Tonight there was an earthquake centred on the island of Ischia. This is about 60 kms from Positano on the other side of the Bay of Naples. There has clearly been damage and tragically some loss of life.
In Positano we felt no shaking at all.
But as residents of our own “shaky isles”, our thoughts are with all those affected.
Last Saturday we travelled from Chianti to Positano. A journey that involved driving to Firenze and dropping off our rental car, cabbing to Santa Maria Novella train station, taking the high speed train to Napoli and then being driven over the hill to Positano.
A long day, but well rewarded when we arrived at Eden Roc Hotel’s reception and were greeted by Lorenzo, Pascale and the rest of the team.
For those who don’t know, we stay at a villa (Casetta Arienzo) owned by the hotel which is located about 800 metres down the road. It means we can use the hotel facilities – pool, restaurant, breakfast – but be self contained in a villa with a kitchen, laundry, etc. The best of both worlds really.
We also got the chance to catch up with kiwi friends who were visiting Positano. They had been staying in Casetta Arienzo but moved to the hotel for a short stay when we arrived.
Sunday was spent on the water with them – slowly working our way down the coast towards Amalfi – swimming in the ocean and lunching at a restaurant on the beach. A great day out – despite a choppy return to Positano in the evening as the wind and waves had got up a bit. Our Captain Enzo was an absolute master steering the boat using his left leg against the tiller as he stood proudly looking ahead – like Ahab searching for the white whale.
Speaking of seafood, we dined with our friends on Monday night at Ristorante Da Constantino high above Positano on the road to Nochelle – a view to die for.
Last Friday we visited our dear friends Dani and Olga at their home for dinner. We had not seen their new house before or the delightful hamlet it is part of. As the sun set, we took some photographs that go some way to capturing the beauty of the area.
The meal was absolutely superb and the company delightful. Grazie mille Dani and Olga.
Just over 12 hours ago the east coast of the South Island was hit by a major earthquake. In Wellington it rolled through shaking up everyone and everything. Thankfully we suffered no damage as the old house rocked and rolled with the punches.
It was the strongest earthquake I’ve ever experienced and, being a born and bred Wellingtonian, I’ve been through a few.
What I’m not used to are the aftershocks following this quake. They seem to have been constant for the last 12 hours.
The shot below is my iPhone’s notification of “moderate” or greater earthquakes that have occurred in the last few minutes – about one quake every 4 minutes – with anything above 4.5 being strong enough to notice. The experts say this could continue for days or weeks.
Yikes, there’s another one.
Ever so often you run a cross an iOS app that is very cool. Prisma is one such app. It turns photos into art. Yes, I hear you say, there are lots of apps the do this – most produce a result that is absolute rubbish.
Prisma is different – it has a number of different styles you can choose from – and it’s free from the App Store.
My Mazda is a small car but it’s not until it’s parked next to something else you realise how small it is. A few weeks ago I returned to the car to see it dwarfed by this people carrier next to it.
Good things come in small packages – or so they say.
This gallery contains 6 photos.
Our Bella is an outside dog – she loves getting outside whatever the weather. Her latest trick is to sit on one of the pillars beside the steps in the back yard and, well, just look around. She quite happy there … Continue reading
It may have been the most photographed derelict house in the country but today it is no more. This very distinctive old house – which featured in my blog post “That house in Nelson” – was finally demolished today. It went out, as the song says, in a blaze of glory.
It’s always a shame when old places like this are demolished but the owner has made it clear that this was coming and I will watch with interest to see what develops in the future.
Fire photos courtesy of Nelson Snippets and the Nelson Mail
Roughly translated this means ” our olive” and it’s one we are rightly proud of.
Around 8 years ago we planted two olive trees in our front garden. They were only a metre tall but they have grown rapidly. One we lost in a storm 3 years ago when it was blown over but the other has flourished.
So much so that we recently had arborists in to trim it and shape it. To date we have never had anything like a full sized olive off the tree but when cleaning up after the pruning I found this little beauty on the ground – our first olive.
For no reason and with no real narrative, some shots of Poppie and Bella doing their thing.
F5.6, 1/160th sec, ISO400, Effective focal length 450mm
Tonight was close to a full moon, and as it rose over the horizon and cleared a bank of clouds I managed to capture this shot.
I’ve tried to get a shot like this many times before but I usually end up with a white blob on a black background. This time the fact it was only just dark and that the moon was magnified because it was close to the horizon all helped.
But this shot was still not what I’d seen through the viewfinder. Given the fact I was hand holding the camera and shooting at 160th of a second to minimise camera shake any detail outside of the moon was lost.
So with a little assistance from my favourite image editor, I’ve put together a view more in keeping with what I saw.
I’ve often wondered if our girls miss us when we are out of the house. Based on Poppie’s behaviour over the weekend when Jean went shopping for a few hours, you’d have to say they do.
She sat at the window, looking up the street, just waiting.
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.
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.
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.
