flawed work of art.
Thursday, August 09, 2007 @ 6:41 am
part II of Italy trip

note: again, photos best viewed in full, I have no idea why part I's photos have all disappeared when they went under archives, but yeah, I'll make sure this one gets to linger on the front of the blog for a while longer, so everyone can have a good look.

today, (well not today, but like 3 weeks ago, however for simple understanding, let's keep it as today) we're off to the little town of San Gimignano. (jee-me-nya-no) my first impression of this place was LOTR! cos' it's built in this walled fortress kinda thing. so it's like what you see in Two Towers, when Aragorn rides up on the pavements of the Rohan kingdom. *sound of horse hooves*

I like the way these plates are arranged, just look at the colours - they're good enough to eat! (:

oh, and I must add that Italian shopkeepers don't like it when you take photos of their wares without buying anything. and me being chicken, just snaps and walks off quickly before they can go, 'mamma mia!'


*smiles at arrangement of chairs*


ok, this is cool. he's actually winding this box thingy which has some sheet music with holes in it and poof! music comes out. it's maaaagick! plus, he's singing along, which adds to the delight of passers-by.


just like the mamaks of m'sia, these places are on every corner of every street. perfect for the immense heat of Italy.


amen!


I just love this little cafe. (:


*jumps* oh. it's just a statue. torture museum for all you horror junkies.

Pinocchio, if you know, is set in Italy.

what did I tell you? just when jie was taking this photo, the shopkeeper comes out clapping her hands at her like shooing away a stray cat.


that jumble of buildings over there is Siena! (personally, I think it's a beautiful name)


the goose part of town. no, stop laughing, natasha, I'm serious. you see, every year, (or was it twice a year?) Siena holds this horse race which is contested by every little uh, section of town. it's divided into a few, like Goose, Seashell etc. the winning district gets to hang their big flags and banners out like this. go goose!


this is the square where races are held. it's all covered with sand and properly set up. it's very slopy and kinda hard to walk on.


church of Siena. gothic style.


I dunno which two I prefer better, the top or the bottom. hmm. both have a very different feel to it, but are taken of virtually the same thing. I like how the houses are all simply arranged on the hills. messy but cute.



outside st. catherine's basilica, where you can see her actual finger. eeeew.


verrazano castle's garden.


I wonder how
I wonder why
yesterday you told me about the blue blue sky
and all that I can see is just a yellow lemon tree


oooh, real grapes hanging from real vines!


when the world seems to shine like you've had too much wine,
that's amore. (:


we tried all sorts of wine. the reds had a strong spicy flavour, but they were all very good. kfc was right about them Italian wines. they're not the same anywhere else.


saying goodbye to the vineyards...


...travelling by our bus named Ponziani...


...we reach Firenze! (better known as Florence)


baptism of Christ.

so, we weren't allowed to take photos in the Academy of Art place where the famous statue of David is kept. (by the way, it's HUGE.)

so, take a lookie at this imitation one outside a square somewhere.


that's Neptune.


that's Neptune's butt and a birdie getting cosy on one of his servant dude's heads.


that is not a statue. it's one of the many buskers that earn a living from tourists.

I like this photo. take a look at the back. the bridges seem to go on forever, don't they?

view from Uffizi gallery. again, no photos allowed in there. but, it was great looking at the many works of Italian artists like Da Vinci, Bernini, Michaelangelo, Raphael and so on.


the close-up's not too bad too, showing the o kuno hito-ness.

end of part II

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