mosaic road

Eat Your Greens

So start juicing or eating for all those delicious antioxidants, vitamins and minerals...and fibre too !!

Hot and Cold

Soon, very soon there will be snow on the Atlas Mountains. It won't be soon enough for lots of people as the relentless scorching summers here can at times feel interminable. The heat can be all consuming and slows lifestyle to a crawl through the airless African days. Most street activity occurs in the mornings, then by the blistering mid afternoon everyone, where possible, goes to ground. I have discovered it is possible to remain prone for an entire day when the mercury is spiralling up, up and up.....so unlike me but it has happened....more than once !!

It's the Little Things that Count

A choice of pillows, a hand written welcome note and icy cold water.....what a delightful way to start my very short Barcelona holiday.

When I Open My Shutters.....

Barcelona in all its beautiful architectural glory is right outside my window.

 

It's Autumn Outside my Window

A few feet away from my little Barcelona balcony it is autumn. There is an enormous plane tree losing its russet and goldy green leaves. The Melbourne suburbs where I lived for so many years were full of these huge trees with their fallen foliage lying in piles and mounds in the streets and parks. Oh how I loved to scuffle and traipse through those crispy leafy mountains when I walked my dogs. So although it is summery in temperature here, Mother Nature is still calling the shots and the trees know it is Fall time.

 

Fantastic Firenze

I was watching the BBC reporting from Florence a couple of nights ago and thought the Duomo looked amazing at night. I recently saw it but only in daylight hours and thought even then it was glorious, such fabulous Gothic architecture. All the white, pink and green panels on the facade are beautiful marble. Thankfully this is all a Unesco World Heritage Site so our children's children will get to enjoy it and wonder at this incredible structure that commenced construction in 1296. The dome was added in the 1400s, a mere one hundred years after the basilica was finished. Many names from my secondary school education are linked in some way to the Florence Duomo.....this proves I must have been listening in my history class !! Ghiberti, Brunelesschi, Savonarola, the Medicis....then I must have tuned out...sorry Mrs Moody and Miss Woodhouse !!.

 

 

 

Fantastic Firenze

I was watching the BBC reporting from Florence a couple of nights ago and thought the Duomo looked amazing at night. I recently saw it but only in daylight hours and thought even then it was glorious, such fabulous Gothic architecture. All the white, pink and green panels on the facade are beautiful marble. Thankfully this is all a Unesco World Heritage Site so our children's children will get to enjoy it and wonder at this incredible structure that commenced construction in 1296. The dome was added in the 1400s, a mere one hundred years after the basilica was finished. Many names from my secondary school education are linked in some way to the Florence Duomo.....this proves I must have been listening in my history class !! Ghiberti, Brunelesschi, Savonarola, the Medicis....then I must have tuned out...sorry Mrs Moody and Miss Woodhouse !!.

 

 

 

Shocked and Surprised !!

According to this article from the Sunday Age my actual suburb, my actual street where I own an apartment in Melbourne is considered 'akin to Mayfair or Park Lane in London' ! Wow ! Luckily I do already have a red passport but now I need a cup of tea and some scones to recover !!! Where's Jeeves ?

Biomechanics

There has been a fair degree of research on headloading apparently. I saw all manner of items carried by both men and women when I was in Mysore but it's not something I see much of in Morocco though, which is interesting. I admire these workers wholeheartedly as it is not an easy task and not one that I could ever manage . You have to build up to it and children in India start at a young age carrying small items on their head. It seems you are able to carry up to 20% of your body weight on your head without expending any more energy than if you were walking load free. Carrying a bag of groceries home can be unwieldy enough let alone struggling with a monster basket of prickly pineapples. Kudos to these guys and their heavy loads.

 

 

Morocco Meets India

Toilet seat ...Essaouira Morocco
Toilet bowl...Myesore India
Wandering the markets....priceless..

No Mastercard taken