Cefalu, in the rain and after

Posted on October 3, 2018 by Ginger

We arrived in Cefalu in a rainstorm. Parking is not available in the historic center for non-residents, so we had to park at the train station (EU7 per day) and walk (10 minutes) to our rented apartment through the delightfully pedestrian historic area, the attractive stone paving slippery under the soles of my shoes worn smooth from so much walking.

There are many good reasons to visit Cefalu, a promontory on the north coast of Sicily, and our one stop on this coast as we made our way around the island. Primary among these is the astonishing rock, about nine hundred feet high, that dominates the town. (The picture below is taken from the visitsicily website, as I was unable to take a photo myself because of the rain.)

Skyline of Cefalù, touristic village in northern Sicily

And then, of course, there are the beaches, beautiful even in the rain and just after.

Even in waterfront areas where there are rocks instead of beaches, the town is impressive.

In addition, the historic district is charming; somehow there are outdoor cafes even on the narrow streets.

It might well have a nightlife, too, though not in the pouring rain. In the rain’s aftermath, however, the cafes of the piazza in front of the Duomo were open for business.

And it is of the Duomo itself that I wish to speak, seen here fronting the piazza. The cathedral was built beginning in 1131 by Roger the Norman, who was then king of Sicily. Yes, there was a Norman (as in, from Normandy) Kingdom in Sicily from the end of the eleventh and throughout much of the twelfth century. And, once the previous rulers of more than two centuries, Muslim Moors or Arabs, were defeated, they were allowed to continue living in Sicily in peace. There followed a period of what UNESCO describes as “the fruitful coexistence of people of different origins and religions (Muslim, Byzantine, Latin, Jewish, Lombard and French),” which blossomed into a unique architectural style exemplified by the cathedral in Cefalu, along with the cathedral in Monreale and several structures in Palermo. These structures, collectively, have been designated a UNESCO World Heritage site, and are described by UNESCO as follows: “The innovative re-elaboration of architectural forms, structures, and materials and their artistic, decorative, and iconographic treatments – most conspicuously the rich and extensive tesserae mosaics, pavements in opus sectile, marquetry, sculptural elements, paintings, and fittings – celebrate the fruitful coexistence of people of different origins.”

Outside, the cathedral is built mostly in the Romanesque style. A closer examination of a column that appears damaged revealed a rather imaginative capital.

Inside, it’s quite magnificent.

Its most wonderful feature is the mosaics that decorate the apse. Two euros turn on the lights for a brief period, so that the tourist (me) can hope to take a few photos. A small price for a moment of glittering gold and glory.

Ortigia, Siricusa

Posted on September 25, 2018 by Ginger

When I was researching this trip to Sicily, I knew I wanted to go to Syracuse. Of course, Syracuse was the home of Archimedes, one of the world’s more preeminent ancient scientists. Even more so, though, is that the city, which is some 2,700 years old, was a force to be reckoned with in the Mediterranean for centuries. Originally a Greek colony, it was allied with the Peloponnesian powers of Sparta and Corinth. By the fifth century B.C., it rivaled (and some say surpassed) Athens in importance. Even in Roman times it was preeminent, and famous for its beauty. Briefly, it even became capital of the Roman Empire.

Ortigia, the island-peninsula on the eastern side of the modern city of Siricusa is the site of ancient Syracuse, and so of course that’s where we stayed. We have a great room overlooking the city’s harbor and bay, on this street:

Here are some sights in this charming ancient city. First, the Piazza Duomo. This half-moon-shaped piazza is paved with beautiful tiles of what might be marble, and ringed with magnificent buildings, including the exquisite Duomo.

Here are some details from the Duomo’s facade.

Running from this piazza to Via Roma, a lively pedestrian shopping street, is the pleasant Piazza Minerva.

There’s also a lively plaza surrounding the stunning Fontana di Diana.

But Ortigia isn’t all piazzas–and neither would we want it to be. It’s full of interesting narrow streets, too, some of them commercial and others of no particular significance except for their charm.

We loved the rhythm of the balconies.

And we enjoyed occasionally finding something completely unexpected, such as this art exhibit inside a former church.

Viñales, the town

Posted on February 14, 2017 by Ginger

We spent some time in the colorful town of Viñales as well as in the surrounding countryside. In declaring the Viñales valley to be of “Outstanding Universal Value,” UNESCO had this to say about the town:

The village of Viñales, strung out along its main street, has retained its original layout and many interesting examples of colonial architecture, mostly one-storey wooden houses with porches.

And indeed, it is exactly as UNESCO described it–but they forgot to mention the vivid colors!

The people, too, are colorful and interesting.

The revolution, too, is still present in this part of Cuba–from a picture of the much-loved Che, to a touching sign: “I Am Cuba.”

Viñales–the countryside

Posted on February 10, 2017 by Ginger

When I was arranging our tour to Cuba, the potential participants in our group were, generally, not very interested in Viñales. The area is famous for its tobacco plantations, home of the best tobacco for Cuba’s best cigars, which (everyone knows, or pretends to know) are the finest in the world. But my friends and relatives and I, we are a nonsmoking group of people, and it was hard to get up much enthusiasm for a tour of the tobacco world, when the vacation was short, and there was Havana with its great food and wonderful music, and of course, Cuba’s beaches.

But a bit of research revealed that the Viñales valley is also on the UNESCO World Heritage List. It is a landscape of sublime loveliness–an agricultural valley surrended by dramatic dome-like karst hills (mountains?) that is quite unique and worth visiting, if only for its physical beauty.

This is what it looks like, approaching the town from the east.

We stopped for lunch at a working farm with great (fresh, local) food, where we could look out over the valley and walk in the garden.

For the first time in my life, I saw pineapples growing. I always imagined them growing right next to the ground, like a kohlrabi or a fennel bulb; other people I’ve talked with thought they grew on trees. Neither of these is true. They grow on stems, like artichokes. Here is one:

The agricultural part of the valley is peaceful. In the hot afternoon, a couple of farmers (well, I *assumed* they were farmers!) headed home for a rest–or a meal–or a friendly drink of rum or coffee, or a good cigar.

Speaking of cigars, after lunch it was time for a short trip through the dazzling countryside, followed by a tour of an organic tobacco plantation and cigar manufacturing.

Everyone was invited to try a cigar–and we all did! The gentleman above rolls the cigars shut using honey for glue, and we all agreed that his cigars were smooth and sweet.

It was a great experience, but we were not converted from our non-tobacco ways, and most of us (except you-know-who-you-are) easily resisted the temptation to buy any.

Moving on, we reached a stunning overlook of the valley late in the afternoon.

In the next post, I’ll show a bit of the town of Viñales.

The Bridges of Tokyo

Posted on September 24, 2016 by Ginger

We rode the water bus from the Asakusa district of Tokyo down the Sumida River to the Hama Rikyu garden. In the process, we passed under maybe thirteen bridges, all different colors and styles. I found the texture of the bridges against the backdrop of Tokyo’s buildings as pleasing as the scenery.

But first, here’s the view from Asakusa terminal, first, looking directly across the river, and then looking down the river, where the boat will soon go.

Now, here we go down the river!

After this, we docked at the lovely Hama Rikyu garden, but that will be the subject of another post!

In the Ginza

Posted on September 22, 2016 by Ginger

Tokyo subways are wonderrful. We took them everywhere. With few exceptions <cough, cough, Shibuya>, the signs are clear, the stations well marked, and even which exits lead where are clearly indicated. And it’s always surprising, when you leave the station at a new destination, what it’s going to look like. It could be the rather daunting so-called “pedestrian scramble” at Shibuya, for example.

Or it could be the sophisticaed shopping district of Ginza.

On the main street of Ginza, name brands and high-end developers can afford to build eye-catching buildings.

In the narrower side streets, interesting shops, must make their presence known with banners and vertical signs.

inside one shop, we found this intriguing glass ceiling.

But what’s inside another store must wait for another post!

The Little Street of Unbearable Cuteness

Posted on September 14, 2016 by Ginger

Late in the afternoon of our first full day in Tokyo, having seen how big and modern Tokyo can be, we headed to a small district that retains much of the texture of pre-WWII Tokyo–smaller houses, narrower streets, no high rises. And its own pedestrian shopping street.

It is . . . the Little Street of Unbearable Cuteness. And a notable feature of this street is . . . cats!

On the signs . . . cats!

Prominent among the merchandise . . . cats!

On the rooftops . . . cats!

In the windows . . . cats!

Wait a minute! Let’s look at that last one again!

Is that, “No cat, no life”?

And yet, and yet, we saw no live cats on the Little Street of Unbearable Cuteness.

Views near Golden Grove – the Southeast Light

Posted on June 15, 2014 by Ginger

I would have thought that after some twenty-five years of having a home on Block Island there wouldn’t be much of the touristy stuff left that we haven’t done at least once anyway. But the other day, on the drive around the southern part of the island, my friend Ellen and I stopped at the Southeast Light.

And–here’s the new part–we went in. There’s a gift shop in the ground floor of the light tower. As I peered admiringly up at the handsome circular stairs…

…I became aware that a tour of the tower was about to get started. So of course I signed up. How could I not? This is exactly the kind of tower a person (well, me) wants to climb. The circular stair is graceful and elegant.

The views from the top are expansive.

And–best of all–there’s an actual functioning Fresnel lens! A moment’s diversion here. Fresnel lenses are arrangements whereby the arcs of the lens divert the light from a source so that instead of shining all around it’s focused in one direction. This makes the light source much brighter, so that it can be seen from farther away. I couldn’t get far enough away to take a complete picture of the entire lens, but here’s one of the Fresnel lens that used to operate at San Diego.

The Block Island Southeast Light operates a green light that blinks every five seconds. I can stand right next to it and look at it without any pain or afterimages–and yet it can be seen eighteen miles out to sea. The light is inside a Type 1 Fresnel lens (large), of which there are only eleven or twelve still operating on the coasts of the United States.

These two pictures are looking directly at the lens; here’s looking up from below:

What the tour of the Southeast Light does not cover are the living quarters for two families that are part of the structure. This might be made into a B&B sometime in the future. What fun!

Munnar actually has a town

Posted on May 3, 2014 by Ginger

Munnar actually has a town, and it’s actually cute and kind of fun. This came as a bit of a surprise, since tourists don’t generally go to Munnar to visit the town. They go to Munnar to visit the resorts and spas, healthfully and ecologically sensitively set in the mountainous countryside, such as the delightful Blackberry Hills Retreat and Spa where we stayed. They go to see the stunning scenery, to enjoy the fresh mountain air, and to learn about tea.

I don’t think that going to town even ranks in the top 34 things to do in Munnar in tripadvisor.

Well, true, the town is kind of small, but we enjoyed visiting it all the same.

There were, for example, craftsmen hard at work at their craft. This man is, I believe, doing something involving fire. And gold. And jewelry.

Shopkeepers had wide selections of soaps and herbs and spices.

There was a fruit and vegetable market–which Dan and I always find interesting.

And maybe best of all, shops piled on shops in a jumbled pattern that for me was sheer delight.

At the top of the world in Munnar

Posted on May 3, 2014 by Ginger

Yes, it was our own choice to eschew the standard tourist fare and instead hire a four-wheel drive vehicle to take us to Kolukkumalai Tea Estate, allegedly the highest tea plantation in the world. But after about thirty-seven hours of bouncing around on rocky and rutted terrain that only loosely resembled a road, we were beginning to wonder whether this was a good idea.

Actually, I have slightly exaggerated the amount of time it took.

Also, you have seen pictures of the scenery along this road, and you’ve learned all about how they make the tea at the Kolukkumalai factory, so I’m sure you’ll agree that this excursion was in fact a very good idea.

We stopped for some photos at the entrance to Kolukkumalai Estate, with stunning vistas of the mountains on both sides of the–dare I call it?–road.

I have this uneasy feeling that the haze, even in this remote mountainous area, may be at least partly smog. I hope I am wrong about this, because the place is truly beautiful.

G. S. Kenney Author

Thousands of words, millions of words' worth of pictures

Tag Archives: photographs

Ortigia, Siricusa

Viñales, the town

Viñales–the countryside

The Bridges of Tokyo

In the Ginza

The Little Street of Unbearable Cuteness

Views near Golden Grove – the Southeast Light

Munnar actually has a town

At the top of the world in Munnar

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: