Last day of the Summer

Good morning! This morning the waitress wrote "Buongiorno" on the milk suface :-) 

In Northern hemisphere Summer 2022 ends today, Friday, September 23. 

But many people are still enjoying beaches and boats, as the sea is still warm enough to swim and weather is still sunny.

I hope all blogger friends will enjoy the new season :-)

Sunny week after the storm

After a stormy weekend we're still enjoying a sunny week ... but  this Summer which is going to an end slowly. 

Still enjoying the water & sun in the afternoon, although the daytime light has been becoming shorter and shorter, due to the tilting of the axis away from the sun. 

Glad to see that many areas of the Italian coast aren't polluted.

The picture above shows that we can find white sand beaches also here in Italy. Italians (and European tourists) don't need to go to tropical islands or caribbean resorts :-)

Enjoy the rest of this Summer (Nothern hemisphere)!

Still waiting for rain

I took these four pictures this afternoon after I had covered my small boat with a plastic tarp, which is the least expensive option. I'm afraid the rain will be dirty and brown this evening, as Saharan dust clouds carry sand on wind above the ground. 

It seems it will rain soon. According to the weather forecast, the weather this evening will be persistent. Unfortunately, rain and wind will continue to impact Central and South Italy in the next 12 hours.

... and, obviously, fisherman's boats will not sail in the next few days.

This Summer we (Italians) need rainy weather. That's why I hope weather forecast will not be wrong :-)

That's all for now!

different colours of the water

We had a particularly cloudy days here in Italy, as the sky was full of clouds last week. It wasn't ideal for a trip to the beach. 

On the contrary, today is a sunny Sunday and water is translucent. We can see through it.

On this sunny Sunday I have seen two police officers while they were travelling by jet skis. I didn't expect police officers to do that.

Have a nice Sunday :-) 

The mysterious split mountain

The picture below shows the split mountain in Gaeta, South Italy. It is located in a protected natural park. According to local stories, God was so distraught at the crucifixion of Jesus Christ that He made the earth shake and let out a lightning bolt, which created three big cracks in this mountain.

I've just seen a very unusual vehicle in the middle of the town: it's a blue three wheeler with a black pirate flag and a surfboard on is top .

Happy Wednesday :-) 

Sunny Sunday on September 5th

 

Water is still fantastic on Sunday, September 5th. Today the sea is warm and temperate along the Thyrrenian coast, with translucent water, and almost no waves. It's perfect for snorkeling (Santa Marinella, Italy).

The school ship "Amerigo Vespucci" has just left Civitavecchia harbour. The ship was named after the name of the explorer Amerigo Vespucci, and usually carries 24 sails, for a total surface of 2.600 square metres.

Have a nice Sunday ☀️

Six random pictures about summer holidays in Italy

As request by some blogging friends I put six random photos from Italy. I am glad to hear they enjoyed seeing summer holidays in Italy through my blog. 

This summer many tourists went to see the typical limestone dwellings with their conical roofs (Alberobello, Italy). My daughter, who is still there on holiday,  sent me the picture below.

I took a picture of  Civitavecchia harbour from the table of the restaurant where I had dinner yesterday (The cruise ship in the picture below hasn't been sailing since the epidemic began in early 2020). 

                                                                                                                                                                    

 A liberty style old house with its exterior decoration for sale (Santa Marinella,   Italy).             

Riva di Traiano is a modern marina with its architectures of historical works (Civitavecchia, Italy).

                                              

People enjoy the beach on Sunday, August 22nd (Santa Marinella, Italy),

and last but not least, three pink hibiscus flowers, which I saw while I was walking along the Civitavecchia's pedestrian area (I have seen many bloggers who publish pictures of white and blue hibiscus).

Have a nice week ⛵☀️🍸

August 15th, Public holiday in Italy

August 15th is the day when Chatolics celebrate the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. It seems the day was also a holiday in Roman times, as it was intended to be the beginning of a weekend of rest after months of hard labour. Nowadays, August 15th still marks the start of the Summer break for many Italians, who usually escape the heat at seaside, lakes or mountains.

The picture above shows the Sorgeto bay, which is the location of a true outdoor thermal park. Sorgeto bay is situated on the island of Ischia, which is the largest of the phlegrean islands (30 kilometres East of Naples). My daughter, who went there last week, sent me the picture.

The pictures below show three houses for sale in Santa Marinella, a municipality located about 60 kilometres Northwest of Rome, which includes beach resorts and a medieval castle. The three houses are located close to the sea. They were built more than 100 years ago.

And still in Santa Marinella there's the beach that I'm enjoying on August 15th

The bad news is that we (Italians) don't know who is setting our hills and forests on fire ... during the night and without a cop to bother him/her. I took a picture of a burning hill when I went to Itri, a small town in Central Italy. 

My two daughters, my nephew and I enjoyed a challenging trekking in the hills two days before the burning.

Along the path there were many signs indicating the ways to the various sites. We didn't wear a mask while we were walking up-hill.

At the moment, 57.1% Italian people have got the vaccine.

Lunch at the beach

Since early March 2020, epidemic spreading, lockdown measures and social distancing rules have changed everything. And while big tech multinationals are trying to destroy middle class' retailers, people have no choice but to buy online many products and services they need.

In late 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic began to spread across the Northern emisphere, Amazon had announced a pilot program for a virtual medical clinic. The virtual clinic services would consist of video visits with doctors and registered nurses. It wasn't Amazon's first step outside its confort zone. 

As it is konwn, in 2019 Amazon was, and still is, a grocer, a fashion venue and its own delivery provider. As mentioned by many experts, considering Amazon's pervasive presence worldwide, no company is ever truly safe. But Amazon, Google, and Alibaba Group will never be able to serve us a fish dish at the beach on a sunny Sunday.

Have a nice Sunday and stay safe!

Cloudy Sunday

Just to show four pictures, which I took this morning on a cloudy Sunday here in Central Italy. 

                             A Sunday on the beach without sun

                                                                             Cloudy sky

     Fodder transport (someone is working on Sunday for cattle and other livestock)

                                                                 Fodder production

Sorry to hear that since next month some Italian regions will probably adopt lockdown measures ... once again.

Have a nice Sunday! And stay safe!

EURO 2020 final match, beaches, and tomatoes

We have lived with COVID-19 for more than one year. Will this pandemic ever end?  I am sorry to hear pressure grows on olympic games organizers over spectators, as there is a new wave of COVID cases in Japanese capital.

At the moment it seems European people would like to enjoy the urban environment, coffees, parks, and beaches. The picture below shows the pedestrian area located in the older part of Civitavecchia (70 km North from Rome).

Unfortunately, people who are on holiday (here in Central Italy) can't have lunch on the beach, because of the cloudy weather. 

Meanwhile, tomatoes on my balcony will be ready in one week. I hope seagulls will not eat them :-) 🙂🍅... last week they (seagulls) ate all tomatoes on my balcony 🤨

                                                                                      

And last but not least, on Sunday, July 11, the Euro 2020 final match will take place at Wembley Stadium in London 🏆 Italy and England will face off for the continental crown 🇮🇹 🇬🇧

Back to normal life, slightly

Finally families are allowed to enjoy the evening much more. Yesterday, in the evening, I was so glad to see the nice atmophere along the alleys of the old part of the town. Families, children, and young people, were enjoying, shops, coffees, restaurants, etc. 

They were trying to get back to normal life. 

Have a nice Sunday 

Sunny beach in September

Hello blogger friends, just to say we are still enjoying sunny beaches here down on the 42nd parallel North. Water is so clean and resorts are not crowded as you can see in the picture. I can go swimming twice a week, and I do the same on the running front. I'll increase running sessions in Autumn, as soon as Summer goes to an end, and I don't go swimming in the sea. 

Have you never bought a watermelon so heavy? It is more than 16 kg. After I had bought that watermelon I carried it by motorbike ... my daughters' motorbike. In Summer I  sometimes eat a big slice of watermelon after running: Made up of 92% water, watermelon is a great snack to have on hand during the hot summer months to prevent dehydration. In addition, it provides vitamins and minerals.

Happy running/walking to everyone!