more of tuscany - monte oliveto and pienza Feb 2011

the benedictine abbey at monet oliveto maggiore is famous for its frescoed cycle of the life of St Benedict. frescoes are by signorelli and sodoma. wonderful. painted from 1497-1508

just 3 of the great 41 frescoes

loved the two wanderers in the desert on the right

the great balze cliffs

fran and bill freezing in pienza

the walls and view from pienza

the always gorgeous tuscan country side with monte amiata in the distance with snow

pienza - we have been fed and ready to go on to next adventure

tuscan countryside

went to abbey to see the famous frescoes by signorelli and sodoma. They seemed even more vibrant than I last remembered.  we  then had a gorgeous drive to pienza for lunch and a  cold walk. Headed home and were treated to more beautiful scenery.

san gimignano, volterra (tuscany) Feb 2011

just outside the wall of san gimignano

2 of the remaining 13 (there were 76) medieval towers in san gimignano

we took refuge in the museo civico as it was raining. museum is in the 13th century town hall. this fresco is by Lippo Memmi. on second floor in the Camera del Podesta is  a lovely fresco cycle around the  theme of love. 

back courtyard of museum, umbrellas up!

we moved on to volterra after lunch in san gimignano. it was freezing, raining, some snow and windy. great conditions to visit the medieval center. no crowds to deal with. stayed inside looking at alabaster which the city is famous for and has been producing for thousands of years

Volterra main square and site of the alabaster cooperativa which was enriched by our visit

while we had been to these 2 medieval tuscan cities before, they are as beautiful as ever. Weather could have been better but the four of us (scott,me, fran, bill ) are hardy travelers.

san galgano, tuscany

the always lovely san galgano

was once a cistercian church, lost its roof in the 17th century

the ruins are very evocative 

great Gothic arches

wonderful stone ceiling in the romanesque church on the hill next to San Galgano

on our way to Colle di Val D'elsa (just outside Siena) we stopped to see the always lovely roofless San Galgano Church which dates back to the early 1200's. Had been many years since our last visit

sheik faisal's private collection doha

entire room of daggers, helmets, armour, rifles and more-room one

he had a wonderful collection of old doors from iraq, syria, tunisia etc

furniture, vases, pottery, textiles

cars, motorcycles, boats and even an airplane

lovely mother of pearl furniture

a U.S ambulance from about 1910, must have been a bumpy ride

lots of jewelery

vast halls of objects!

a qatari 10 man rowing boat, which was fairly new

just part of the building that housed the collection

later in the day a trip to day one of the ladies tennis tournament

marion bartoli in action, french no 1 and she reached the quarterfinals

the qatari enjoying some tennis

a trip to the inland sea and more qatar Feb 2011

we saw three camels in the desert

desert for two hours and presto the "inland sea"- directly south of doha, bordering Saudia Arabia and the U.A.E.

tracks are under the water!

you could walk forever before it got very deep

matthew's 4 wheel drive that got us there and we sand boarded on those hills! luckily the camera battery had died by then

back in time for some date shopping

downtown doha

gorgeous flower display in 4 seasons where scott and I had a drink with a childhood friend of his

another action packed day in doha

more of oman

i loved the omani wooden doors

juice break for matthew and our driver

friday relaxing and you can pick up a khanjar

or a rifle

view from nizwa fort of the date palms

view of nizwa souks from above

on top of nizwa fort

After touring the friday market and souk we toured the nizwa fort. great views from a top. built in 1600's, is known for its tower and great views of the Hajar Mts. inside rooms were mostly bare.