More Casperia Pics

Mosaic right inside the first steps of Casperia.

One day I was walking around in the countryside, and found this watering trough. I suppose it is for livestock since it was a rural area, and there were cows and horses around. It was built in April 1880. I thought it was quite a lovely spot. You probably could drink this water. There are many spots in Italy where there are fountains you can drink from since the water is piped down from the mountains.

I must say I have a new respect for the conditions necessary for growing grapes for wine. Each morning was very cool and humid. The sun warmed it up, and each afternoon, it rained a bit.

This morning, you can see the fog in the valleys. I am sure this somehow all contributes to great wine. Not sure if I said it before, but the loudest thing in Casperia was the sound of the birds' wings as they flew by.

I took the train from the airport in Rome to Poggio Mirteto. We passed though the most beautiful area - what I think is Farfa. There is a very broad river, and it was fully of kayakers that day. This picture below is from the train station at Poggio Mirteto. Next time, I will surely check out Farfa.

I am back in Moscow now, but have tons more pictures to post.

Tomorrow is Victory Day in Russia. We are going to walk up past the Kremlin to see if we can see any part of the parade with the nuclear missles.... quite a change from Casperia :)

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/article/600/42/376957.htm

Oh, as I came in from the airport, I noticed alot of the tulips had bloomed. Since Red Square will be closed tomorrow, I will try to go Sunday and get some pics of the gardens there.

Just a few pictures for now

So, one day they took us to this nearby village - Roccantica. The Count of Roccantica took us for a hike in the mountains. Our ultimate destination was this cave where some monks used to meditate.
Here is a pic:

After the hike, the Count let us into the city or commune, whatever you want to call it. These were just pictures around the city.

This picture is from Casperia one morning before yoga. You have no idea how difficult all the steps were, and I lived at the very top of the city........
Every morning at 6:30 am, the church bells went off. This is the view out of my bedroom window of the church. I actually liked the bells.

Just a view near my house.

Fountain in Casperia. This level had a restaurant, and seemed to be a gathering place of the town.Another view from the same area. Local church.

Vineyards and olive trees. So beautiful.

One day I went for a walk. Here is a view of Casperia from outside.

I think this is wisteria. Things were blooming everywhere!

I got back to Rome yesterday, and spent the day at the Colosseum and the Forum. But, I am not going to post those pics yet! Here are some from Casperia. This is in the Umbria region north of Rome, in the very central part of Italy. It is pretty near where the earthquakes were last month, but there was no damage where I was.

It is going to take a very long time to up load all of my Rome pictures.... probably a week or so...

One thing I noticed today - there are so many tourists here that sometimes you cannot walk on the sidewalk. I am glad it is not that way in Moscow. I hear it will be much worse in the summer months.

Yesterday, the azealas on the Spanish Steps were in bloom - so, I thought I'd wait until this morning when they weren't so crowded to take pictures - but, alas, at 9 am today, the flowers were gone and they were taking the platforms apart.... oh well, it was pretty.

Rome is great, but I am really grateful that I got to spend time outside the city first. I do believe I will be back here, and I am pretty sure the big city is not where I will spend much time. I really loved the Farfa area. I only saw it briefly, a but I do have one picture near the train station that I will post later.

Ok, I am tired. I probably walked 20 miles today. Hopefully that will help mitigate my daily diet of pizza and pasta :)

Russian Airlines

Before I forget, I wanted to share the story of my flight to Rome.

My flight was around 9:30 am. No issues at airport, but the flight was a little late.

This story is 100% true. My seat neighbors were all Russian. Turns out, from Siberia actually. Well, the guy in front of me bought a bottle of scotch or something in the airport duty-free shop. No where else have I seen this happen before - but I have heard other stories. They broke out the bottle, and drank it straight - in the little plastic glasses they give you for water.

They were standing around me - he had friends beside and behind me - so it was like a regular party! They had some crackers and sausage and were quite jovial. They were really sweet when they finally understood that I don't speak very good Russian. I got out my remedial Russian papers, and they had fun going over basic verbs with me. One guy even invited me to his house in Siberia....

It just seems to me, these people pretty much do whatever they want and don't worry too much about the rules.

Italy!

I am in this very small medieval hilltop village north of Rome. It is quite amazing. There are no cars or TV, and all I hear are birds chirping.... Along with that peace and quite, there is alot of good food!

I never knew how green this area was. Guess that is what makes it a great area for wine growing!

All I have is limited dial-up internet access now, so pictures will be later!

I will be going back to Rome on Wednesday.

It has been really good to get out of Russia, to re-set my perspective on how most of the world works..... And, the yoga has been incredible. It is so good to get centered again.

Talk to you later............ Oh yea, so this village is really small, and hardly anyone speaks english, so I have been speaking Spanish here...it actually works out ok :)

Novodevichy Convent and Cemetery

Please read about the Convent that was built in 1524... Another Unesco World Heritage Site (other was the Lavra in Kiev) that I was able to visit! Apparently Peter the Great put two unwanted wives here :)

http://www.sacred-destinations.com/russia/moscow-novodevichy-convent.htm

Ok, we are going backwards again... Below is the cemetery - this is Boris Yeltsin's grave. It is the Russian Flag waving. The cemetery was quite interesting. The headstones all (except this one) are very personal, and many have pictures of the person - like etchings, and some sculptures...

This was the walkway between the convent and cemetery. I thought these little ducks were cute!

This little dog - his stick was much bigger than him!

I know - so many pictures of flowers... but these had bloomed! Funny thing - they were by the mens toilet....Not sure what that means.

Here is the Convent. There were several buildings and if you read the link above, you will know what they are.

Sunday!

Today, I spent the day at a park near the Kremlin and at New Maidens' Convent and Cemetary. Today, I'll probably only post the first set of pictures.

Here is a nice fountain near Red Square - not sure when they turn the fountains on - but I think probably in May.

Picture of person sleeping on a bench while no one seems to notice... See the guy - the second to right of the sleeping man - well, he had a boombox, and was playing some CD that seemed to be for sale.
I'm not really sure what these people were doing, but they were singing a song about Stalin.

Nice fountain inside GUM mall. Notice the blooming cherry trees - they are not real! But, they sure are pretty!

I am quite proud of this picture. Remember before I told you of a spot near Red Square that is supposed to be the center of Russia - where you toss a coin? Well, here it is without the snow. So, here we have a babushka (grandmother) and a devushka (like lady - not a young girl). I think the babushka was trying to pick up the coins that were being tossed for luck. Notice how nicely the devushka is dressed, pretty coat, belt, and high heels... Oh, here, it is quite acceptable to yell, "devushka" when trying to get your waitress' attention in the restaurant.

Fairy tale fountain!

The garden outside of the Kremlin is going to be beautiful when all of these tulips bloom! I can't wait to see it. Bulbs are coming up everywhere!

View from right outside Kremlin wall.

When I walk to the Kremlin from my apartment, this is where I go. I really like this area. People sitting around on the benches, the hill, just a peaceful area. That is what I realized today, people will just sit for hours and talk here in the parks - I don't really think we do that too much in the US. I think our parks are designed with something other than sitting in mind.

On my way, today I went a street over. I saw this sign in flowers for Yakimanka Street. There is also a flower sign for Moscow, and a clock, but it seems the flowers are not there yet.

I'll post the other pictures tomorrow. The New Maiden's Convent was really nice, and I saw Boris Yeltsin's grave. Very, very nice spring day in Moscow!

Saturday - Shopping and Spring

Usually I sort my pictures in chronological order, but I am tired tonight. I heard some fireworks going off tonight, and looked out my balcony - here is a picture of my view.

Some spring flowers!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YAY!!!!
Nice green grass!

Sparrow Hill

So, I told you before that people get married, and then go around Moscow taking pictures and drinking at all of the tourist spots. Since Lent is over, the weddings are happening again, and we saw alot of people taking pictures today!

Drinking in public is very acceptable here. Notice the champagne bottles on the ledge. Amazingly, it does not seem to get out of hand. I mean, you do see people really drunk sometimes staggering in the metro - but they are not aggressive.

Make your own party!

Sparrow Hill is a look-out point at Moscow State University. Here is the main building of the University.

This seemed to be a gathering of super-cool cars and their owners. I realize my picture cuts off most of the good part of the convertible section - sorry - but there was a group gathered, music was playing, and there seemed to be some breakdancing going on...

Another example of drinking in public.

Nice rows of birch trees!

More builidings of MGU

So, I was shopping today at a really nice mall - and came across this Tshirt that had "Tennessee" on it, so of course I bought it. When I got home, I researched if this place was real.... I did find information on "Joe's Farm," but so far no "Joel's Farm"... oh well - pretty cool to find here in Moscow!

I do feel a huge relief that it seems spring is here. Everyone who knows me, knows I love spring time - all of the wildflowers and being out in nature. Seeing the flowers today gives me hope, and reminds me of renewal.

I don't talk about work here, but it is quite challenging and things move very slow here. I love the people and the city - but it seems that every day, I revise my strategy of how to move forward.

Tomorrow it is supposed to be 70F - I am trying to learn Celsius - that is maybe like 20 C?. I think I will walk up to the Kremlin in the morning, and spend the afternoon in another park with a friend.