I love the sea. I have photographed the seascapes in a few different countries. Here are some from Finland, Italy, Portugal and Egypt.
Seascape in finland italy portugal and egypt
Category Archives: Italy
Tuscany Nature
We spent a few weeks in Tuscany, Italy. We drove high up on the mountains.
Here are a few nature images from the area.
A small village high up on the mountains.
After the rain it is great to photograph in the garden.
This blog post is a short one. Stay tuned. I will blog more soon.
Back To Italy
We had the wonderful chance to travel back to Italy this summer. We have visited Sicily, Sabaudia, Ardea, Trevignano Romano, Rome and Pisa…. now we flew back to Pisa and drove up to the mountains 65 km west and a bit north from Pisa airport.
It is nice that Finnair offers direct flights to Pisa in the summer time.
Montecatini Terme is the closest town near the mountains and our vacation house. I had never heard of this town. It is an Italian municipality of about 21,100 inhabitants within the province of Pistoia in Tuscany, Italy. The town is located at the eastern end of Piana di Lucca and has a strong vocation for tourism, as well as industrial and commercial industries related to the spa, which in turn has increased the interest for hotel accommodation in the region.
The drive up to the house was exciting and fascinating. So many curves and small roads and up up we drove. The scenery was beautiful and magnificent.
The first look at the view from the house was just what we hoped for.
As always it is nice to just sit down after travelling for many hours. Driving, waiting, flying, waiting, driving and then… finally: vacation time!
Stay tuned for more stories and photos from this magnificent area.
Beautiful Sabaudia in Italy
A few years back we decided to rent a house south from Rome. We wanted to enjoy new areas, if possible close to the Mediterranean Sea. I googled for rental houses. After finding houses which were either too expensive or not to our liking, I saw an interesting house in Sabaudia. We had never heard of this city, but found it interesting as it was very close to the sea and the house offered everything we wanted to a reasonable price.
We investigated a bit more. When we realized the sandy beach next to the town was 20 kilometers long we made our decision.
After arriving at Fiumicino airport in Rome, we rented a car (once in Italy, the choice was of course an Alfa Romeo) and drove 90 kilometers south. The drive was a bit longer than we are used to, but it was worth it. The house, the garden, the town and the beach – they were all fabulous.
A little bit of the town history: The architects Gino Cancellotti, Luigi Piccinato and Alfredo Scalpelli made the city plans and the work started in August 1933. 6000 people built the city and it was ready already after a year.
The house had a small garden in the front and on the back.
Even though we like to cook ourselves, sometimes it is great to go to a nearby restaurant. We tried fish, sea food, pasta and of course pizza. We fell in love with the pizza Diavola, which is quite spicy.
The beach was fantastic. Hot summer days and cool Mediterranean Sea is a perfect match.
We can warmly recommend to spend a week or two in Sabaudia.
Beautiful countryside in Sicily: Floridia
We have been to Sicily, Italy, a few times. Sicily offers so much to see and enjoy. The island is beautiful.
Etna, the active stratovolcano on the east coast of Sicily, the yellow lemon fields, the green vineyards, the small but amazing beaches, the historical and old citys and fabulous small villages not to mention the beautiful countryside – they all create a fantastic scenery, which you will love.
Etna rises high next to Catania airport. Etna is tremendous.
ps. click the photos to view them in a larger size
The green vineyards seem to go on forever.
Last time we rented a house in Floridia. It is found just 12 kilometers from the historical city of Syracuse. Syracuse lies next the to sea, the magnificient Mediterranean. The buildings in Syracuse are so fascinating, you can spend a whole day just admiring them.
The town center of Floridia is not as fascinating as the city of Syracuse. Here’s one photo we took when strolling in the town.
But there are many nice places in Floridia. We found a neat coffee shop and enjoyed a double espresso, a glass of cold water (it was 39 C!) and a delicious chocolate pastry. All this costs only a few euros. Amazing.
The owner of the rental house, in the beautiful countryside outside Floridia, was Salvo. He was in our eyes as Sicilian as one can be. Short, friendly and skin as dark as a roasted coffee bean. The colour of his skin came from all the long hours under the hot Sicilian sun. Salvo worked outside most of the day. He also had a beautiful horse, which had won many prizes.
Salvo spoke Sicilian, which is not the same as my basic school Italian. I understood every fourth word he said, but we got along great.
The house we rented was great. It was bigger than we needed, but as it situated in a great area, next to Syracuse, and the price was fair, we decided to rent it.
Here’s a photo of the front of th house. As the day temperature was often almost 40 C, it was nice to have a place in the shadow. It was unusually hot for the month of June.
There was a large patio on the roof, where you could dry your laundry or just admire the scenery. We admired the scenery. We had our binoculars with us and also a great camera.
In this photo you see the driveway to the house. You can also see all the way to the next small town, up on a hill.
We had a huge swimming pool in the backyard. This is how it looked seen from the roof 🙂
More stories to come. Stay tuned 🙂
Pisa, Ferrari and Angels
We flew from Helsinki to Pisa, Italy. We love to fly with Finnair. Finnair offers direct flights to many interesting cities and quality before and during the flight.
Pisa is a historical city full of beautiful buildings, churches, old towers and is known for its leaning tower (the bell tower of the city’s cathedral).
ps. click on the photos to see them in a larger size
The leaning tower can be found at Piazza dei Miracoli. There are many street signs to help you find it.
In Pisa people take the bicycle, walk or move around with a scooter. You can come to Pisa with your car, but it is best to park it before you cross the bridges to the old town.
To avoid the rush hours, if you like to stroll around easily, come to the city early in the morning. We came down from our house in the Montemagno hills after nine o´clock and there were quite a lot of people by ten. The hot summer sun is also something to take into account. Remember a hat and the water bottle.
On the highway, on our way to Pisa, we saw one of our favourite cars – a red Ferrari. I snapped a quick photo when it passed us.
I told my husband “Hit the pedal – I want another photo of that Ferrari“. My husband looked at me and said calmly “Our Italian Alfa Romeo is a really nice car, but don’t ask for something impossible“. 😉
We parked our car before the bridges to the old town. Walking along the river Arno is nice.
At the Piazza dei Miracoli, you find the Fountain of Angels (La Fontana dei putti).
There is so much history and beauty at the Piazza dei Miracoli. You will be amazed.
Before leaving Pisa, we sat down and enjoyed a glass of cold water and a double espresso. There are plenty of cafeterias and coffee shops to choose from.
We walked along the river Arno, on our way back to our car. It was beautiful, calm, silent and amazing.
I can warmly recommend a day or two in Pisa. You will love it.
THE RED SEA AND EUROPE 