Day 166 Poppies Monet
Wednesday, June 15 – Had to include a Monet flowers shot. They were really hard to shoot, as the colors were so small and far between. It is certainly easier to do flowers in a garden where they are planted together.
Wednesday, June 15 – Had to include a Monet flowers shot. They were really hard to shoot, as the colors were so small and far between. It is certainly easier to do flowers in a garden where they are planted together.
Tuesday, June 14 – I shot this one right in front of the Duoma. This man obviously was taking a quick look at what the crowds were doing. Imagine living right by that fabulous church.
Monday, June 13- Walter tells me that poppies are a terrible weed in Europe and I sure can see that now. They were everywhere and right out in the middle of fields of wheat, oats and soybeans. Here is a shot of one of the fields we visited for our shots and a closer shot of where the poppies were growing. Obviously they must have sprayed for them in the wheat field, as you can see on the left side of the road. It looks like they raise alot of green manure fields, especially using oats, and that is where these ones were growing on the right side of the road. From a distance you can see the red/orange glow of the poppies and that is what we chased for hours.
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Sunday, June 12 – A very popular thing to do, along that bridge you have seen in several of my shots, is to put a padlock, inscribed with names,  on any available space and lock it symbolizing you are bound to your loved one for life. This was just one little section of them along the bridge. I wonder how many of the couples that are represented by these locks are still together. This was a very hard shot to take, as a very busy street was in front and you had to snap a zoomed shot between vehicles.
Saturday, June 11 – I didn’t realize how far ahead I am getting. I still can’t sleep at night, so going through my photos is passing the time. I sure wish this jet lag would pass. I, for the life of me, do not understand what is so special about this stand of cypress trees. It is supposedly one of the most popular places to take pictures and even appears on stamps in Italy. They have a cannon there that shoots often to scare off birds, I guess. If you google cypress trees in Italy there is a picture of this grove of trees. We took lots of shots here from all different viewpoints; some low with flowers in front. Not an easy shot for me, as once I am down on the ground, my knees say stay there. We didn’t have a very nice blue sky this day, which would have helped the picture.
Friday, June 10 – We headed out most every morning before sunrise to find just the right light. These were shot out in the country side, just as the sun was coming up. The 2nd shot is zoomed in at the same spot. There was lots of haze that morning that was clinging to the valleys.
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Thursday, June 9 – This is how you drink water at restaurants in Italy. They do not bring you water in a pitcher, it is all bottled water. And then there is the choice between ‘naturale’ or ‘bubbly’. I just can not drink that fizzy water, just doesn’t seem like water to me. Most of the places we went brought you a big bottle that everyone shared. They were $2 Euros per small bottle, like this one.
Wednesday, June 8 – I decided to get brave the last morning in Florence and walked to the Doma which is not that far from the hotel; maybe 5 blocks, but through winding back streets. I found a great little shop that I hoped would open in time for me to shop before we left, as this was at 7 am. I took a picture of the end of the block so I could find it again. Well, sure enough, I could never find my way back to it. I must have gone in circles, because that street never appeared again. I ended up walking to the train station and taking a taxi back to the hotel. No shopping! That was one of my big disappointments that I couldn’t get any souvenirs; we left too early in the morning and got home too late at night. They need to give a person a day for shopping at these workshops. Here is the shot that I took of the street. I found that there are very few signs to tell you where you are. No alley’s, just lots of back streets and most are one way. I can not imagine driving here. I guess that is why you see all the scooters, bikes and cabs. There definately is no where to park. We had to walk 6 blocks with our luggage to even get to the hotel.
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