Quite noisy

 

The modest street of the residential neighborhood where I live is in need of a face-lift. So this morning the neighborhood is quite noisy. 

Unfortunately, the local administration isn't interested in planting trees along urban environment's sidewalk. There are only two big trees along the street's sidewalk (picture below). Many streets and neighborhoods in my town haven't as trees as they should.

Meanwhile, a view from my window shows that rainy weather is coming once again.

Here below a collection of milk & coffee served in my neighborhood's pub in the early morning last month:  

Nice week to everyone!

Banana tree

This morning I had another interesting run. After 20 minutes warm-up I began to increase the speed slightly, and while I was running along the coast I saw some banana trees.  These trees are just decorative and do not bear fruit. 

I know that after the Mayor had planted  those tropical trees three years ago, he was criticised because these trees are very expensive. In addition, they have nothing to do with the Mediterrean area and the 42nd parallel North. Most people who live here say the Mayor should plant Mediterranean shrub and olive trees on the urban green spaces.

I also saw other (expensive) tropical trees like this one here below. I don't know its name.

The picture below shows the narrowest alley I have ever seen. I saw it yesterday, in Tolfa, a small village located in the hills.

I do hope Russian & Ukrainian talks will make "significant progress" soon.

Have a nice weekend!

Aerobic zone benefits

 

When I took the picture above I wasn't enjoying the fine sands in the Caribbean or a biodiverse island of the Palwan archipelago.  I took that image this morning while I was running close to the water on the way back from the port. I noticed that those trees (I mean the low ones) are the only palms native to Europe, as that tree is known as Mediterranean dwarf palm. I think we have to respect the character of the place. It is important for the need of urban and place identity, which is a blend of physical heritage and geographical context.  

This morning a couple of tourists from Spain asked me an information while I was running through the port. I quickly noticed they were looking for the cruise ships terminal to Barcelona, and it was too easy to give them the right information, as they both could understand English language. The ship they were looking for wasn't there, so I explained that they had to take the bus. 

The problem was that they continued to ask me other information about the Barcelona pier, the ferry terminal, self-catering accomodation with free WiFi, and so on. Consequently, I had no choice but to tell them that I couldn't speak anymore because I was running. Although I spoke in a respectful way, they said they didn't like my behaviour. I didn't answered, and tryed to stay calm. So I decided to continue my run through the port.

A few minutes before I met the two Spanish tourists I had reached my aerobic zone benefits, as I was doing sustained running effort. That's the reason why I couldn't give them other information. Not to mention that they had already got the main information about how to reach the ships terminal to Barcelona.  

Have a nice weekend!

Underground Naples

A dear blogger friend from Oregon (US), Nicole, always enjoys reading posts about Naples (South Italy). That's why I show a few pictures which I took one month ago while I was spending my holiday in Naples (the 1st week of the new year). 

The 1st picture here below shows the Naples underground entrance. The underground city spreads below the entire old town, as the subsoil of Naples is crossed by a large network of  tunnels, tanks and old watercourses. The guides took us on a journey through 2400 years of history, marked by works of Greek and Roman periods, up to the modern age.

In the 4th century BC the Greeks gave life to the underground cisterns to cope with the water supply and to find the stones they needed for buildings.

During the WWII the underground cavities became shelters against aerial bombing.

The mysterious labyrinth of cavities is located below Naples historical alleys. 

 

The last picture below shows a path of the big urban green space, located in the middle of Naples, where I sometimes enjoy running and walking.    

Have a nice weekend and stay well!

Rome in late Autumn

This week, on a rainy thursday in late Autumn, I went to Rome for job once again. I hate wet socks, that's why I put in a change of socks while I was there. It seems people who live there are able to ride those manual scooters also on rainy days 🛴 ... but abandoned manual scooters along Rome's sidewalks were so dangerous.

I soon noticed that Christmas decoration were already there along many streets and squares. 

On the way back, while I was walking along an historical alley of the town, I saw a Citroën 2cv on the cobblestones. It's an old car manufactured in France from 1948 to 1990. In the late 1970s the Citroën 2cv was a very popular car. It has always been so colorful, al least two colours.

I also took the next two pictures in Rome:  refurbishment of a historical building (Ministry of Finance) and an urban green space, which provides psychological relaxion and supports physical activity.

The last picture above shows that on the 42nd parallel lemons are already on branches. Lemon is an excellent source of vitamin C.

The old town of Tolfa

On 7th of May I already wrote (and published) a short post about Tolfa, which is a small town located in the hills not far from Rome. Yesterday I went there once again for job. This journey gave me the opportunity to enjoy the old side of Tolfa and its characteristic stone houses.

The first picture above shows the hills surrounding the small town of Tolfa completely covered with oak trees. That's why many houses have fireplaces and wood heating systems, which reduce emission from fossil fuels. 

While I was walking through Tolfa's old narrow alleys, I noticed that each house had its typical wooden door.

I really had a great time there, as I didn't hear any car noise. 

Have a nice weekend!

Plan to ease the curfew

Since more than 50% people are vaccinated in the EU, we have seen many little tables scattering along streets and alleys. But we have to wear a mask, wash our hands and observe social distancing rules, as not everyone is vaccinated.

Today is public holiday in my country, as Italians celebrate the day when they voted to abolish monarchy in 1946 ...  my daughter had been cooking when I saw the colors of the Italian flag on the kitchen table: parsley (green), garlic (white), and tomatoes (red) 🇮🇪

On that  sunny morning I saw some beautiful donkeys while I was walking through the countryside. A fence and a small donkeys stable have been built on a spacious piece of land close to the town.

We have had Sars-CoV-1, MERS, and Sars-CoV-2 ... what will be the next one? Go running, go walking/hiking, go swimming, go biking ... because our lifestyle will dictate how vulnerable we are to the viruses 🏇🏇🚲🏃🏊🏂