12.3.10

Italian villages


(I'm absent. This is a pre-programmed post. Hopefully it works.)

From Menton (see previous post), Jilly kindly brought us to the nearby Italy and some extremely charming villages.

The first one was Dolceacqua, dominated by the ruins of the Doria Castle (see top picture).

Doria was a prominent family, the most famous member being Andrea Doria, a famous 16th century Genoese admiral who gave his name to an Italian ocean liner, unfortunately especially known for a collision with the Swedish m/s Stockholm on the coast of Nantucket a dark and foggy night in 1956. The vessel with some 1700 people onboard sank, but fortunately “only” 46 people could not be rescued.

The village seems hardly to have changed since centuries. It’s full of narrow streets, alleys and tunnels. Completely charming.

We continued to another small village further up in Liguria, Apricale. We had a very nice and simple lunch, accompanied by a local wine, in a small non-touristic restaurant. Nice!!

On the way back to Menton, we stopped for a while at Ventimiglia, looking up the Roja river with snow covered Alps in the background and watching the calm sea. Two Russian girls were also there taking photos of the seagulls ... and themselves!
Jilly, our wonderful host, concentrated on the sea and the seagulls!

23 comments:

Thérèse said...

Les vieilles pierres, les montagnes, l'eau, les amis... que demander de plus?

Rakesh Vanamali said...

Interesting structures, surrounded by panoramic views!

joanna said...

Peter:

Breath taking photo's!

You make it so -- a person can walk along with you and see what you are seeing like we were right there.

I adore the picture of the sea --as a sun catcher with a cast of a thousand dancing diamonds.

Joanny

Kim said...

What a lovely time you've been having (and showing us!) Peter. And thank you for this great shot of our Jilly in action!

Olivier said...

il est beau ce village, et en plus il y avait des belles sirenes ;)

alice said...

Ahhh, pour un peu, je sentirais la douceur du soleil...Ici, les mimosas ont un bon mois de retard et il gèle encore le matin.
(les Russes en talons hauts dans les rochers!)

Jilly said...

Ah, dear Peter, another wonderful histoire of our day together and such great memories. I so agree with Joanny, you take us along as if we were there. Fortunately I was! Yes, that lunch was so good - I still think of the spaghetti alla pesto genovese - in fact I bought some of the sauce in the market the other day - a tasty reminder...

Unknown said...

Wow" Absolutelly amazing historie and pictures. I love those photos. They take me away from usually day. Wonderfull adventure as many other "trips" in Your blog. Thanks. Lucie

Trotter said...

Hi Pietro! See that you got some gorgeous weather over there! Wonderful shots, and the Italian villages are awesome!

Simony said...

Lovely place to visit! Italy is gorgeous, and those little old towns transport me to another era.
You are always full of surprises! I didn't know you had stretched your trip to the border. I really need to get out of here and go visit the old world again.

Louis la Vache said...

Very nice, Peter. «Louis» remembers the sinking of the Andrea Doria. Your mention of it brings back memories of young «Louis» reading the story about it in Life magazine.

Nathalie H.D. said...

I've never spent much time in Italy. If you don't mind doing it again Jilly I'd love to cross the border with you next time I come.

Nathalie H.D. said...

Is that jilly's new camera?

Jeanie said...

It worked and it is lovely! What a glorious spot for a getaway. Thanks for taking us there!

Jilly said...

Nathalie - we will do just that. Dolceacqua and Apricale and Ventimiglia. And also perhaps Bussana Vecchia which is an amazing village - destroyed in an earthquake. the church at the top has a tree growing in the middle of it - no roof and all the frescoes still around the walls!

And yes that's my new Panasonic Four Thirds camera. It's strange, isn't it?!

Cezar and Léia said...

wow I have no words to say how much beautiful is this post!
Hmmm those russian girls,them remind me Moscow...Hmmm I think I didn't like their pictures.
But I loved the wonderful landscape and your friend's picture.
She is really nice, I would love to know her!
hugs
Léia

Shammickite said...

Absolutely gorgeous! I am green with envy!

The nostalgic visitor said...

Here are photographied many of the reasons that make me attached to this area. No more comment, I just look at this untouched beauty.

Kate said...

Wonderful photos in beautiful places with beautiful people as well!

Alain said...

Un village isolé, la mer, deux Russes...c'est un bon début pour un James Bond.

Mona said...

Beautiful pictures. The sunlight on water is breathtaking!!

Virginia said...

Oh how lovely. What a special place our Jilly calls home. I love her portrait. It's not often we see our blog amies since they are always behind the camera. You caught her beautifully. Wonderful p hotos, Peter!
V

PeterParis said...

Again I'm (too) late commenting your comments! ... so just great thanks to you all!