Sicily...

... a beautiful island off the southernmost tip of Italy and one of the few places that can genuinely be called 'unspoilt'. Oh it was lovely. We've holidayed in Italy many times, tending to go back to the same resorts but this was different as it was a tour. We stayed at two resorts and was able to take in quite a bit of sightseeing, something we wouldn't have been able to do if we were travelling independently.

We travelled to the pretty resort of San Leone which overlooks the picturesque harbour eight miles from Agrigento which was founded by the Ancient Greeks. After a  three hour trip from the airport we were delighted to find our hotel was virtually on the beach. The sea was literally the other side of our pool where we were able to relax after our journey. We stayed here for three nights.

The following day we felt refreshed and ready for the short drive to the Valley of the Temples where we had a guided walking tour of this site full of amazing Greek remains

Nine in total, situated largely on a ridge looking out to sea

They must have made a statement of absolute power to any passing mariner or shepherd, leaving none in doubt as to who were the masters

The best of them, Concordia, similar in design to the Parthenon in Athens, is almost perfectly preserved with just the roof missing.

Sicily's scenery possesses a natural and varied beauty that truly is breathtaking - rugged sometimes snow-capped mountains interspaced with lush, green meadows adorned with wild flowers and an abundance of citrus and olive groves.

We decided to give the Palermo trip a miss in readiness for our long journey the next day to our next resort where we stopped at the small town of Piazza Armerina to visit a 4th century Roman villa which was possibly owned by one of the Emperors and because it was buried by a landslide for centuries, you can still see the remains of the frescoes and mosaics showing animals and hunting scenes. It was simply amazing. This palatial building, complete with its baths gives us an insight into the high standard of living of the Roman elite.

This was always going to be a cultural journey for us, fired by our passion for archaeology and architecture and Sicily did not let us down. I won't overload you now - so our last four days to follow soon ....

Welcome to my new follower Julie@dragonfly - nice to have you on board and look forward to keeping in touch.

See you soon x

Belgium - part 2

Another highlight of our recent trip to Belgium was to visit the city of Ghent. Many of you already know that I am on the last leg of  my History degree. My current module is Art History - Renaissance and I'm loving it.

We have to choose a particular piece of artwork to research and write about in our final 4500 word essay in May. I have chosen the famous "Ghent Altarpiece" painted by the renowned artist brothers Hubert and Jan van Eyck from the Northern Renaissance workshops, in what was then called the Netherlands but today known as northern Belgium.  So it was no co-incidence that we made this trip which has gone a long way to aiding my research with the added bonus of being able to view this masterpiece  for real at St Bavo's Cathedral.

 

featuring "The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb" 

 

 

This impressive Gothic cathedral is one of the most famous landmarks of the city of Ghent 

 



where this sculpture of the brothers Hubert and Jan van Eyck stands outside

 

 

 

The deli's and bakers shops were so tempting

and I love that you can have a coffee or beer in the same establishment

as an antique shop/art gallery!

 

In Brussels there were many flea markets but sadly not enought time to visit

 



 

and allthough I was done with Christmas, it was interesting to see the
Christmas markets, which I'd never seen or been to before

 

I hope you enjoyed this tour of our short but sweet trip..

 

Bye for now

Ring out the old ....

...and ring in the new ...

 



Part of the medieval Southwark Cathedral with a backdrop of the newly built Shard

on a recent visit to London

Just a quick post to wish everyone A Happy New Year and hope you all had a lovely Christmas. Ours was great and we spent some fun time with our children and grandchildren. I must say though that it is really nice to be able to get back to normal again after all the hype and rushing around before the big day, love it as I do. The  tree has gone and the decs are down and all is calm again in our household. We are now off to Belgium for five days - to the medieval towns of Ghent and Bruges which we are much looking forward to.

Must just show you this unseasonal cherry blossom I spotted two days before Christmas in Southwark.  How odd is this?

 

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL MY BLOGGING FRIENDS

 

Will catch up with you all next week.

 

 

Patricia

Bon Jour - and a little taster of France

I really can't believe that I've been back from France for several days now and haven't got around to writing and saying hello to you all. Thank you so much for all your lovely comments and wishes before I went away.  My feet haven't touched the ground since we've been home. Anyway I thought I'd share a few photos of my holiday over the next few days.

We flew to France and made our way to the Dordogne Valley where we stayed at the picturesque market town of Sarlat for four nights, where the narrow twisting alleys are lined with 13th century buildings made from the local luminous golden stone.

Sarlat is the capital of the Perigord Noir and is a remarkably conserved Medieval city. Strolling through the small streets and alleys in the historical centre you are seemingly transported centuries back into a past full of glorious memories.

The architecture was out of this world.

The flowers were gorgeous

 

And the street lamps ornate

 

The surrounding countryside has hauntingly beautiful landscapes. Deep twisting gorges, lined by craggy cliffs with castles and turrets. It was magical and like something out of fairyland.

 

I hope you enjoyed this little taster and will update our travel blog tomorrow.

Bye for now

Patricia

Windsor Castle - for lunch

A couple of years ago John and I were given a gift of an 'Adopted Book' by my sister and her husband which is housed at the Chapter Library of St George's Chapel and College at Windsor Castle. We were invited to an Open Day on Saturday as well as lunch in the Dungeons which was an added bonus.

 The Adopt a Book scheme  was initiated by the Deans and Canons as a way of funding the extensive programme of repairs for the very old and rare books that are kept at Windsor. Our book has a bookplate at the back dedicated to us and will remain in the family for a hundred years.



Just as we arrived the Changing of the Guards ceremony was taking place

We were escorted to the Chapter Library by the Senior Archivist

Passing these lovely buildings on the way - the Choirmaster and musicians from

St George's Chapel live here.

The library contains over 6000 rare books, many still in their original bindings, covering many subjects such as religion, history, classics, geography and medicine.

After a brief talk and visit to an exhibition of very rare books we were shown into the room where our book The Antiquities of Athens, Vol 1 is housed. John and I have a passion for architecture and our book was especially chosen with this in mind as I was also doing a Diploma in Classical Studies at the time. It was published in 1762 and reflects a time during the 18th century known as The Grand Tour when many wealthy Britons flocked to the classical cities of Europe to measure and record antiquities. This book was to become an essential sourcebook for the 19th century Greek Revival in Britain.



And so to lunch..

A lovely setting for this wonderful spread and a mini lecture whilst we were eating by one of the archivists on the history of the dungeons and its various inmates over the last 800 years

After our visit we were free to wander around the grounds as well as visit St George's Chapel

We had wonderful day at Windsor and hope you enjoyed our trip as much as we did.

Bye for now

Patricia