When the sun is setting, between dusk and darkness, there is a moment when the light turns blue. And the world stops for a heartbeat.
It’s been windy lately. Change-of-season weather.
Close to our house there is a very sweet statue of a sister and a brother – or maybe sweethearts – leaning to each other and smiling.
Change the angle, have a few dark clouds in the background and add some contrast – and the scene changes. Something threatening is approaching and the brother is wrapping his arms protectively around his sister…
It’s all in your point of view.
The combination of early sunset and the safety issues in South Africa make it a challenge to take Merlin to the park during weekdays. Luckily he is such a curious little chap that he keeps running in our back garden all day long – and our domestic helper also takes him out several times a week. As a result he is (with a wide margin) the fittest creature is our household. Admittedly, that is not a high bar.
When I come home after few days away, nothing can pull Merlin away from my side. Nothing but a frisbee or a tennis ball.
History of the Vatican is not a religios or harmonious one. It’s all about power. The level of dirty politics during e.g. Borgias exceeds almost any other stage in human history (I leave the word ‘almost’ to prevent Stuart proving me wrong in the next minute).
With that as a backdrop, and tourist milling around, the sense of calm is surprising.
I love the concept of a siesta – when I’m on holiday. How anyone can work with a siesta breaking the day in two, is completely beyond me. But on holiday, the break at midday is the ultimate luxury. As an additional benefit, there is no better time for photography than very, very early in the morning.
Roman Forum in sunrise.
I apologise for a delay in posting. Ever since the plane touched down back in Johannesburg, I’ve been run off my feet.
“The perfect day is a balance of culture and pleasure”, repeated our travel guide for the 4th time as we boarded the bus in Pompeii and headed towards the Amalfi coast.
Check.
Rome is city with over 900 churhes, 200 flavors of gelato and 3000 years of art. It’s a city where a city gate designed by Bernini isn’t necessarily even mentioned in the guidebook. It is hot, crowded, expensive and chaotic. It is breathtaking.
In winter it does not rain for 6 months in Johannesburg (Or at least it shouldn’t…). This means that by mid-winter, it is dry. And dryness inevitably means grass fires – some natural, but most of them not.
I continue to be puzzled on how casually South Africans treat these small fires. As long as they are under control, they are left to burn. For example, there was a small tuft burning in the neighbourhood park. The first time I saw it, there was a park maintenance team standing next to it, but after careful consideration they left it to burn. It was still smouldering the next day (unless somehow there was a second, unrelated fire at the exact same spot.
The Hadida found it quite worrying, tho. Although a little less worrying than a little puppy charging him from behind.
Blue Moment 