Photos - Venice (1)

Venice is, of course, a photographer's Mecca.  There are actually too many things to photograph and all of the best ones have been done by people who can afford to spend hours getting the best conditions etc.  I did take a few though but mainly for self interest.

 The Grand Canal taken from the Ponte di Rialto

 Obligatory shot of the Ponte di Rialto.  It is always crowded with turisti.

 A carving in a church I visited (Basilica dei Frari).

 A clock tower with single-handed clock.

 Fresco detail on Basilica di San Marco

Turisti waiting to enter the Basilica di San Marco.

Photos - Levico Terme, Trento

The scenery around Levico Terme and Trento is quite spectacular being in the Italian Tyrol region.

 View looking north-east from Levico Terme

 View looking north-eastish from our hotel window in Trento

View looking south-eastish from our hotel window in Trento

 

Photos - Giro d'Italia

After Rimini we headed north for Trento where we had planned to catch part of a stage of the Giro d'Italia in the nearby town of Levico Terme.  We got there with maybe an hour to spare and found a position on the cobbled hill through the town where we could catch the action as they came through.

 The leaders coming up the hill.  Garth's arm in the foreground ;-)

 Looking up the hill after the leading bunch went through.

 I think this was the main peloton following the leading group.

 Getting towards some of the stragglers now.

The front of the last group on the road.  We had crossed to the other side as we didn't know that there were still more to come.

Photos - after Tuscany (1)

Leaving Montieri in Tuscany we headed across to the Adriatic coast by way fo Siena, Arezzo, and Sansepolcro after which we crossed the Apennines eventually ending up at Pesaro before heading north to Rimini for our overnight.  We had seen many wildflowers along the way and stopped at a layby in the mountains to take this shot.

 Wild poppies at the side of the road on the way to the east coast.

When we got to Rimini we found a hotel at the 'beach front' and our window looked out due east over the Adriatic.  As you can see a well made promenade with bike path on the far side and then, separating the hoi polloi from the beach - concessions.  No doubt some Italian politicians made lots of money in coming up with this idea.  Not even the Gold Coast is this gauche!

 Looking slightly north of east over the Adriatic

 Due east - directly across from our hotel.  Lovely bike path though.

 Looking south-east - concessions as far as you can see.

South-south-east - all hotels and concessions.  Like the Gold Coast but worse.

Fortunately the holiday season had not begun otherwise the place would be unbearable.

Photos - Lucca and Pisa

After touring south-central Tuscany we took a day to drive north to Lucca and afterwards Pisa.  A few photos from Lucca where we spent quite a bit of time wandering about and soaking up the sights.

Two shots of Lucca Cathedral

Of course, no visit to Italy would be complete without viewing Pisa's leaning tower 'up close and personal.

 Most people seem to have photos of themselves trying to hold up the tower.  I thought I would have one of me trying to push it over.  Very difficult to get the perspective right though.

 Looking staight up the tower from near its base.

 Next to the famous tower is the Pisa Cathedral.  This has also suffered from the ground underneath it collapsing and the results can be seen by comparing the tops of the arches at the far left with those at the right.  It looks as though they discovered this while it was still being built.

 And the leaning tower again from the opposite side which is where most of the tourists (and there are many) view it from.  

Strangely (or maybe not) Pisa is not the only Italian city with a leaning tower.  It could be, of course, that the only plans they had was for towers that lean ;-)

Photos - Florence, Tuscany, etc

One of my last pictures from Florence was this one of the main door of the Chiesa di Santa Trinita (Church of the Holy Trinity).  It was particularly interesting because of the carving, and also for the carving of the Medici coat of arms.

 Main door of the Chiesa di Santa Spirita.  The Medici coat of arms is on both of the middle panels.

After meeting up with Garth and leaving Florence we went to the Maremma region in southern Tuscany where we did a few day trips.  On first such trip we did a south-central Tuscany loop and along the way I took a couple of pictures.

Looking out over the Bay of Follonica towards the island of Elba on the horizon.

We visited Pitigliano which is a fortified hilltop town with links back to the Etruscans.

Pitigliano outer as seen by looking back over the town wall.  Etruscan caves are down in the valley below.

Photos - Cycling in Chianti

Only a couple of photos taken on my one day cycle tour in Chianti.  The first is a view from Qurici looking back across to the Castella de Poppiano where we started and ended the tour.

 Looking across to the Castella de Poppiano where the bike tour started.

Same(ish) view but with YT in the foreground to prove I was there.