Day 342

The view from the breakfast room at the Palazzone. I had to stop and stare out the window every time I walked through.





And this is the breakfast room itself. Unfortunately I didn't get many pictures of the Palazzone, but this gives a good sense of the feel of the place.

We had the afternoon free, so I wandered around Cortona shopping and taking pictures and generally being touristy.












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Day 339

The perfect picnic spot...





...for a perfect picnic.

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Day 338

During our outing to Arezzo, we stumbled upon what I gather was a police conference of some sort. It entailed a great deal of medieval-ish pomp and ceremony, including these absolutely amazing flag guys. I was impressed.





Before the pomp and ceremony kicked off, there was a considerable amount of standing about doing nothing. I felt sorry for all these guys - their outfits looked hot. The ones in chain mail probably had it the worst.




But hey, they looked good! I was a bit bemused that they were playing Beethoven. Finally someone explained that "Ode to Joy" is the official hymn of Europe.




A medieval cross in a church.




The cathedral in Arezzo.



And last but not least, (one of) the chimaera(e). That fountain looked pretty nice by then...

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Day 337

I was lucky enough to get to stay at the spectacular Renaissance villa where the conference was held. This was the view from my bedroom window.





The view from the piazza in Cortona where the restaurant for the conference dinner was located.




I was drawn to the light of the setting sun down a random street.




Swallows circling the town hall. Noisy!

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Day 332

Bluebells at Hardcastle Crags.





















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Arrrrrrgh

I can't believe it, but... I seem to have forgotten to take a picture today. I have no excuse, except that it was Thursday.

To cheer myself up, I'm posting a pretty picture I took Monday. So I'm a cheater. Deal with it. ;)



White bluebells in the sunshine. Cheerful. more...

Day 318

We spent a glorious sunny afternoon at Harlow Carr. This photo was a bit of a surprise, as I was shooting up into the flower and thus couldn't see what I was getting. I'm pleased with what I got, though!








Auriculas in the auricula theatre.



I have been seized with an unreasonable desire to own a rhubarb forcer. And some rhubarb plants, of course. And a kitchen garden with fruit trees trained along the walls. *sigh*



Easter eggs!



Tudor rose carved on the back of a bench.



Forget-me-nots. Love them.



Grape hyacinths. Ditto.



And, last but not least, a glowing swathe of tulips.

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Day 283

Ta-da! My first sweater. Very Exciting indeed!

Before the inevitable comments ensue, let me point out that very little else has been done whilst I've been knitting this: the pile of dirty dishes has reached Olympian proportions, the parsnips have sprouted and begun reproducing in the fridge, and entire civilisations of dust bunnies have developed under the sofa. Methinks I could do with a wee bit more balance. But it was worth it. I LOVE this sweater. :)

Naturally, there would have to be more...











Not a great picture of me, but you get the idea: it fits! And wonder of wonders, miracle of miracles, the sleeves are long enough. (As I'm 5'9", this is a rare occurrence with purchased tops.) I'm over the moon!
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Day 262

For my birthday, Jeremy booked a night at a farmhouse B&B in the Dales. It was quiet and low-key and wonderfully cosy. This was the view over Burnsall from our window...




...and looking the other way, the River Wharfe.


But wait, there's more...

On the way home, we saw a sign for an orchid show, and I insisted we stop and check it out. I didn't take many photos, but the light in these was irresistible.




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