Earlier in the year our girls had friends come and stay for a night or two. Here they all are sitting on our landing keeping an eye on proceedings below. From the left Poppie, Macey, Bella and Georgie.
Category Archives: Wellington
Siena – our favourite Tuscan city
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This gallery contains 44 photos.
For the best part of a year Siena was our local town. We attended Italian language classes there, we were there at Palio time along with thousands of others, we learnt to navigate its many lanes and alleyways without getting lost … Continue reading
San Gimignano – quintessentially Toscana
When we were living in Tuscany having visitors arrive was always a treat. The opportunity to show people around “our neck of the woods” was always something we looked forward too. And as an experience of the essential Tuscany, San Gimignano was always a winner.
You may have heard of this village and it’s many towers. Originally it is said that there were up to 40 towers but now only 7 or 8 remain. But even with only a few towers it is still one of the most recognisable villages in the region.
Initially we thought that San Gimignano might be “too touristy” for our friends, but everyone we took there loved it. The walk up the hill from the Porta San Giovanni to the Piazza della Cisterna was always a great introduction, with the multitude of small shops that line the street adding to the feeling that this was the quintessential hilltop village. A drink or lunch in the main piazza was a must with a leisurely stroll down to the Porta San Matteo to follow.
We always seemed to leave with something – linen for the table or fresh pasta or a simple gelato from the award winning store Gelateria di Piazza located in Piazza della Cisterna.
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- San Gimignano from a distance
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- Via San Giovanni in October
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- Spot the boar at the Macelleria
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- One of many towers
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- Piazza della Cisterna – or Piazza of the Well
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- Piazza della Cisterna
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- Piazza della Cisterna
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- Piazza della Cisterna
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- Piazza della Cisterna
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- Piazza della Cisterna in July
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- Queueing is the norm in peak season
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- Piazza della Duomo
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- Piazza della Duomo
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- Tiles for sale
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- Another tower
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- Via San Matteo during peak season
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- Gorgeous cards for sale
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- Porta San Matteo
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- Views from San Gimignano
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- Views from San Gimignano
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- Map of San Gimignano
Haircut day in Siena
Groom day in Siena was a major family outing. We had found a groomer just a few metres from the Campo and they would take one girl at a time. So we spent the afternoon sitting in our favourite bar firstly with one girl and then with the other.
This was no hardship and gave us ample opportunity to check some emails, watch some people and do some shopping – as you do in Italy.
Birthday month at our place
Birthdays galore – that’s February at our place. And a huge thank you to everyone who has wished us well or commiserated over the number of candles that festoon the top of our birthday cakes these days.
It’s fair to say both Jean and I have had a cracking time with lots of visitors. And lots of presents – everything from some Vuitton bling for Jean to every possible Weber Q barbecue accessory for me.
Once again, thank you all.
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- Poppie recovering from birthday month
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- Bella recovering from birthday month
Time for a tattoo I think
No not that type of tattoo – I’m talking about the Edinburgh Military Tattoo – in Wellington. We attended last weekend’s sold out event at Westpac Stadium and enjoyed a cracking show.
There is nothing like the sound of massed pipes and drums to bring out the Scotsman in everyone. Apart from the pipes and drums, the highlights for me were the Top Secret Basel Drum Corp and His Majesty The King of Norway’s Guards Band and Drill Team. Both were superb.
And let’s not forget our own New Zealand Army Band who brought their unique spin to military band music and marching.
It was a sell out show and, unlike the usual stadium concert crowd, there was overwhelming representation from the silver fox brigade. So much so that I felt like a youngster.
All in all, a great night out.
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- The crowd is growing
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- Crowd with moon in the background
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- Pipes and drums
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- Pipes and drums
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- Highland dancers
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- Highland dancers
The summer of 2016
This year, summer is the kind we always dream about. Hot sunny days and warm calm evenings that seem to stretch on forever – with the weather forecaster’s prediction of impending wind and rain being proved wrong time and again.
Tonight, as the sun dropped below the horizon, we were on our front verandah enjoying the view. The girls were waiting patiently to terrorise anyone who dared to pass the gate. What a great evening.
Poppie through a window
In summer we often spend evenings sitting in the backyard catching the last of the sun – much to the apparent displeasure of Poppie the dog who sits inside, on the window seat, eyeballing us through the Lavender.
We’re not sure why she does this. I suspect she’s wondering why we are just sitting around enjoying ourselves – when we should be getting her dinner. Just a thought.
A comparison that surprised me
My first ever digital camera was a Canon Digital IXUS V. It boasted a 2.1 megapixel sensor, an optical view finder and a LCD screen on the back that was about the size of a postage stamp. Overall it was about as big as a packet of cigarettes and built like a brick.
I purchased it over 10 years ago and it has sat in a draw, unused, for the last few years because the battery has refused to charge. I ran across it a few weeks ago and decided to see if I could track down a new battery to bring it back to life. Surprisingly I managed to find a new battery – thank you dc-battery.co.nz – and the camera came alive.
A comparison seemed to be in order – my rejuvenated Canon versus the Leica D-Lux 6 purchased in Hong Kong last year.
This is in no way a scientific comparison, just me playing around one afternoon at my desk. I was expecting the Leica to blitz the Canon – which it did – but in good light the antique Canon held up reasonably well – much better than I expected.
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- Canon IXUS V
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- Leica D-Lux 6
Flowers on our bench
It’s the height of summer in Wellington and our garden is full to bursting with flowers. Which explains why some have made their way into a vase on our bench. I think the florist in the family has done a great job arranging them – so I took a photo.
My favourite car shot – at the moment
This shot was taken last year but I’ve only just got around to cleaning it up – and I really like it.
I’ve removed a few distractions – like power poles and the inevitable overhead wires – and played with the colour but that’s about all.
Photographers talk about the “magic hour” just after dusk – and this shot is a good example.
I’ve included the original shot as a point of reference.
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- Photo as taken
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- Photo retouched
Our back yard
The holiday break has seen an addition to our back yard in the form of an outdoor couch. It wasn’t exactly what we went looking for but we think it’s a nice addition. It catches the last of the sun and is a great place to relax on a warm summer evening.
2015 – the year that was
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This gallery contains 45 photos.
As we do every January, here’s a quick look back at 2015. Some shots you may have seen and some new ones.
Doggie antics
A short movie showing Bella on the couch in the study yesterday afternoon. After filming she was off to make mischief elsewhere – pretty much what you would expect from a 3 year old.
It’s beginning to look a bit like Christmas – at our place
The tree is up at our place and, for the first time, the front balcony is festooned with sparkling lights. It was a little concerning when Jean, standing and admiring her work, mentioned in passing “we really need to do the upstairs balcony as well, and the gutters”.
Who knows where this will end?
La dolce far niente 