You know me and how I love to "collect" things via photography, right? So, as I've been trolling through all my images, each in their separate files, I've come up with the following categories to group together as collections of this Grand Tour.
Where to start!
Let's start with TUSCANY, since that area of Italy happened in the first 2-4 days after arriving in Italy, right after Turin (days 4-6 of the trip).
We're talking about the area around Lucca, Pisa, Florence, San Gimignano and Siena.
The olive trees and poplars were everywhere, as well as the vineyards in their early growth.
No wonder everyone loves Tuscany!
Aster Tuscany we spent 2 days in Rome, the capital of Italy.
SPQR quickly became collectible.
It's Latin for Senatus Populusque Romanus = The Roman Senate and People.
It refers to the government of the ancient Roman Republic.
And since we're talking about Rome, remember ROMULUS and REMUS from Roman mythology?
Lillian Geiger, my high school Latin teacher, would be so proud of me. HA!
It's probably strange to collect MANHOLE COVERS, but I do, if they have city names on them:
Roma, Firenze (2), Napoli (in Pompeii), Amalfi, Sirmione (at Lake Garda), Alberobello and Verona.
And WEATHERVANES, of course, even though all were on churches/public buildings.
Then there were the buildings we saw from the bus while going from here to there...
...like CASTLES and CHURCHES, usually from afar on the horizon.
My zoom was often at 1200 mm, which made focus difficult, but you get the gist.
Because these were in passing, I have no clue what/where they are.
Sprawling CITIES dotted the landscape, like Naples (top-right) which we only passed.
The middle image is Cassino, looking down from the mount above (Montecassino).
The middle image is Cassino, looking down from the mount above (Montecassino).
Do these HOUSES look like Italy to you?
How about these: APARTMENTS, FARMS.
Sometimes an "unfinished" building looks abandoned but isn't, we were told.
One small area of the house is lived in without having to pay taxes...because it's "unfinished."
But clearly some, often in ruins, are ABANDONED STRUCTURES.
They bear testament to a country facing bankruptcy and a bailout from the EU.
Where is all that Mafia money when you need it!
However, it's an entirely different story when you do see the magnificent VILLAS along the seas,
the Mediterranean Sea on the western side and the Adriatic Sea on the eastern coast.
Like Tuscany, it's what we think of when most of us "see" Italy in our mind's eye.
All of the above...in "collections"...to give recollections of this Grand Tour!
