The last time we went to London, it was August, but the weather was not brilliant, as usual. We stayed in Greenwich overlooking the Thames so most of my photos are understandably related to the river. The first time I went to London, in 1975, on my way to France, I adored it. It was like being on a Monopoly board or reading a Victorian novel. But then I went to live in Paris and London somehow lost its attraction. It has changed considerably since then and, except for the irrisistible Big Big, these photos reflect those changes.
Big Ben in all its fineryOnce the London Eye, now the EDF Energy London Eye
The London Eye, or Millennium Wheel, was officially called the British Airways London Eye and then the Merlin Entertainments London Eye. Since 20 January 2011, its official name is the EDF Energy London Eye following a three-year sponsorship deal. I didn’t go up, even if it looks exciting!
The Tower Bridge
Olivers Wharf in Wapping
Oliver’s Wharf was built in 1869-70 in the Tudor gothic style to handle general cargo and, more especially, tea. Bought by developers in 1972, it was converted into twenty-three very expensive luxury flats.
On the banks of the Thames near Tower BridgeDucks and tricycles share the Thames
We went to Rome in August when all the Romans flee the city, of course, to places like the Tivoli Gardens, because it’s too hot. The only way to survive was to get up early then go back to our air-conditioned apartment for a long siesta before venturing out again in the late afternoon. Not surprisingly, one of the greatest attractions were the fountains. Below are my favourites, some of which I can locate, others not. Maybe someone can fill in the missing information.
Let’s start with the Trevi Fountain!Fontana del Moro in Piazza NavonaFountain of the Naiads, Piazza della RepubblicaIl Babuino “The Baboon” in via del Babuino depicting a reclining Silenus, a character from Roman mythology, half-man,half-goat.An ivy-covered fountain on the way to Alfreddo’s!The basin looks suspiciously like a coffin!You have to put your finger under the lower spout to make the water spurt up through a hole higher up.A fountain in a lovely shady spotFountain and Temple of Hercules Victor in the Forum BoariumAnd here we have the bathtub fountain, but that’s not it’s real name!
Naples is not a popular destination with tourists. True, we did have to hurriedly get off a bus when Jean Michel realised his pockets were being searched, but he had taken adequate precautions so nothing was stolen. But apart from that, I felt perfectly safe and I really loved Naples. I particularly liked the ceramics in the beautiful cloisters of Santa Chiara and the amazing Nativity cribs in the Certosa museum which overlooks Naples. We went by train from Vico Equense on the Bay of Naples where we were staying, which saved us the hassle of parking. Black Cat has been there since and she really enjoyed it too.
Santa Chiara CloistersGuglia Dell Immacolata Obelisk in the Piazza Del GesuA shady upper gallery in NaplesA typical Napolitan streetConvitto Nazionale European School in NaplesStreet stalls on 5th avenue
Just one of the beautiful creches (presepe) for which Naples is famous, in the Certosa museumGalleria Umberto built in 1887-1891 as part of the renovation programmeThe mediaeval Castel Nuovo
The sun’s shining outside and we’ve just had lunch. Instead of getting back to work on a very boring translation and the Big Fireplace Operation respectively, I suggest to Relationnel that we go for a walk. What’s the point of living in the country if we can’t make the most of autumn? Relationnel immediately agrees so I put on my big thick walking shoes and off we go.
Closerie Falaiseau in autumn
We turn right out of the gate and walk down the road until we get to the railway underpass. We turn right again, up the hill, to the forest. I see there is a sort of path on the right, so we walk along that. Then I see a cyclist bearing off to the right once more and suggest we follow him. We keep going until we come to a sort of clearing.
Forest clearing
In front of us is a fairly steep slope and I realise this must be what Alain meant when he talked about being in the forest and seeing the tree tops. The light is amazing and it really is very beautiful and peaceful. We come out of the forest and past a field of stubble, then through a bower of trees that have already lost their leaves.
Natural archway of trees
At the end of the path, instead of continuing straight ahead, we turn right to explore the houses which Relationnel tells me overlook ours. I’m amazed that he knows where we are as I have lost all notion of geography by this time. We then start walking through brambles and Relationnel lets slip that “according to the satellite photo, this should take us back to the other path”. Ah, now the secret’s out ! He’s been checking out Google maps.
Ring of agaric mushrooms
We finally have to turn back because the brambles are getting too thick and I am wearing my only decent anorak. We connect up to the field of stubble again and Relationnel finds a Marasme des Oréades (Marasmius oreades) but there’s only one so we don’t keep it. Then we see a whole ring of agarics but they’re on private property which means we obviously can’t pick them even if there’s no fence. A little further on, we see a little group of parasol mushrooms somewhat past their prime huddling together in the sun.
Parasol mushrooms huddling together
We go past a few more houses and I see a delightful little number plaque with blue shutters and a blue bike. Now, I wonder what sort of plaque I could find for a house that’s 400 years old and has mullioned windows and a half-timbered tower? And I wonder whether Mei Lun’s beautiful drawing of Closerie Falaiseau could be made into a plaque.
N° 13
Suddenly I recognise where we are – we’re walking down a road called Rue de la Grande Filaire that I’ve never wanted to take because we usually approach it from the bottom on our bikes and it looks like a long haul up ! So we turn right and walk down Rue de l’Hôtel du Grand Pasquier that eventually meets up at the church on the corner of our road. Another 15 minutes and we’re home, delighted with our lovely autumn walk and ready to get back to work.
We chose Viterbo as the centre of Etruscan art which I knew absolutely nothing about. The Etruscans lived in central Italy between the 9th and 2nd centuries BC. Their specialities were life-size figurative terracottasculpture (on sarcophagi or temples) and cast-bronze wall paintings and metal work (particularly engraved bronze mirrors). We found a wonderful B&B in an 18th century villa called “Villa Farinella” which I can highly recommend, and fanned out. Viterbo itself is quite delightful and has a lovely old mediaeval quarter.
Mediaeval quarter of ViterboAnother house in the mediaeval quarterFountain in the mediaeval quarterPalazzo dei PrioriInside the Palazzo di PrioriSan SilvestroPalazzo FarneseVilla Farinella
It’s Mei Lun and Alain’s last day in Blois. The sun is shining brightly even though it’s four degrees. We decide to go into Blois and visit the Cathedral area. We park on the mail, so-called because of a game called mail, from maillet meaning mallet, that was very popular in the Loire Valley. We cross the road and walk up a little street that leads to a set of stairs called petits degrés because they are shallow, as opposed to the steeper grands degrés near the château. We keep going until we come out behind the cathedral. I’m enjoying myself as I’ve never taken this route before.
Petit degrés steps
We visit the cathedral , which has had a chequered existence. The original sanctuary, built during the reign of the Merovingians (5th to 8th century), was dedicated to Saint Peter. A second church was built there in the 12th century, this time under the patronage of Saint Solenne. In 1678, “a hurricane forced its way inside and lifted the roof” (I love the translation !), destroying the nave. Gothic restorations were carried out between 1680 and 1700 and the new cathedral was dedicated to Saint Louis after Louis XIV presented the church with an organ.
Cathedral of Saint Louis
Like many of the churches in the area, most of the stained-glass windows were destroyed by American bombs in the Second World War. Chartres was an exception, because all the windows were taken down before the bombing started. A new set of 33 windows, inaugurated in 2000, was designed by the Dutch artist Jan Dibbets and made by the French stained-glass artist, Jean Mauret.
Sweeping view of the Loire from the terrace above the rose garden
We turn right as we walk out the church and past the Town Hall. Just opposite is a beautiful, though inaccurate, sun dial, which reminds me that I need to go to Italy again to find one for Closerie Falaiseau! We continue walking until we come out on the terrace overlooking the Loire. The last time I came here, it was freezing cold and difficult to really appreciate the wide-sweeping view. The large urns remind me of my balcony in Paris.
View of Joan of Arc’s equestrian statue
We go back in the other direction and wander down the hill until we come to the Denis Papin steps. At the bottom we turn right and keep following the little streets in the general direction of the château, eventually arriving at Place Louis XII. Alain is keen to find some vouvray moelleux and has noticed a wine shop called Chez Laurent on one side of the Place.
Chez Laurent wine store in Blois
As we walk in, who do I see? Virginie, the sommelier, from Vinomania, with whom Kathy Standford and I did our wine tasting in June. I knew that she was going to another location because she wanted to be more involved in the wine-buying and tasting process, but hadn’t been able to locate her. She welcomes us in and although she doesn’t have the wine Alain is looking for, she suggests we try two other vouvrays. We prefer the 2005 tendre from Domaine du Viking so Alain buys a couple that she puts in an attractive carry box. They’re only sorry they won’t have time to have a Loire Valley wine historical tasting – it’s a good incentive for next time.
Chez Laurent with Virginie
Our last stop is L’Appart’thé, where Mei Lun and Alain want to sample a café/thé gourmand, as I’ve told them it’s one of the best in Blois. We ask if we can just have a tea or coffee, but the owner explains that it’s lunch time, so we decide to have an early lunch. Alain and I have the goat’s cheese and zucchini tart while Mei Lun has the spinach and salmon. Both are delicious.
Inside L’Appart’thé
The thé/café gourmand lives up to expectations with a lovely selection of baked goods, including a mini cannelé, a moelleux au chocolat, a panna cotta and a chocolate and vanilla sponge cake. In the car on the way home, we all agree that Blois is a great place to live!
Paestum, which is about 85 K southeast of Naples, is the home of three major Greek temples dating from the first half of the 6th century B.C., two dedicated to Hera and one to Athena. We were there in early June 2010 and it was one of the highlights of our trip. It’s also known for its painted tombs and the museum near the temples contains frescoes, statues and earthware taken from the tombs. We also had an unforgettable meal in a somewhat non-descript restaurant nearby.
Temple of HeraTemple of AthenaTemple of AthenaSecond Temple of HeraArena at Paestum
Today we walked the length and breadth of inner Hobart so we saw a lot of houses. They are mostly made of brick and clapboard and are often brightly coloured with wrought iron lacework. Many have little picket fences and since it’s spring, they all have flowers.
