obvious reasons. The fact that takeoff (from Sydney) was delayed by 3½ hours for an engine replacement and subsequent tune-up wasn't worrying at all: Qantas International still has the world's best maintenance record. However, the delay had the usual trickledown effect, and we spent 30 hours travelling, over-all; Sydney-Melbourne-Bangkok-Rome-Milan is no mean hop at the best of times. And almost the same on the way back, as the domestic flight from Melbourne to Sydney was delayed by there being no-one around to pull the damned 'plane out onto the tarmac (yep, we were home) !
Things not observed previously included dogs; they seem to have become a fashion accessory / status symbol, and are being toted around or kept in apartments all over the country. Many of Italy's towns and cities have thus become very like Paris last time we were there -- there is a need to watch where one walks at all times. This is Not Good. And in Rome, we were dismayed by the crowds; impossible to walk on many pavements in the more well-known areas without being shouldered off. I believe and hope that this was because we were there in pre-Easter week;
Things not observed previously included dogs; they seem to have become a fashion accessory / status symbol, and are being toted around or kept in apartments all over the country. Many of Italy's towns and cities have thus become very like Paris last time we were there -- there is a need to watch where one walks at all times. This is Not Good. And in Rome, we were dismayed by the crowds; impossible to walk on many pavements in the more well-known areas without being shouldered off. I believe and hope that this was because we were there in pre-Easter week;
if that isn't it, then Rome is becoming a place to be avoided except in the most bitter weather. This is Definitely Not Good. But ...! everywhere we went, there was an absence of car alarms; in a month, we heard only one -- and that lasted for about five seconds before it was shut off. This is Excellent !
An important introductory point to some of our photos: Toscana, Umbria and most of Lazio were shrouded in smoke throughout our travels, which made sharp focus very difficult. In fact, we took not a single multi-frame panorama set, because one couldn't, even with the naked eye, take in any panorama clearly. We realised that the period of our being there -- late winter / early spring -- is when the olive groves are being ... not pruned, perhaps "trimmed" is a better word, which leaves a lot of olive wood with leaves to be got rid of. And centuries of tradition mean that's done by the simple expedient of burning, on the spot (and it's very oily wood).
I eventually took a picture from the balcony of our room at the Trevi Hotel, looking up at the surrounding foothills, with the express purpose of
An important introductory point to some of our photos: Toscana, Umbria and most of Lazio were shrouded in smoke throughout our travels, which made sharp focus very difficult. In fact, we took not a single multi-frame panorama set, because one couldn't, even with the naked eye, take in any panorama clearly. We realised that the period of our being there -- late winter / early spring -- is when the olive groves are being ... not pruned, perhaps "trimmed" is a better word, which leaves a lot of olive wood with leaves to be got rid of. And centuries of tradition mean that's done by the simple expedient of burning, on the spot (and it's very oily wood).
I eventually took a picture from the balcony of our room at the Trevi Hotel, looking up at the surrounding foothills, with the express purpose of
