Mt Wellington, Hobart, Tasmania

view of hobart on the derwent river and beyond

snow on top of mt wellington (over 1270 meters), hobart

freezing at top of mountain

great rock formations on top of mt. commonly called the organ pipes. Mountain is a mass of igneous rock pushed upward by molten rock, as the Australian continental shelf tore away from Antarctica, over 40 million years ago. 

mt wellington

back down at sea level, hobart harbor, constitution dock. lots of nice fish restaurants and off  the boat fish places are in the harbor.

Nice morning going up to Mt Wellington with Dave, Scott's friend who lives in Tasmania. There is a windy road up to top of mountain built in the 1930's. lots of nice hiking trails off the road. Dave told us that many people often get into trouble on the mountain as the temperatures can drop radically catching people without the proper clothing/equipment. Incredible views of Tasmania from the summit. One fifth of Tasmania is protected as a World Heritage Area. Aborigines first settled the area over 35,000 years ago when it was linked to continental Australia. Over 12,000 years ago at the end of the Ice Age the Bass Strait was formed cutting off Tasmania from Oz.  The Dutch explorer Abel Tasman (from Groningen province in Holland!) in 1642 sighted the west coast of Tasmania.  He named his discovery Van Diemen's Land after Anthony van Diemen, Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies, it was known by this name until the 19th century.

A summer weekend in Sperlonga July 2011

view of sperlonga (55meters high) on hill surrounded by its beaches, terracina in far distance

loved this shell wall which extended for quite a distance, was entrance way into one of the hotels

one of the many alleys in town of sperlonga, many steps everywhere.

The Roman Emperor Tiberius' grotto, at one end of the sperlonga beaches

grotto and the ruins of Tiberius' fish pond (still stocked with fish)

painted fresco walls of part of tiberius' villa

gorgeous marble head of Ulysses, all found on site

remains of sculpture group of Scylla, which was one of the groups displayed inside the grotto

lovely Roman bronze helmet, fished out of the sea in 2006

some colorful pieces of mosaic were on display

mosaic glass "tessere" found on-site

small remnant of a fresco, but so very pretty of a veiled woman

The  happy Sperlonga group

great sunsets, terracina in distance on right, circeo on far left

Sperlonga as it was lighting up for its very lively nightlife.

view of sperlonga from tiberius' grotto

View from our hotel room, great sleeping with the sound of the waves

A wonderful, relaxing weekend in Sperlonga (thanks to the invitation from our veteran sperlonga friends), halfway between Rome and Naples.  Sperlonga has ancient origins, and was an area enjoyed by the Romans. It is most famous for being the site of the Grotto of Tiberius. (You can't even go to the beach and escape Roman ruins). The site was excavated in the late 50's, early 60's and there are some interesting photos of this in the Grotto's museum.  The small museum houses wonderful treasures discovered on site, including mosaics, pieces of frescoes, statues and many gorgeous marble pieces which were originally located in the grotto. The most famous piece being the Gruppo di Scilla ( Struggle with Scylla). Scilla has the body of an eel and bust of a woman. She is shown killing 6 of Odysseus' men with her dog like features. Also displayed are parts of the huge statuary of Ulysses in his struggle with Polyphemus, all stories from Homer's Odyssey. There is still debate as to whether these marble groups were done by Greek or Roman artists. Regardless of who did them, they are well worth looking at in the beautiful setting in which they were originally placed  in the 1st century- 2nd century B.C.

Terme di Caracalla - Tosca Aug 5th, 2011

the gorgeous Roman ruins of the Baths of Caracalla

The baths, the setting for the Rome Summer Opera Series

and the side where the sun wasn't setting! (How does that happen?)

Tosca - Act 1 in the Church of Sant'Andrea della Valle, Rome. Sets were wonderful as was Tosca's voice.

At the end of Act 1 when half of Rome was on stage singing the "Te Deum". Very colorful.  quote of the evening: "No wonder I couldn't find a parking space". (attributed to clever Vladimir).

Act II- In the Palazzo Farnese. Tosca and Mario, the lovers.

Pretty cool rendition of the Palazzo Farnese and the Carracci frescoes

Act III- Castel Sant'Angelo, the angel sculpture atop the Castel. Was on stage for the entire performance. Quite striking.

Angel, in situ, of the baths

Final bow - the firing squad who killed Mario. Would love to have caught a shot of Tosca as she flings herself over the Castle's wall but I'm not that quick.

A lovely Friday evening with friends (and not dreadfully hot), spent at the Terme di Caracalla to see the opera Tosca and listen to the music of Puccini.  All 6 of us enjoyed the performance and well worth the (cheap) price of admission.  Lovely music, very good voices, fun sets who could ask for more?

at Home in Melbourne and Hobart theatre

the greatest dog Goio

the greatest kitty, stella and greatest christopher

wonderful varieties of starfish in hobart harbour

lovely painted ceiling with painted busts of composers in old theatre in hobart, tasmania

theatre

theatre was very old, perhaps the oldest or one of the oldest in Australia

tasmania devils crest!

the guys at home



Hobart - We took a tour of the Theatre Royal which opened in 1837 and was built among brothels, public housing and factories. It was designed by Peter Degraves who was the founder of Cascade, Australia's oldest brewery which is still in Hobart.


The Theatre has been remodeled, had a fire, and has been saved from demolition on a number of occasions, including  by Sir Laurence Olivier.

It has had an interesting history offering its original patrons entertainment ranging from music to cockfights. Even  today you can see the seedy tavern "Shades"  beneath the auditorium with its own entrance into the theatre pit.  Prostitutes, sailors and general riffraff would enter the pit with tankards of beer and create all sorts of drama of their own, much to the displeasure of the paying patrons.

Many of the  leading figures of Australian theatre, dance as well as other greats have preformed here, including , Laurence Olivier, Noel Coward, Vivien Leigh, Michael Redgrave, Peter Ustinov, Marcel Marceau, Nicole Kidman.

Dubbed by Noel Coward “a dream of a theatre”, the Theatre Royal is Australia’s oldest working theatre.
fun tour was offered by the friends of the Royal theatre

Botanical Garden Sydney

one entrance to garden

have never seen such gigantic trees

Ibis

cocketeels

lovely passageways

Creepy Bats!

great birds wandering all over

they grow 'em big!

some kind of scrub

Came out the back gate and viola' there's the opera house again



Just before leaving Sydney we took a stroll through the gorgeous botanical gardens. Besides incredible trees, birds, and bushes the view of the bay was amazing. Really lovely.