Spoleto

On Thursday we left Rome by train for Spoleto, and the house in the country called "Eremo del Sole".  Spoleto is an old hill town (Umbria is full of them), historically important, and now quite touristy.  Like most hill towns it is difficult and/or illegal to drive into the middle, through the steep and narrow streets.  So you are best to park somewhere on the edge of town and walk in.  In Spoleto's case we found a large underground car park, with tunnels and long airport-style travelators you can ride into the middle of the town!

Spoleto's historic attractions include a large fortress on the hill above, an impressive (80 metre-high) Roman aqueduct across the valley, and a beautiful cathedral (duomo).

"Rocca Albornoziana" and the aquaduct

Spoleto turned out to have a lot more to it than I had expected.  Like many other towns it has a "new" town outside the old one, where you'll find the railway station, supermarkets, etc.

Read Full Story...

Streetlife in Rome

Click through any photo for a larger view.

Horses and carriages for hire

Magic levitating gurus

Silver man

100 people in blue hats at the Vatican

Street artist

Gladiators for hire

People with no heads

Soft gooey blobs for sale

Read Full Story...

Rome

We spent two and one half days on the streets of Rome, visiting some of the landmarks we had seen back in 1989, and some we hadn't.

The Trevi Fountain

Tourist nuns in Piazza Venezia

Coloseum - bigger than I remembered!

"The Stadium" on Palantine Hill

Big thing on Palantine Hill

Fountain of the Four  Rivers, Piazza Navona

Castel Sant'Angelo

The Spanish Steps

Espresso and (red) orange to revive us!

Read Full Story...

Beddington Park

Today we had a ramble up and down the Wandle River, through Beddington Park in Wallington (no, not Wellington).  Nikhil was keen to visit the "blue playground" which is here, and obviously very popular with others too.

Mark, Nikhil, Sharmilla and Kieran working out on the public exercise machines, installed to foster the fight against obesity in the general population.

Read Full Story...

Tooting

Nikhil and Kieran, fortunately each in full safety harness, paralysed with fear as their father races the wrong way around the Tooting greyhound track in the family car.

Read Full Story...

Bluebells in Banstead Wood

Kieran and the stick

Its spring in London, so the bluebells are out in Banstead Wood, near Coulsdon.  Today Mark and Sharmilla took us to see them.  The weather is warmer than expected, but still cool enough at times to justify bringing my warm jacket all the way from NZ.

The ground here is full of flint chips, with sharp edges showing why flint was used for knives and tools.

Here are the bluebells - and us, slightly jet-lagged:

Read Full Story...