Photos - San Gimigniano again

These are shots of some of the buildings and places within San Gimigniano.

 La Torre Grande

 The main piazza

 Several towers from the piazza

 Just a backstreet leading off the main piazza

I was taken by the doors on this building and also the little alcoves with statuettes in them.

 I just couldn't resist this when I saw Alexandr and Sergei on duty in front of this shop on the main street.

Photos - Back in England (briefly)

This is just to add a couple of Dominic's photos which I didn't have until today.  The first one was taken at my cousin Alan Batey's place in Ryton and shows Alan at right, Brian in the middle, and yours truly at the left.

The second photo is one that Dominic took in Nottingham at Eric and Joy Foxley's place and shows off a couple of the Green Man ceramics that they make.

Photos - Italy (2)

The hotel I moved into after abandoning the shared apartment was on the Borgo San Jacopo which runs from the southern end of the Ponte Vecchia down to the Ponte Sante Trinita.  The northern side of the hotel fronts the river Arno and from the outside drinks area and a balcony right next to it, there is a clear view to the Ponte Vecchia as shown in this photo:

Through the right-hand arch you can just make out the piers of the Ponte alla Grazie upstream of the Ponte Vecchia.  I took this as I was waiting for my ride to take me for the start of the bus tour I did.

The first stopping place on the bus tour I did on my first Saturday was San Gimigniano - the city of towers.  There were, apparently something like 60 towers in the city's hayday but they are now left with just a dozen or so.  We got to walk to the top of the Torre Grande (big tower - how original).  I took some photos on the way up and at the top.

 This one was taken from about half-way up the Torre Grande.

 From the top looking out over San Gimigniano and the Chianti region countryside.

 More Chianti region countryside.

 They keep the big bell in a cage so no-one can ring it (as if I would).

 Looking down over one of San Gimigniano's piazzas.

 Another view over San Gimigniano and one of the other remaining towers.

 Etc

Etc

(An aside.  If you inspect the meta-data on these photos by any means you will see that they were apparently taken in the evening.  Well yes, but the evening was Australian time as I didn't reset the camera's clock- doh!)

Photos - Italy (1)

On my second day in Florence I took a few pictures.  The first was taken from a little park on the south side of the Arno.  Most of the city is on the northern side of the river.  Central Florence doesn't have many places, apart from bars cafes and restaurants, where you can just sit down.  However, I found this little park in my wanderings and it was pleasant just to sit under the trees away from the madd(en)ing hordes.

In the photo the most distinctive parts of the skyline, apart from the cranes, are the Palazzo Vecchio with its tower, and just right and behind it - the dome of the Duomo.  The viewpoint is just west, and on the south side of, the Ponte alla Grazie.

The next picture was taken from the via dei Pecori looking into the Piazza del Duomo.

And this one is a closer view of the Palazzo Vecchio.

And the statue of Cosimo di Medici which stands in front of the Palazzo Vecchio.

Photos - UK Kenyan Expat Re-union

For the last couple of days we stayed with Ian and Jean Wilkinson in Hampshire and went with them to a re-union of our Kenyan expat group which had been arranged in Abingdon.  Here are a few photos from that event.  These are both of the same group, of course but one has me in it and the other has Dominic in it.

From left to right, front row:  Me, Ed Lawrenson (my boss in Nairobi), Pat Lawrenson,Trevor Lloyd's partner (?)

back/middle row:  Chris Simkin's partner and Chris, Christine Renshaw, Rob Brown, Hugh Lawrenson, Jean Wilkinson, Ian Wilkinson (back), Rob Brown's partner (?), Lesley Freer, Roger Freer (back), Trevor Lloyd

 Same line-p but without me on the left and added Dominic on the right.

Photos - UK after the walk (2)

After leaving the North-east and North-west we ended up a couple of days later staying with my old boss from Nottingham Uni and his wife - Eric and Joy Foxley.  Their house back onto Nottingham Uni and there is a light railway, which they campaigned against to no avail, being constructed just over their back fence.  However, their house and garden are great.  This shot was taken from their back garden and show Eric and Joy on the deck along with Dominic.

Later on in our travels we stopped in Shrewsbury for lunch and this is a shot down one of the streets showing the half-timbered buildings.  I don't know if these are truly old or just modern lookalikes.

Photos - UK after the walk (1)

I didn't take many photos in the UK after the walk but, hopefully, Dominic will have a few to augment them.  Before we left the Newcastle area we had arranged to have a dinner with my double cousins*, Alan and Brian Batey and their respective wives Delma and Sheila, at a restaurant in Ryton.  Afterwards we all went to Alan and Delma's place for a bit more yak - no, not the great hairy beast of the Himalayas but taakin' ye naa.  I took this photo of Delma and Sheila but I seem to have lost any I took of Alan and Brian.

*My dad was the brother of their mother and my mother was the sister of their dad.

After leaving Alan and Delma's place we dropped Brian and Sheila off at their place on our way to Hexham where we had booked into the County Hotel.  The next day we headed south, by firstly going westwards into Cumbria, and this is a shot across Ullswater on a (probably) rare fine day.