To Jan.

Hi Jan, where've you been...

I've missed you!

More Autumn.

Just a few more photos of our Autumn colour. I have to focus on the pretty stuff out there at the moment as it's all gonna look grey and dreary pretty soon!

Leaves and Berries.

I went walking around the village just now, camera in hand, determined to catch the last of the autumn leaves before they all fall to the ground. We've had a windy week and the trees are getting barer every day...

So off I strode, across the farmer's field, past the chestnut tree catching the late afternoon rays...

through the woods strewn with fallen leaves...

skirting around the big ole horse-chestnut, which only a month ago was covered in gorgeous green...

past a pretty hedge...

peeked into a backyard...

found another hedge...

and headed back up the high street...

where I found red berries that seem to be straining over fences, trying to catch that elusive sunshine...

a great splash of red on often bare branches...

getting ready for Christmas!

Guess where I went today?

Yep, just for a peek...

followed by a quick stroll around Chelsea...

and found a bit of red here and there.

Holiday Loot.

While in Sorrento I was hoping to get to an antique or flea market, but as that didn't eventuate I had to be extra vigilant whilst touring and shopping in the region.

I was really on the lookout for religious curio's and as luck would have it.....

I found the religious card in one of the many churches in Sorrento. For a coin donation anyone passing by the entrance could take a card or light a candle.

I really love this old rosary for my collection. The red beads really pop. I found it in Ravello on the Amalfi coast.

This cute little box was found in Positano. I'm not sure if it's religious or not as I couldn't understand the old Italian man as he described it's purpose to me. I just nodded, smiled and high-tailed it out of the shop! However I think there is a very good chance that it could be, with the little hands either side and a tiny little plaque thing on the front!!

I think he said it was made of silver, but that could mean it has silver paint on it...still the filigree design is very cute.

A small religious picture from an antique shop in Sorrento.

This is really special. It's a 'devotional scapular' depicting the 'Sacred Heart'...."the Heart is never strange or cold...the Love that is ever new and old".

A scapular consisted of two small (usually rectangular) pieces of cloth, wood or laminated paper bearing religious images or text. They were joined by two bands which were draped over the shoulders with one hanging at the front and one at the back. These scapulars could be worn by a layman, whilst the larger monastic scapulars were worn originally by monks and also later by nuns.

The man who sold it to me, told me that this one would have been embroidered by nuns and was around 150 years old.

It goes nicely with one I purchased a while ago...

This one depicts 'St. Anthony of Padua' and has a little medal sewn on top.

Just a few special things...I'm happy!

Bongiorno!

Well I'm back from a week of eating my way around part of Italy with nearly 500 photos to boot. Don't worry I'm not going to publish all of them just a small sample to tempt you!

We stayed in Sorrento which is on the Bay of Naples, opposite Mount Vesuvius. I think we were far enough away that if it had erupted we would have been safe. However, a good portion of Napoli (Naples) would be in big trouble if that long overdue event took place.

Apparently the locals will get 14 days warning before the next eruption, however, with a population of 800,000 in the 'red' zone, it would be a dogs breakfast just getting everybody moved away in time.

This is a photo of Mount Vesuvius from across the bay in Sorrento.

A lot of Sorrento is perched on the edge of cliffs, with many hotels having access to sunbaking platforms via many many stairs.

Our hotel 'The Grand Hotel Capodimonte' was perched on the side of a hill overlooking the bay and part of Sorrento.

Unfortunately the weather was far too cold to even dip our toes into these tempting pools. Mount Vesuvius is in the background.

The main piazza in Sorrento. Amazingly I've managed to snap this whilst there was no traffic. This area, like the rest of the city, was packed with cars and scooters. You take your life into your hands just trying to cross the road. Although there are marked pedestrian crossings, the Italian drivers simply don't stop. I worked out that it's like a game of bluff, you have to look confident, like you're going to step out in front of the oncoming traffic, but be mindful and ready to stop if the traffic doesn't believe you are going to continue. In the end we worked out it was better to follow the locals across the road, as they would just brazenly step straight out.....

Sorrento is full of lots of narrow little lane ways containing shops and restaurants...and tourists...it's really annoying trying to get shots off with hundreds of tourists in the way...

Quite often we would come across a little grotto with the Virgin Mary, surrounded by flowers and candles (lit at night).

An old door with sunflowers and a glimpse of another religious statue.

Like most of Europe, there are many beautiful churches to be seen. Sometimes I just photograph the doors....

Love this one!

As you can see the interiors are very ornate.

I even found an interesting letter box on the side of one particular church.

 

This was the courtyard adjoining the Convento Di S. Francesco set up for a civil service.

Some of the funnier sites we saw were food related....

fresh produce just hanging around two stories up..

parked on three wheels....

and on four wheels.

In the 'Ristorante La Favorita', the balustrade was an old grape vine...and yes the food was great!

Everything that I ate, and I ate quite a lot, was very fresh and mainly local. I've never tasted such fantastic tomatoes, the purple grapes were amazing, the mozzarella....the pasta....

The olives, I think, must have been just picked off the trees and flung onto the plate because they were so fresh. Everywhere in the region these trees were growing, even alongside the swimming pool at the hotel.

This is not a great shot, but you can see the green nets which are strung up underneath the olive trees to catch the fruit as it drops (or is shaken) from the tree.

My other vice, other than eating myself stupid, is drinking espresso. The coffee in Italy is fantastic and will put hairs on your chest!

Finally, another favourite, is Limoncello. This is a speciality of the region, with lemon trees producing a particularly large variety of the fruit of which the zest only is mixed with a small amount of water, sugar and alcohol to produce this very citrusy digestive.

It really does burn off the barnacles on the way down!