Thursday, April 26, 2007

thursday thirtheen [48] : where was I? part two


sharing vacation pics


1. ( Click here for Part One)
We skied in France until the Alps started to look like this:


then we knew our season was over and it was time to pack our skiing things away...
2. And headed out to Italy. We took the Tunnel du Frejus . Funny thing: you start in France and 13 km/8.5 miles later you are in Italy, through the Alps!
3. Here is the pic I took without a flash



4, Then we reached Livorno, which is in the Liguria region
5. and saw the beautiful old fortress


6. Drove along Tuscany on a sunday



7 . Here is a view of Tuscan wine fields in the back, not far away from the coastline. A post about lunch in a little Tuscan village is being prepared :)


8. Visited Populonia, the only major Etruscan city by the sea. It is situated on the western coast of central Italy on the Monte Massoncello Peninsula, in front of the Elba island. The reason for the city's existence is found in the vast slag remnants from the smelting of silver and iron… More about Populonia can be found here.

Those are somebody else's helmets, we took our car... Particularly on sunny days, it is difficult for me to see what I am photographing and then I have the surprise effect when I get to see the pics on my computer...!




9. We drove further and reached Piombino. "While under the rule of the Boncompagni-Ludovisi family it was taken by the French and in 1805 Napoleon Bonaparte gave it to his sister Elisa, She left her mark, and Piombino became known for a time as "little Paris". Leonardo da Vinci was among the many illustrious visitors to the city". How about that!!
At any rate, from Piombino we saw the Elba Island , too bad that was a cloudy day...but I hope you get the idea:




10. After so much history we drove to Genoa for some city life and some business for Mr Mar.



11. This is a view from the Piazza de Ferrari, which is an ancient Genoese family name and it's not related to the automobile company. This picture is taken from the Opera Theater in the heart of Genoa and you can see the de Ferrari fountain, which was constructed in 1936,




12. Genoa is the home of pesto, but they not only know how to eat well, they had these lovely flowers decorating the surroundings of the Piazza de Ferrari:



I counted more than a dozen pots and I took many pictures of them, I find those huge terra cotta pots simply fascinating!


13. And here is a closer look of one of those magnificent pots. I wish I could have taken
all of themone pot with me but there was absolutely no room left in the car, believe me!


Happy thirteening!

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

26 comments:

  1. That is so awesome. I love the old architecture it just oozes culture! It sounds like you had such a wonderful trip.

    Thank you for sharing (and making me jealous!)

    Cheers!

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  2. What a wonderful trip. Thank you for the vicarious pleasure.

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  3. Wow, what a trip. I'm envious, jealous, and longing to see it all for myself. I'm glad you took such great pictures!

    Have a great TT!

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  4. Oh, how beautiful, especially the Tuscan wine field!

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  5. I have vacation photos up too from our trip to Greece last year . . . you'll have to check out ~ http://www.chicken-scratch.ca

    your trip looks so amazing. Loved the photos of your terra cotta pots.

    Thanks for sharing!

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  6. I want to go to France and the Alps! It's so beautiful!

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  7. What a great trip you had! You went to the parts of Italy that we missed on our trip. I hope to go back someday, to Tuscany and further south.

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  8. Wow, that sounds like a great vacation. I would love to visit those places some day. Beautiful photos.

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  9. Thank you for the tour!! I wish I could tag along with you on one of your trips one day! Gorgeous pictures! Tuscany looks beautiful!! And those pots...my, they are gorgeous!

    Happy TT!

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  10. Wow, great pictures, I think I'm jealous.

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  11. I am very often surprised of the outcome of my pictures. Sometimes I even wonder that it came out so good ! Especially when the sun is shining and I don't see anything on my little screen of the camera !
    You have done a wonderful trip it seems ! Livorno reminds me of the second price as beauty queen, I have got there and an old love !

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  12. You take such beautiful pictures. I especially like the one from the moving car w/ no flash.

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  13. oh! now I want to go back to Italy!

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  14. Oooooooooo I am sO jealous! LOL!!! Green green green me! What a fabulous adventure you had Ms. Mar! I'm sO sad that America does not have ANY castles and forts like those! (and is it a fortress because it's a girl fort? hmmmm....) I really NEED a trip to Europe! Really. I do. NEED it. ... ... ...

    ... ... ... wondering if I could get a prescription for a "European Vacation" from my doctor??? And would I only have to pay the co-pay for it?

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  15. Oh! Me and that tunnel would NEVER happen! 13.something miles??? NO WAY! Not this claustraphobe! (is that a word?)

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  16. That sounds like a wonderful trip. oh I am sooo jealous! :-)

    Your pics are all great but the one taken in the tunnel is like an abstract piece of art!

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  17. Great pic's...thanks for sharing:)

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  18. Fabulous Fanulous Mar....I LOVE Italy...never been, but I love it anyway...And Tuscany...my my my..I Love those huge Terra Cotta Pots, too....
    That picture in the tunnell...
    FAB-U-LOUS! All the pictures are wonderful...When I see these pictures of Italy, it makes me think of "Enchanted April"...(Love that movie) And Italy always appears "enchanted" to me...And your pictures just add to my feelings about it. It would be such fun to travel with you and Mr. Mar!

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  19. Beautiful pics. I miss Europe - so much history!!

    Thanks for visiting my TT.

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  20. Oh, that Tuscan wine village pic is right out of a movie! So gorgeous. I also thought the pic in the tunnel was really neat.

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  21. Great pictures and happy TT13! Mines up at http://anyapples.blogspot.com/

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  22. I felt like I was in a car tour driving. I especially love the one in the tunnel!

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  23. Fabulous photos! You're blessed to visit so many lovely places. Thanks for sharing.

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  24. Que lindas fotos! Gracias por compartirlas ;)
    No te olvido!!

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    ´●๋: ●๋: Luna ●๋: ●๋:
    ´´´´´ ●๋: ●๋:
    ´●๋: ´●๋: ´●๋: ´●๋:

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  25. These pictures just take my breath. I miss living in Europe so much! For a lire I'd go back. Thanks for reminding me of all the beauty.

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