

11-indian-pacific-rawlinna

Cortona

Posted on December 30, 2016 by kathy

I have wanted to visit Cortona for as long as I can remember, even before “Under the Tuscan Sun” made it popular. An ancient Etruscan city, dating back to 600BC it was every bit as magical as I expected. Only a 10 minute drive from Il Castagno, we parked outside the city walls and strolled through the beautiful narrow streets

1-cortona

lined with every shop imaginable.

Michael even bought a pair of shoes!

12-shoe-shop

Somewhere along the way, we caught a glimpse of the cloister of Santo Agostino convent.

13-cloister-of-santo-agostino-convent

Our wandering led to Piazza Garibaldi with an obelisk dedicated to Guiseppe Garibaldi and a commemorative monument to Leonardo di Vinci.

We were lured to lunch at Ristorante Tonino by the breathtaking view.

16-val-di-chiana

Unfortunately, the menu catered for tourists rather than those wishing to experience a traditional Tuscan meal.

After lunch, we walked through the Parterre Gardens, past the Monument to the Dead of World War I,

19-monument-to-the-dead-of-world-war-i

a beautiful fountain,

and what appeared to be an amphitheatre.

22-amphitheatre-parterre-gardens

There is a marble sculpture, the Dove of Peace, by John D Kehoe who, in 1970, founded an international art study program in Cortona.

23-dove-of-peace

Just past the magnificent San Domenico Campanile

we found ourselves on a tranquil tree-lined path.

26-parterre-gardens

We attempted to find Bramasole, the villa renovated by Frances Mayes in “Under the Tuscan Sun”. We either didn’t walk far enough or we took the wrong turn, sadly, we never found it. Instead, we headed for the highest point in Cortona.

27-cortona