k is for kiosk

please click on photo to see kiosk up close



yes, we are back in italy again. I needed a kiosk photo for today and I already used the one I had from brooklyn so I had to resort to the archives. this amazing little structure stood in the blazing sun at the piazza dei cavalieri in pisa, italy. isn't it a beautiful kiosk?

today is abc wednesday thanks to mrs. nesbitt, and the letter for the day is K. please go here to join in the fun.

mineola diner

please click on photo to see more detail


maybe it's because I live on long island but I love diners, they seem to be everywhere here. I finally ate at this one last spring. my son and I ordered vanilla milkshakes and the waitress filled our glasses from the big silver cups they used to make the shake in leaving us with some extra goodness.

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, wren, fishing guy and louise

after yesterday's rain...

photo courtesy of ian, please click on it to see more details



I thought we could always use a little sunshine to start off the week. it may rain all day today as well, so here's to fond summer memories. below are a couple of photos from the teaching garden I posted about last week. please scroll down, I hope you enjoy them.

this post is a part of today's flowers. please go here to join in the fun.

mums and shadows

please click on photo to see shadows up close



this sunday marks our first autumn weekend. once again it is that time of year where many people on long island take home a pot of mums from their local nursery or grocery. with summer officially over it's important to relish the autumn colors before the cold winter sets in. the season always seems to go by way too quick!


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. hope you are enjoying a peaceful sunday.

vintage long island

photo courtesy my mom, thanks mom!

my dad holding my brother outside a barber shop circa 1959. if you click on this photo, notice the sign that says, ask for wildroot. I am amazed to find out it still exists! known as "the choice of men who put good grooming first". please go here to find out more about wildroot.

skywatch by tracy

please click on photo to see tracy's beautiful sky


my niece took this beautiful skywatch photo from the moon roof in their family car while vacationing in vermont this summer. she said they were on the border of lake champlain. thanks tracy for your awesome contribution!

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, wren, fishing guy and louise.

cold spring harbor laboratory

please click on photo to see more detail



those brightly colored buildings grouped together are actually the cold spring harbor laboratory. a private nonprofit research and education institute, it is the home to seven nobelists, as well as one of the world's most influential cancer research centers. as I read their website I was astounded to learn of their truly amazing work taking place right here on long island. I urge you to check it out here.

j is for jack o'lantern

please click on photo to see jack up close



can you find him? he is made out of a shiny metallic paper thin type material. I found him on the side of the road last november, long after halloween was over.

today is abc wednesday thanks to mrs. nesbitt, and the letter for the day is J. please go here to join in the fun.

willistons street faire 2009

please click on photo to see more details


the band played on as people watched or strolled by enjoying the music. there was lots of food and people with all types of dogs. I wish I had more time to take more pictures. these two shots were taken last sunday. the weather was sublime.



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, wren, fishing guy and louise.

beautiful bees

please click on photo to see bees up close



does anyone know what type of flower this is? I came across it saturday in the teaching garden at the farmingdale state college. there were so many bees buzzing around this flower patch I was hoping I would catch one in a snapshot. luckily I caught two! please click on this photo to get a better view of them. thank you beautiful bees.

this post is a part of today's flowers. please go here to join in the fun.

shadows and fish

please click on photo to see shadows up close


I haven't been to the teaching garden at farmingdale state college since last april. thankfully I made it back there yesterday before the frost kicked in. the plantings here are amazing. it is a real delight to take a walk through the different garden "rooms" as well. I was looking for shadows to photograph and was surprised to find them here. aren't they a cute little family? my son noticed the four little ones followed the mama and the papa wherever they swam.


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. hope you are enjoying fabulous weather today.

a spider, and its web...

please click on photo to see mr. steve up close

this is the spider living directly outside our door and below is his incredible web. amazing craftsmanship eh? over this last week both my son and I have been caught in this very web, though luckily it happened during the day when mr. spider was all snug and cozy sleeping underneath the inside of our awning. that's not to say we didn't freak out once we realized we had the web on our backs and necks! remember last years post ? well, hubby thinks this is the same spider.

september sky at robert moses

please click on photo to see clouds up close



I took this while at the beach last sunday. the sky was so blue and most of the clouds were close to the earth just like this one. none of them seemed to be blocking the sun, at least not around where we were.

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, wren, fishing guy and louise.

traffic

please click on photo to see more detail



I think it's safe to say most everyone who needs to be is back to school by now. the added school buses make for more traffic on this crowded island but most people seem to take it in stride.

I is for influenza

please click on photo to see more detail



maybe I shouldn't have, but I cracked up laughing when I saw this sign. did they mean the infamous H1N1? I searched walgreens website but they didn't specify. let's hope none of us gets the flu this season.

meanwhile, today is abc wednesday thanks to mrs. nesbitt, and the letter for the day is I. please go here to join in the fun.

last sunday at the beach

please click on photo to see more details



there is no telling exactly how many days we have left before it will be too cold to swim in the ocean or too windy to sit on the beach. I was reluctant to go sunday morning because it was a little chilly outside. it wound up being hotter on the beach than it was inland and the water was warm too. I have to say, I really can't believe we are half way through september!

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, wren, fishing guy and louise.

blimp over farmingdale

please click on photo to see blimp up close



I don't ever remember seeing this blimp before. in fact I don't recall having seen the blimp all summer until the us open started a couple of weeks ago. normally the blimp flies over my neighborhood as it makes its way to and from republic airport in farmingdale. searching for blimp information on google, I came across this interesting story here. if you scroll down to the end of the article there is a neat video about what it is like taking a ride in a blimp.

please click on photo to see more detail

smoke shop and shadows

please click on photo to see this tabacchi in pisa up close



the tabacchi in italy is more than just a tobacco shop. like the ones in america, they sell candy and trinkets, but in a rome tabacchi, we found our bus tickets there as well. they also sell phone cards, which are usually the cheapest way to phone outside the country of italy. I loved gong into the different tabacchis I came across. they always seemed so well kept and full of all kinds of things a tourist would like such as postcards, maps, and snacks.

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. hope your sunday is a good one.

today marks the "official" last day of my daily italy reportage. tomorrow it is back to reality as I face the fact that, no, I am not in italy anymore. however, I do look forward to all that is good, right here on long island.

view from the jfk airtrain

please click on photo to see more detail



I am sorry I have no idea what building this is! I only know it resides in the jfk airport. I took this photo while traveling in the jfk airtrain to jamaica station. it was the first time I used the train to get home from the airport and I wouldn't hesitate for a second to use it again. it was easy, quick and inexpensive. go here to find out more.
so, has anyone ever seen this before?

remembering

while reading some incredibly moving september 11th tributes this morning I was reminded of this photo I took while up in our plane circling manhattan last june. I remember thinking at the time of all the instances I have looked at the spot where the twin towers once stood since 911, only to find out they still aren't there, it really did happen.
this post is dedicated to the memory of all those who perished and all of those still suffering the effects of september 11th - we will never forget.

I love cypress trees

please click on photo to see swallows



and this is something I found so amazing about italy, all italians seem to have a wonderful sense of landscape design. every hillside that was planted with grapevines or olive trees or sunflowers had various sized groupings of cypress trees perfectly placed in just the right places amongst the different crops. if you enlarge this photo, you can see the swallows soaring.

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. a special note of thanks to ivar for a dedicated year of service, thanks ivar!

lucca, italy

piazza dell'anfiteatro is the name of this piazza in lucca, a medieval city surrounded by a huge wall. I did a quick google search trying to find the name of this art piece, to no avail. if you click here you can see a birds eye view showing this piazza on google maps. visiting lucca was the last place we visited during our stay in italy. we were only there a few hours but we just so happened to enter the city right near a tourist center that rented bikes. I highly recommend this mode of transport if you are so inclined and don't have much time to spend in lucca. it was a great way to get a quick view of a charming medieval town. also, their gelato was delicious.

borgo argenina

please click on photo to see garden view up close


a bed and breakfast in the hamlet of chianti classico in the tuscany region that truly felt like home. borgo argenina is the place to stay if you want to really experience what it is like to live in the beautiful countryside of tuscany. my little family and I fell asleep to the crickets chirping and we woke up to the aroma of homemade coffee cake. we toured the surrounding villages and we would come back "home" to take an afternoon nap on the comfiest beds ever. we would sit on the patio in the morning and listen to the swallows sing and in the evening we'd come back again and watch the amazing view transform itself before us during that golden hour. thanks to elena, the woman who lovingly restored borgo argenina, we now have a memory that will stay in our hearts forever.
if you would like to know more about borgo argenina, please go here.


just one view from borgo argenina, there are many beautiful views!

see these clouds?

please click on photo to see landscape up close



they never seemed to get in the way of the sun. it always seemed like they were just sitting there on the sidelines looking pretty. my husband said they were put there for decoration. the above landscape was common place wherever we drove in tuscany. I never grew tired of looking at it. wouldn't it be neat to see this region in all of its seasons?

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

labor day on long island

please click on photo to see sparkly water up close



please excuse this interruption from italy while I say happy holiday to those of you who are celebrating labor day here on long island. after all the less than ideal weather we have had here this summer, I am happy to report that this long weekend has been splendid. saturday I got to go to robert moses, my beach of choice. the ocean was amazing, warm enough to swim in with waves that were fun but not intimidating. so, how have you been spending your time this weekend?
don't worry, the rest of this week I will be posting my last few photos of italy!

siena shadows

please click on photo to see shadows up close



visitors to siena aren't allowed to park their cars inside the walled city. this is easily remedied by finding a space in the outer lying neighborhood within walking distance of the city's entrance. once inside this is an example of the wonderful architectural details you will find.

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.

a pretty shop in florence, italy

if you click on this photo you will find many interesting and pretty things inside this shop.during our visit to italy we were fortunate to find an abundance of open restaurants and shops since many italians take a couple of weeks off in august to celebrate ferragosto.
in america, this weekend is our labor day holiday and most people have this monday off from work. I hope everyone visiting here today has the weekend off as well. am I the only one wondering what happened to the summer?

david outside the palazzo vecchio

please click on photo to see david up close, thanks again ian



the original david used to stand outside the palazzo vecchio until it was replaced with a replica in 1873. thankfully someone realized the damage the elements were causing michelangelo's original and so moved it inside to safety. once again today's photo credit goes to my son ian. I hope you all enjoy this photograph as much as I do.

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.

inside the palazzo vecchio

please click on photo to see more detail



just inside the main entrance, this is the first thing you see upon entering the palazzo vecchio, angel with dolphin, by verrocchio. a replica of michelangelo's statue of david stands right outside. so much art...so little time. wait till you see tomorrow's skywatch!

ponte vecchio and the mediterranean sea

please click on photo to see bridge details up close
G is for golden, just like the light shining on this medieval bridge in florence. we had a lot of ground to cover in the short time we were there. luckily everything we wanted to see was within walking distance. ponte vecchio actually means old bridge, the oldest of its type in europe. read more about it here.

if you think about it, realizing the mediterranean sea is connected to the atlantic ocean somehow makes it seem all the more accessible from long island. maybe this is stretching things, but the waters of the atlantic and this sea are actually connected! one has to wonder what it would be like to travel aboard one of those Mediterranean Cruises I have heard about. I imagine a cruise could be quite an adventure providing many interesting photo ops. and I also imagine the best time to travel the sea would be during this region's hot dry summer climate. perhaps I would get to circle around sardinia or get a glimpse of the coast of barcelona or greece. how I would love to cruise this part of europe via this "inland" sea - taking pictures all along the way. 

tango in rome

every day spent in italy held some interesting treat or surprise. here I was on this big adventure pleasantly overwhelmed with a different culture unlike my own yet I felt completely at ease. the first night in rome we were walking back to our hotel and this is the scene we passed. I felt like I was an extra in some really cool italian film. once again, thanks to my son ian for shooting this for long island daily photo. italy was a part of my world for 11 days, 11 days I won't soon forget.

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.