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please click on photo to see more detailswe sat along a stone wall overlooking this view while eating shaved blueberry flavored ice one extremely hot sunny day after our bike riding in trastevere. fatigued after riding in the heat, the sugar lift was just what we needed! sorry for another late posting, I've been trying to fight off this virus and am finally starting to feel a little better. thank you all for your thoughtful well wishes. that always helps!
please click on photo to see palm shadows and beautiful building details up close
this is my down to the wire, 49 minutes left of sunday, shadow shot sunday contribution! I seem to have caught my son's fever and sore throat! I hope I don't get his pink eye too! so I slogged through my day and last night none too well. of course I had to stay up to watch mad men. I think I've become addicted to the show. from now on I am going to record it with the dvr...too many commercials.
on a side note, and more importantly, did you ever think rome had palm trees? check out their shadows on these beautiful buildings over by the spanish steps. can you imagine my excitement when I saw these luscious shadows right there in front of me just waiting to be included in the infamous shadow shot sunday meme over at hey harriets?
thank you tracy, from hey harriet's shadow shot sunday meme. please go here if you'd like to participate or see more shadow shots. have a great sunday everyone.
please click on photo to get a better view of the streets of trastevere
by the third day in rome our legs and feet hurt so badly from walking and standing, we knew we needed another strategy for touring. luckily we found a man renting bicycles in a side alley. how can I possibly describe what it was like riding a bicycle through rome? you would think with the hordes of pedestrians and automobiles sharing the streets there would be no room left to navigate a bike. but there is something about the energy in Italy that I don't think I have experienced anywhere else. much like some magical zone one enters, perhaps like birds do when they fly in formation, there just seems to be this sort of flow where everyone and everything falls into place effortlessly. it was so much fun! we covered ground we never could have covered on foot and it was so much better than the bus because we could stop and go as we pleased. the best part was riding across the tiber river to see trastevere.
if you click on this photo you can see the front steps of saint peter's basilica are closed off to the public. you can only enter or exit through the front doors if you walk up the stairs on either side. when I visited years ago the public was able to walk right up the middle of the front steps. though it may seem a small change, it creates a different atmosphere where I find the feeling of the square much less open. I am thinking it must be a security measure.
please click on photo to see marble relief up closethe vatican museum is filled with treasures. the grounds are kept beautifully and despite the amount of tourists that are continually filing through the halls and open air courtyards, it is fairly quiet. I wish I had photos of the sistine chapel to show you but photography was strictly prohibited. here is a piece of art that was just outside the first courtyard we passed on our way to the galleries.
please click on photo to see more detailthis picture was taken by my son ian. I love how this woman is looking directly into the camera. some of my best and most favorite posts are the ones where I get to use ian's photos. he seems to have a talent for capturing perfect moments.today is abc wednesday thanks to mrs. nesbitt and the letter for the day is F. please go here to join in the fun.
please click on photo to see rustic bread up closeat the piazza pasquino. authentic reasonably priced italian food. and this was just the appetizers! my dish, the closest to the lower left hand corner was an appetizer of seasonal vegetables. I am guessing the eggplant and peppers were stuffed with bread crumbs and cheese. whatever the case may be, it was delicious! luckily I dine with a sharing bunch so I got to taste the fresh salad and mozzarella with basil and tomato as well. there was also a side of baked ricotta (behind the bread basket) that when tasted, melted in your mouth. the word sublime comes to mind when I think back on this dining experience. as you might be able to tell, food is a big part of my world!this post is a part of my world tuesday. to share a part of yours or just see more of others, please go here, thanks to klaus for hosting with his team of helpers, sandy, ivar, wren, fishing guy and louise.
please click on photo to see fountain up closeI first read about these little water fountains over at jessica's rome photo blog. I can only say how grateful we were to find these around every corner exactly at the moment we needed them most. it was blistering hot while we were in rome and although we carried water with us, it was a real treat to splash our faces and rinse our hands under the cool refreshing water .
among other things, I found this angel to be quite a lovely find inside the pantheon. here you see it beautifully lit from the light shining through the "hole" in the pantheon's dome.
a big thank you goes to tracy from hey harriet's shadow shot sunday meme. if you'd like to participate or see more shadow shots, please go here. have a great sunday everyone.
please click on photo to see more detailI can never get over how the pantheon in rome has a big hole in the center of its roof or rather dome, I should say. I think it's the coolest building.
please click on photo to see more detaildo you see that blue sky? that was the weather in italy for the entire twelve days we were there! and see how there were big white puffy clouds? they never once blocked the sun. I've never sweat so much in my life- and I exercise a lot! walking outside was like being in a sauna. I'm not complaining because I also noticed all my aches and pains went away.today is skywatch friday, if you'd like to see more skies from all around the world, please go here, thanks to klaus and his team, sandy, ivar, wren, fishing guy and louise.
please click on photo to see coliseum up close hi everyone! thank you for stopping by and visiting here while I was away. I actually got to check in and see all of your comments and I want you to know I loved reading them from italy! though, no matter how I tried, I could not leave a comment here or on anyone else's blog via my blackberry. it was really strange, for some reason it just wouldn't work.also, sorry I am so late with posting today's photo. I just got back a couple of hours ago and I'm still on italian time which means it is somewhere around 4:30 in the morning! I had such a great time, but I am so happy to be home.so for now I will leave you with this photo of the coliseum in rome before I go and recover from my jet lag. the coliseum and its history amazes me. it's hard to believe people actually went there for entertainment purposes to see the horrific events that took place there. I see its purpose now as a testament that people can change.
every time I pass in front of one of these stores I am tempted to go in but I never do. I especially like the way this store front window is decorated.
please click on photo to see mr. franklin up close"do not anticipate trouble, or worry about what may never happen. Keep in the sunlight."~ ben franklin
this is the first black and white photo I have taken that I have actually liked-with my present camera that is. so many times I take black and white pictures and they seem so unnatural. this one looks very spontaneous to me. I hope you like it as well.
please click on photo to see more detailthis is my countrified shadow shot of the train tracks. to see more shadows or perhaps join in the fun, please go here to hey harriet's wonderful shadow shot sunday meme. though I may be in sienna by now, I am sure I am missing home at this point. by next sunday I hope to be posting some shadow shots of italy!
please click on photo to see bright colors up closethis was taken by my son ian during a rainy drive home from some errands we had to run. you can see the fat raindrops on the windshield blurring the photo in spots. the grey day provided a nice contrast for the bright colors in the designs on the trucks. I hope it isn't raining today on long island!
taken as I walked across the brooklyn bridge last june with some of my blogging friends.today is skywatch friday, if you'd like to see more skies from all around the world, please go here, thanks to klaus and his team, sandy, ivar, wren, fishing guy and louise.
snowflake on the mountain is the name of this plant with the light green leaves growing underneath the bit of evergreen, so I am told. they are so pretty and they came back every year.
please click on photo to see bridge detailsall my blogger friends call me lily though my "real" name is diana, a name I equally like. so when I met some blogging friends over by the brooklyn bridge last june, bibi from "a yankee in belgrade" laughed as she found this on the bridge while walking across. of course I had to take a picture!
today is abc wednesday thanks to mrs. nesbitt. please go here to see what others thought of the letter D.
does anyone have any idea where this is or what this is? some of you may have noticed I dropped a big hint in the title of this post. on another note I have to say, since I have started taking pictures for this blog one year and four or so months ago, I never realized how my love for long island would grow. preblog I spent a lot of my time noticing all that was wrong with this industrialized, over-populated, extremely noisy land. 489 posts later I spend the better part of each day looking for beautiful or at least interesting things to share with you about this crazy place. it certainly has shifted my perspective. now I notice things like this, this and this, not to mention this. p.s. here's another hint: it's at one of the entrances of the roosevelt field mall.
this is a part of my world. to share a part of yours or just see more of others, please go here, thanks to klaus, sandy, ivar, wren, fishing guy and louise.
please click on photo to see more detail.I wish they had these on long island. there probably isn't enough foot traffic to support them. I asked the woman who was sitting inside if I could take her picture but she wouldn't let me.
please click on photo to see more details
walking on the beach is one of my favorite things about living on long island. as long as I do not leave between 10 am and 2pm on a hot sunny weekend, I can get to the beach in less than twenty minutes by car. sometimes when circumstances force me to leave during those times, I get lucky anyway and the traffic isn't so bad. on another note, hopefully by the time you read this, I will be in rome, italy- either that or still on the airplane with great anticipation! I have scheduled all of my posts until I get back. I will try to check in as often as possible. have a great sunday everyone!
I can hardly believe it, but yes, we are off to rome today! I've scheduled my posts and I will make sure to check in whenever possible. I will miss everyone! please wish me well as I embark on an 8 hour and 50 minute flight with my husband and son. I will see you all in cyberspace when I return with lots of pictures of italy.
arrivederci!
sorry for the off kilter photograph but it just didn't look as good cropped and I've been wanting to show you the water tower at robert moses beach for awhile now. I have been trying to take this photo as I drive past the "pencil" and this is as good as I could get. don't worry, my husband was driving.with the exception of the rough seas due to sporadic thunder showers, we've been having perfect beach weather lately. today is skywatch friday, if you'd like to see more skies from all around the world, please go here, thanks to klaus and his team, sandy, ivar, wren, fishing guy and louise.
please click on photo to see more bunny detail
at least I think that is what it is. anyone know for sure? notice the leaves are starting to change and there is a little bunny to its left. so cute. I got too close with my camera so he hopped away. he actually had a white cotton tail shaped just like a ball!
this tree lives in huntington. I hear there are lots of rabbits in that town.
please click on photo to see baby and stork up close
or maybe more appropriately, babies in the burbs! though, today is abc wednesday and the letter is C, so children it is. I often wonder if anyone anywhere else in the world outside of new york puts up big signs in front of their house when they have a newborn. this sign is especially cute showing a bird(?) holding the baby with its beak. happy wednesday everyone!today is abc wednesday thanks to mrs. nesbitt and the letter for the day is C. please go here to join in the fun.
please click on photo to see train up close
have you ever ridden one of these? though I have ridden the lirr many times, I've never been on a double-decker before. I've always wondered what it was like. curious to find out more for this post, I googled lirr and found out some other interesting facts. for instance, the lirr is the oldest railroad still operating under its original name and it is also the busiest commuter railroad in north america. for more info, please go here.
this is a part of what is happening in my world, if you'd like to see what is happening in other places around the globe, please go here.
please click on photos to see daisy details up close
I love these daisies. my mom used to have them in her backyard and I always admired them. I finally purchased some on sale at a local nursery and planted them in my garden recently. I've noticed a lot of garden centers have their perennials on sale now, so if you are going to be home doing some gardening in the next couple of weeks it may be a good time to splurge and get that favorite flower you always wanted. this post is part of "today's flower" meme hosted by mr. luiz santilli. please go here to see more lovely flowers. thank you mr. santilli.
please click on photo to see shadows up closetaken from the store "gracious gestures" in garden city. notice the reflection of the blue sky in the upper left hand corner of the photo. it was just starting to get dark outside and the sky was turning that really cool evening blue.if you'd like to see more shadows, please go here thanks to tracy from the lovely "hey harriet" blog.
please click on photo to see hairstyles up close
was the unusual name for thursday nights show at the farmingdale high school. in this scene the young man with the dark curly hair in the center was singing the song "hair" while the group around him sang back up. it was amazing. other outstanding acts included a young woman who sang "hometown glory" and another young man who sang, "my girlfriend, who lives in canada". I always enjoy high school theatre arts, you are usually guaranteed to see some great talent and often times it is free.
