shave ice & gelato

When reading Leslie's Kaleidoscope post today, I was reminded of PhotoHunt, a cool photo posting idea, and thought I would give it a try. What is PhotoHunt?

From the official PhotoHunt blog:

"The Photo Hunt was started in March 2006. A theme is given each Saturday. Post a photo that best represents the theme. New and old photos welcome."

This week's PhotoHunt Saturday theme is High:

It certainly looks like a long way up!! (Asinelli Tower in Bologna).

From the top ~ looking down at the Garisenda Tower and the tiny people below.

Both of these photos were taken at the Iolani Palace in Honolulu.

Photos of the entrance of the Galleria Nazionale dell'Umbria in Perugia. The art gallery is housed on the fourth floor of the Palazzo dei Priori.

This week's PhotoHunt was a tough one. All week long, I have been counting groups of things. I found 12 beautiful palm trees in a row, 7 great hibiscus flowers on a bush, but I have yet to find a group of 13 items that would make a good photo. I also searched through my photos with not much luck there either. I ended up going with a few photos with signs (even though next week's PhotoHunt has to do with signs). I figured with this choice, I could add a little bit of trivia to my post.

The word rione (plural - rioni) comes from the Latin word regio (plural - regiones) meaning regions. If Wikipedia is correct, the rioni in Rome were established for the first time in the 4th century BC by Servius Tullius, with only four, which at the time were called regiones (the plural of regio). More regions were added since then and they have been changed often over the years. Currently, there are 22 rioni.

R. XIII refers to the Trastevere rione of Rome.

I couldn't find anything too funny or unique nor did I see any unique/interesting signs in the past few weeks. Here is what I have:

I found the first sign interesting because of the misleading information on the sign.

While in Rome last summer, I decided to check out the Palazzo Barbarini. Because it was Monday, I was not sure if it would be open. I met a nice Italian man who was also standing outside the gate wondering the same thing. It looked like it might be open so we both headed toward the ticket door. There we saw the sign: "aperto tutti i giorni/open every day 9-19:30" AND THEN underneath: "chiuso lunedì/closed on Monday". Now, please explain to me how this sign makes sense. After we read: "open every day", we both were excited that it was open even though it was a Monday, but then we read the second line and realized that it was closed. We both shook our heads in amazement over the conflicting information. We even went as far as the entrance in hopes that the "open every day" part of the sign meant that it was open. As we were leaving, an American man and his son came walking up. I told them that the museum was closed. They asked why and said it wasn't Sunday. I replied, "No, it's Monday".

I found this sign interesting because of the name (also taken in Rome).

Mondovì

Saluzzo

I took this photo last summer while visiting St. Peter's Basilica.
This is one of my favorite photos from my visit that day.

Candy leis, popular during graduation season:

Since I missed last week's PhotoHunt, I thought I would do a combo post this week - shoes & self (yourself or part of you). These are my favorite Chaco shoes and my tired toes in Varenna, Italy.

I know I posted this photo before but I it was perfect for the "bad hair" theme. (Sandra...don't look!)

*Updated: click on "Continue reading" so see the 3 photos leading up to this photo...

I posted my favorite water photos last September: colors of the ocean and
ocean foam. Click on the pink words (links) and check them out when you get the chance.

Instead of posting them again, I chose a few of my favorite Lerici photos for
this week's water theme.

And for another view:

I guess a better title would be "why"?

I saw this chicken in a yard during our bike ride on Monte Isola in Italy last weekend. (see previous post for more on Monte Isola)

After spending the morning dealing with major computer technical difficulties (which included using disk warrior and disk utility repair) my beloved Mac is back up and running once again. Sorry for the delay in getting my PhotoHunt post up today.

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed myself at the aquarium in Genova (Italy). The first five photos are all of various sea life (and a couple of people) "hanging out".

Jellyfish hanging out. I was mesmerized by all of the amazing jellyfish displays. Here are photos from two of the displays.

The sky (somewhere on Oahu)

Hamakua Marsh, Kailua, Oahu (behind the Down to Earth health food store)

The Pali Lookout, Oahu

I took this photo inside the Duomo di Cremona, using Katia's head as a tripod.

This was a tough theme. I almost gave up until I remembered taking these photos while in Santa Margherita Ligure...

And the two windows together...

I took this photo outside the Villa Durazzo in Santa Margherita Ligure, Italy this summer.

*Taken in Genova down by the waterfront.

Soave, Italy

The only road to Civita di Bagnoregio, Italy (scanned photo of me in 2001)

I have been fortunate to experience so many incredible views over the years. After looking through some of my digital photos, I decided on posting a few views from my stay in Mürren, Switzerland in 2003 (taken with my first digital camera).

View from my hotel room the day I arrived:

Views from my hotel room the following morning:

Sad elephant ~ this statue, which is called the Pulcino della Minerva, is located
in front of the Basilica di Santa Maria sopra Minerva and behind the Pantheon
in Rome, Italy.

Sad lion ~ this statue is located on the steps of the Cattedrale di San Lorenzo,
also called the Duomo di San Lorenzo in Genova, Italy.

I am cheating a little this week (since I have posted both of these photos before),
but I thought they both were good representations of "lazy". Sorry for being so
late getting this posted. I was taking advantage of enjoying a "lazy" Saturday morning.

One afternoon, while in Santa Margherita Ligure, Italy, I spent about 30 minutes sitting on a park bench watching the cutest brother and sister checking out this fountain as their dad sat nearby.

I took this photo at the Genova Aquarium. For more on the aquarium, check out my older blog posts: "hanging" ~ PhotoHunt and the waterfront in Genova.

GO BLUE!!!

Alicia & Giovanni ~ Camogli, Italy

Together forever ~ Museo Egizio/Egyptian Museum, Torino, Italy

Espresso cups ~ Katia's house, Coccaglio, Italy

After “hunting” through all of my photos of ruins from Italy, I decided on this photo of the Ponte Rotto (which means broken bridge). The original name for this bridge was the Pons Aemilius. The Ponte Rotto or Pons Aemilius is the oldest Roman stone bridge. Construction began in 179 BC and was completed in 142 BC. It stood until 1598 when floods “ruined” the bridge. I guess you could say that it is now the “bridge to nowhere”.

Reflection photos are one of my favorite types of photos to take. Here are a few (or more than a few) of my favorites. Although I have posted a couple of them in previous blog posts, I have not used any of them for a PhotoHunt post until today.

I took this photo while on a field trip with my preschoolers at a fishpond on the windward side of Oahu.

Jan & I noticed these reflections during our last evening in Acqui Terme.

I noticed these apartments being reflected on the hood of a shiny car in Rome.

The news of the horrific terrorist attacks in Mumbai have been so disturbing. I don't understand how anyone can harbor so much hatred and kill so easily with absolutely no remorse. So many senseless deaths. My heart breaks for all those in Mumbai and all those who have lost a loved one in this horrible tragedy. It makes me wonder if there will ever be peace in the world.

For this week's theme, I decided on posting photos of the the sacred bell, also known as the peace bell. The peace bell is located on the grounds of the Byodo-in Temple in the Valley of the Temples in Kaneohe (Oahu, Hawaii). This five-foot, three-ton peace bell is customarily rung before entering the temple. It is said that ringing the bell will bring you happiness, blessings, and a long life. Ringing the bell is also said to send out a sound of calm and peace.

Breakfast in Italy can be simple:

(cappuccino and brioche in Camogli)

or elaborate:

(buffet breakfast at Hotel Eden in Sirmione, Lake Garda)

Breakfast in Italy can also be in beautiful settings:

(outside table at Hotel Eden in Sirmione, Lake Garda)

(garden table at Hotel Victoria in Torino)

BUT my favorite breakfast in Italy is breakfast with my friends Guido & Katia:

(sitting outside Katia's parents' house in Coccaglio enjoying her mom's beautiful garden)

My all time favorite trip was a sailing trip to Molokai, Labor Day weekend, 1996. The night before this trip, I had dinner with some friends. They invited me to join them on their yearly sailing trip to Molokai. While having dinner, they mentioned that there 13 people going, which they joked was an unlucky number. They asked me to join them to make it a lucky 14. I was thrilled! My favorite place in the world is to be on a boat and three whole days sailing was a dream come true. Little did I realize just how breathtaking the views would be on this trip.

Early Saturday morning, we left Oahu and sailed to Molokai. On Sunday, we sailed over to Lanai, did some snorkeling, and then sailed over to Maui for the afternoon. Monday morning, we sailed around the North Shore (or what locals call "the Back Side") of Molokai. This side is not accessible except by boat. At the far end is of the North Shore is Kalauapapa, which is only accessible by plane, boat, and mule. After a day of gazing at incredible sea cliffs, many of which are the highest in the world, and swimming up onto a beach by an incredible waterfall, we sailed back home to Oahu.

*Warning - I took these photos with a crappy film camera. The negatives were pretty old when I scanned them in a few years ago. They don't do justice to the beauty of this island. I only wish I had a good digital camera when I went on this trip.

My friend's boat, the Kahala Kai, which is anchored nearby the house where we stayed on Molokai. Maui is in the background.

Delicioius fish for dinner Saturday night. The fish was caught Saturday afternoon, spear fishing off of Lanai.

First views heading towards the North Shore of Molokai.

The first of many incredible waterfalls on the North Shore of Molokai. The ocean was the most beautiful shade of blue. Unfortunately it does not show up correctly on this photo.

I was really stumped this week and almost gave up. But then last night, when I mentioned this week's theme to a friend, in less than a minute, she came up with this idea:

(I took this photo of the wide blue Pacific Ocean in August 2007 up on the North Shore of Oahu.)

I can't believe how much of a fog I have been in this week. First, I completely spaced out one of my physical therapy sessions. This not only frustrated me since I have never missed an appointment before but it also cost me $15.00! All week, I was sure that I had therapy on Monday and Thursday and then on Thursday morning, when looking at my calendar to write down a January school meeting, I saw the words physical therapy circled in pink written under Wednesday!!

I am blaming it on end of the semester Christmas stress, lack of sleep, and possible baking fumes! Of course just opening my eyes and looking at my calendar also would have helped.

So what does this have to do with PhotoHunt? Well, last weekend after posting my "favorite" PhotoHunt post, I checked on the next theme, looked through a few photos and found a photo for the them right away! I put it on my desktop and forgot all about it.

I started to think about PhotoHunt again on Thursday night and could not come up with anything until my friend suggested the wide ocean last night. I did my PhotoHunt post and checked other photohunt posts. All was fine.

Then just a few minutes ago while filing all of my cookie recipes and cards into a folder on my computer to clean up some of the clutter on my desktop, I noticed the wide photo I chose last weekend! It has been sitting there all week right in front of my eyes!! Thank goodness my head is attached to my neck!!

So...here is my "wide"~ PhotoHunt ~ take 2 post...

a W I D E foot:

After an island wide blackout due to a lightening strike (at least that is what is thought to be the cause), I finally have my PhotoHunt post up. Tough theme this week! I am stretching it a bit with these two ideas...

squeaky swings ~ photo taken at the beach in San Terenzo, Italy

squeaky trampoline action ~ photo taken at a park in Locarno, Switzerland:

Peace Road...Road of Peace

*Edited to add - photo taken in Rome, July 2007.

The aftermath of my shave ice...

(check out my previous post for more on this shave ice)

Kindergarten children wearing hats they made for Chinese New Year:

Because I posted this photo last year as part of my "year of the rat" post, this is technically not a new photo, however it is one of my favorite hat photos.

Finally posting my late entry, although it is only Saturday afternoon here, so technically, I am not that late. This was a tough theme. After hunting through all of my photos, I finally found two that would fit the theme.

The first is a photo of La Bocca della Verità (The Mouth of Truth). I took this photo in the portico of the church of Santa Maria in Cosmedin in Rome.

The second photo is of a chipped bell. I posted this photo once before as part of my views from the roof of the Basilica di San Pietro post back in November 2007. I tried to find out more information about this bell, but came up empty handed. The number 1859 is carved into the wood. Anyone know the history of this bell?

When I checked the theme list for the upcoming themes a couple of weeks, I thought to myself, who the heck suggested fury! I had no idea what I was going to post. I think I even made a comment on a couple of blogs about how this week's theme was going to be very challenging. Yesterday out of the blue before I saw any PhotoHunt posts for this week, it dawned on me that the theme was not fury but instead furry! Now that one is easy.

At first I was going to repost photos from my October 2007 post - cat at Castel Sant' Angelo but then I decided to go with photos a little bit *outside the box*.

I took the first two with a crappy point and shoot camera in the spring of 2004 at the Hamakua Marsh in Kailua. Photos are a blurry...

I took the next photo just before sunset in poor lighting, leaning over a guardrail before I knew the theme for this week was furry. If I had, I would have gone back and taken a few photos in better light. I should know the name of this flower, but I don't.

I took the last photo at Kualoa Ranch. I am putting this photo on the second page so that my friend Sandra will have ample warning to not look so I won't freak her out.

This week's theme was an easy one. After looking through many bridge photos, I ended up going with a local bridge here in Hawaii. I have always known this bridge as the historic Haleiwa Bridge. After doing a little google research, I found out that the actual name of this bridge is the Anahulu Bridge. This white double-arched bridge is also known as the Rainbow Bridge. The Anahulu Bridge, which crosses the Anahulu River, was built in 1921 and is a landmark of the North Shore town of Haleiwa on the island of Oahu. It is a narrow two-lane bridge located at the north end entrance of the town.

For an arial view, check out this photo. Scroll down to the bottom of the page to see the photo of the bridge.

Because I love boats, I have taken tons of nautical photos. This was an easy theme for me. I decided on the first photo because it also ties in perfectly with Valentine's Day. The first two photos were both taken in Camogli, Italy last summer.

My other nautical photo, which I took a couple of weeks ago at Kewalo Basin, deserves its own page...so click continue to check it out.

This was a very difficult theme for me. I searched through all of my Hawaii photos, beach photos from both Italy and Hawaii, and sunset photos. I just couldn’t decide on which one to use. Instead, I decided to go with a photo of the Bollente in the Piazza della Bollente in Acqui Terme in Piemonte, Italy. The water that comes out of the Bollente stays at a constant temperature of 75°C or 167°F.

The Bollente at night:

Piazza della Bollente during the day:

For a few minutes, I thought about posting the following photo as my main "warm" photo, but then decided I better not. I was afraid all my friends dealing with the cold weather right now might throw a few shoes at me for posting this photo of snow.

Snow day at my school on a warm winter day in Hawaii.

There was a murder at the shopping center near my house yesterday afternoon. I left work early after feeling sick all day and stopped at the shopping center to pick up a prescription right when the ambulance arrived. Police were everywhere. A woman was stabbed while sitting on a bench eating saimin after getting her hair cut. She later died at the hospital. She was a teacher, a wife, and a mother of two young children. The man who killed her was found sitting on the grass smoking a cigarette across the street from the shopping center. As of right now, most think it was a random murder. The woman was murdered about 15 minutes before I arrived at the shopping center. The man bought the knife in the store I was in probably a few minutes before she was stabbed. I often walk to this shopping center, and walk right by the bench where she was sitting. I still feel very safe where I live and I will continue to walk to this shopping center but I won't forget about this horrible and senseless murder for a long time.

I am thankful so many things, my family and friends, a job, a roof over my head,
my health, my travels, but mostly today I am thankful for my life, my life in this beautiful place.

Crowded Space:

Empty Space:

Information on Via delle Quattro Fontane from Yahoo Travel:

"The road was built by Pope Sixtus V and was part of a long straight stretch called the Strada Felice together with the Via Sistina which continues after it meets Piazza Barberini. The name came from the complex of fountains that adorns it at the crossroads of Via XX Settembre and Via del Quirinale. At this point there are four large statues on each corner of the crossroads that represent two rivers, the Arno and Tiber, the goddess Diana and the god Juno."

I was amazed at how many yellow photos I have. Yellow buildings, yellow Smart Cars, yellow foods, yellow vehicles, yellow hats, yellow chairs, yellow trees, etc. etc.

Since I have been blogging so much about Italy lately, I decided to share something from Hawaii. I have been walking by this gorgeous yellow hibiscus flower all week at school. The bush is located between my class and the Kindergarten class. I grabbed the camera in my classroom one day and took a few photos as our class headed to the bathroom, a place we visit frequently. I often joke that my desk should be located in that bathroom.

Most of the hibiscus bushes at our school produce red hibiscus flowers. We also have a few bushes with orange and white or light pink flowers. The bush with the yellow hibiscus flowers at our school is my favorite.

One more view...

This yellow hibiscus flower is not the native yellow hibiscus (Hibiscus brackenridgei A. Gray) which is the Hawaii State Flower. If you scroll down to the bottom of the page of this link, you will see a close up of the native yellow hibiscus.

Close up of the...

Clock Tower in Bergamo Città Alta (Italy)

Alessandria (Italy) ~ Town Hall (Red Palace)

I took these photos while hiking in the Makiki Forest Recreation Area on Thursday.

The mausoleum of King William Charles Lunalilo located on the grounds of the
Kawaiahaʻo Church in Honolulu, Hawaii.

I was surprised at first to find so few purple photos in my collection with purple being my favorite color. After searching some more, I came up with the following:

Mask ~ Venice, Italy:

Lilac house ~ Burano, Italy:

Glass shop ~ Burano, Italy:

In 2003, I took a daytrip to San Marino, an independent country located on the border between the regions of Emilia-Romagna and Le Marche in Italy. San Marino is the third smallest country in Europe (Vatican City and Monaco are smaller). The three towers of San Marino are three of the most famous landmarks. These towers are located on the three peaks of Monte Titano and were originally built as look out towers to protect the tiny republic of San Marino.

The first tower ~ Guaita ~ the oldest, largest, and most famous of the three towers

The second tower ~ Cesta ~ located on the highest of Monte Titano's summits

The third tower ~ Montale ~ the smallest of the three towers, located on the smallest of Monte Titano's summits (not open to the public)

Leeward side of Oahu ~ Makaha Farms

Windward side of Oahu ~ Aquaculture Fish Ponds (part of Kualoa Ranch)

Tomorrow will be the tenth Mother's Day without my mom. Last year, I posted a few pictures of my mom when she was a child and when she was a teenager. You can check them out here. For today's PhotoHunt post, I have decided to post a more recent picture of my mom with my youngest sister. This is one of my favorite pictures I have of my mom.

Happy Mother's Day, Mom

xoxo

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As you have probably noticed, I have been missing in action lately. The vog that has been hovering over the island most of this past week along with the beginning of the end of the school year craziness has really wiped me out. I even fell asleep at 8 pm Thursday night and I am a night person! I am too far behind to catch up with comments on everybody's blogs (my Google Reader count right now is 191) but I have been peeking in. I will try to get to everyone's PhotoHunt post this weekend. Have a great one!!

I decided to go with painted buildings that use the trompe-l'oeil technique, creating optical illusions, which make windows, shutters, bricks, etc. appear to be three-dimensional. The first two photos were taken in Santa Margherita Ligure and the last three were taken in Acqui Terme.

All but the shutters are painted in this photo.

Close up of the trompe-l'oeil technique above the door

Whoops! This one really fooled me. I thought the shutters were real at first.

This was a tough PhotoHunt for me. I realized that I don't take many photos of plastic items except for at school. I wish I could post the picture I recently took of my students all crammed together laughing and smiling at the bottom of the big red plastic slide at the park near our school.

After a long search, I finally found a few photos that would fit the plastic theme this week. These photos are from La Mole Antonelliana in Torino and the Cinema Museum (which is located inside La Mole Antonelliana).

View from the Observation Deck at the top of La Mole Antonelliana of plastic playground equipment:

One of the exhibits in the Temple Hall of the Cinema Museum ~ "The Absurd":

3 close up photos of the plastic food on the door of the huge refrigerator:

Click on Continue reading "plastic"~ PhotoHunt » to see photos of the toilet seats inside The Absurd exhibit (or as I call it, The Refrigerator Room).

As you can see, I own many books on learning Italian. I seem to have this idea in my head that if I keep buying more books on the Italian language, somehow I will magically become fluent. Of course most of these books end up sitting on my bookshelf collecting dust.

Below you will find some of my Italy guide books. I used Rick Steves during my first two trips to Italy. I then discovered The Rough Guide series and a little later on the Cadogan guide books. Chow Venice was a great help during my last trip to Venice and my Italy, Instructions for Use book provided me with lots of great tips. You might also notice the stack of children's books on the right side. Every year while in Italy, I purchase a few more books to add to my collection. I usually purchase books that have English counterparts to help me learn the language. Of course most of these also end up sitting on the shelf collecting dust. I have many of the Junie B Jones series, one Paula Danziger's books, one of the Baby-Sitters Club books, and a bunch of fairy tale and famous children's stories. My favorite book though is "Un amico Internet per Valentina" - one of the Valentina books from an Italian series.

Am heading to UH soon to watch my sister swim. Will catch up with everyone later...

I took this photo of the famous Grossmünster Cathedral while in Zürich in 2003. The billboard just happened to be in front of the cathedral. Good thing because it is the only advertisement photo I could find for this week's PhotoHunt.

Of course I climbed one of the towers. If I remember correctly, only one of the towers was open for climbing. Otherwise, I might have climbed them both!

The two towers of Grossmünster Cathedral:

Close up of the other tower (taken from the top of the tower I climbed):

Views of Zürich from the top of the Grossmünster tower:

A few fun facts about the legend of the Grossmünster:

According to legend, the Grossmünster was founded by Charlemagne after his horse bowed down on the spot marking the graves of three early Christian martyrs.

In the 3rd century, Felix and Regula were members of an all-Christian Roman legion that was to be executed en masse in southwest Switzerland. They fled with their servant Exuperantius and got as far as Zürich before being tried and executed in 286 AD.

According to legend, the governor plunged the three saints into boiling oil and forced them to drink molten lead. The trio still refused to renounce their faith and so were finally beheaded.

Fortunately, the martyrs still had enough energy to pick up their heads and climb to the top of a hill, where they dug their own graves and then interred themselves.

The door to the far right of the main entrance of St. Peter's Basilica is called the Porta Santa or Holy Door. This door is not only locked but it is also walled up and is only opened during Holy Years, also known as Jubilee Years. The Holy Years originally occurred every 100 years and later were changed to every 25 years. The Holy Door is also occasionally opened on other proclaimed special occasions. For more information on the Holy Door and for details of how this door is opened, click here.

In 2007, I was at the Basilica late in the afternoon after the crowds left and was able to take a couple of photos of the Holy Door without the usual crowds.

The walled up Holy Door from the inside:

In 2000, during the Jubiliee Year, I was very fortunate, honored, and excited to walk through the Holy Door while it was open. It was very crowded. This was the best photo I could get with my cheap film camera before I was ushered through the door.

Click continue to see close up views of the panels of the door. These panels are from a cropped photo I took of the door.

(Photo taken in a store window in Lucca)
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Back home again. My body seems to be stuck on EST at the moment. I fell asleep around 4 in the afternoon yesterday and woke up at 1 this morning. The benefit was that I was able to watch the Tour de France live. I am hoping to stay awake until at least 9 pm tonight to adjust back to Hawaii time.

I took over 4000 photos. I spent most of yesterday downloading them onto my computer. Now where to start. Not sure if I should I continue from where I left off, or post some photos from the first half of my trip first. I do need to write up the rest of my trip soon though before I forget things (got a little lazy at the end). I am feeling a little overwhelmed at the moment. Fortunately today was PhotoHunt day so I do not need to decide yet.

Even though I have been trying to catch up slowly with everyone's blog posts, my Google Reader still says 1000+. I guess once it hits 1000 it stops counting. I probably won't get around to commenting much for a while until I catch up with everything. I go for my MRI on Monday and have a work meeting after that. Tuesday work officially starts and kids start on Friday. I am not ready to start a new school year yet. I need a vacation from my vacation first.

It is good to be home but at the same time I am missing Italy terribly...

This fountain in Piazza della Vittoria in the town of Reggio Emilia, Italy...

provided two little girls entertainment.

The two little girls provided me with entertainment.

The Teatro Municipale Valli (by the fountains) provides the people of Italy as well as visitors to Italy entertainment.

Another view of the Teatro Municipale Valli

One more view of the fountains and Piazza della Vitttoria

For more photos of the fountain, the Teatro Municipale Valli, and Piazza della Vittoria in Reggio Emilia, check out this link.

Most people just look up at the Leaning Tower of Pisa, but if you look down low you will see the amazing base of this incredible tower.

When looking down low, I discovered these cool creatures sculpted into the base of benches both at Villa Taranto on Lago di Maggiore

and in Lonato outside of the Casa del Podestà

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I guess my last title should have said ~ taking the week off instead of just a weekend break! My intention really was to only take the weekend off but I never found the energy and two days turned into seven days. I did make some progress catching up on things last weekend but am now again way behind. Amazing how a week can do that to you. Thanks everyone for all of your comments last week.

Happy Saturday everyone!

Here's my PhotoHunt post for the week. Sorry I am a little bit late...

A beautiful new community gathering place was built near Katia's parent's house in Coccaglio, Italy a few years ago.

One day while driving by the building, we were surprised to find this giant moka.

6 views of orange from Italy...

The reason I am so late posting today is because I have not been able to make up my mind on which way to go with this PhotoHunt challenge. Meanwhile, I spent most of today dealing with a different electrical problem, trying to fix my *electric* Gaggia espresso machine. I searched online, got my tools out, and tried a few different suggestions. My machine is now in a bag heading to the dump. I thought of posting a photo of this machine run by electricity but it is just too depresssing. I guess now know what I will be doing with my birthday money this year.

So, it is now early evening and I still can't make up my mind. Since I now need to put all my energy into deciding on a new espresso machine (ideas are welcome), I am not going to dwell on which way to go with this post and instead am going to post all of my ideas.

Views, scenes, and buildings at night lit up by electricity ~ Rome

~ Florence

~ Venice

~ Isola Bella

I have taken many reflection photos over the years, many that I think are much better shots than this one, but this is the photo I immediately thought of when seeing the upside down theme this week. Last spring, my class went to Kualoa Ranch for a field trip. The following day, I showed my students a slide show of all the the photos I took during our field trip. One of my students, a 3-year old, made the comment "upside down" when he saw this photo.

The second photo was taken at the fish market in Bologna this summer. I purposefully did not post it (even though it was my favorite) when posting my other photos of the fish market because I wanted to use it for the theme this week. I was drawn to this fish for some reason when checking out the different types of fish at the market that day. I have no idea what type of fish it is or how it tastes, but I thought it was pretty cool looking, even though it is also a bit gruesome looking.

(close-ups of the Duomo in Florence ~ July 2008)
*whoops - just realized that the last photo was taken ~ June 2009

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I have been a bad blogger lately and am also way behind in catching up with everyone’s blogs once again. It has been a crazy couple of weeks – lots of meetings after school, union stuff to deal with, and car problems.

An agreement was finally reached late last week on our teacher’s contract. Sadly, the Governor does not seem value education as the education budget has been cut by 14%. Tuesday was the day for everyone in the Teacher’s Union to vote on the new contract. Because I am a union rep for my school this year, I had to be there to help with the voting process. The contract was ratified with 81% of the teachers voting yes for 17 furlough days both this year and next year. Big cut in pay and kids lose on a lot of instructional days but voting no could have meant striking. The University of Hawaii is in the same mess, although their contract offer is even worse. Meanwhile, the football coach continues to make big bucks.

My car started making funny noises and chugging along on the freeway, making me very nervous. I brought it into the shop on Wednesday and was told that it was the transmission. I haven't even been able to decide on which espresso machine to buy and now I was faced with an even bigger decision of either getting my transmission fixed (which would cost probably $3000) or buying a brand new car. Bad timing with the furloughs starting soon. I also had to figure out what to do with my Saturn. I was afraid to drive it anymore. Fortunately, I was able to leave it in the school parking lot while I rented a car for a couple of days and went car shopping. The shiny new cars won out.

Next decision, which to buy... a Toyota or a Honda? This was a very difficult decision. I liked both cars and was treated well at both places. I ended up deciding on the Honda. After signing what seemed like a million papers, I drove my shiny new Honda Civic home last night. If anyone on Oahu is interested in a new Toyoto, head over to the dealership in Mapunapuna and ask for Ken and if you are interested in buying a new Honda, head over to Tony Honda in Waipio Gentry and ask for Rick.

It looks like Italy may not be in the cards for a while and I will probably be making espresso with my little moka for the next couple of years BUT I have a beautiful brand new car and I don’t have to worry about breaking down (hopefully) for a long long time. I will try to get to everyone’s blogs either sometime this week or next week when I am on break.

Words chiseled in stone (Capitoline Museums in Rome)

Words created by mosaics (Neonian Baptistery in Ravenna)

(close up)

Words typed (part of the script of Psycho ~ Cinema Museum in Torino)

(cropped photo/close up of the script)

Words written in chalk (street in Stresa)

Being a HUGE Red Sox fan, of course the first thing that came to my mind was Red Sox photos. I have not been to a game since July 2003. The first photo was taken outside one of the entrance gates into Fenway Park. The next two are of the same game before and after the sun went down. I took these photos with my first ever digital camera so they are not the best of photos but they bring back great memories.

Below is a YouTube clip of Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline" which is being sung at Fenway Park before the bottom of the 8th inning, a tradition at every home game.

I did not take this video but wanted to include it hoping that it will help bring the Sox some luck. The Sox are down two games to the Angels right now. We have been here before. I am not giving up.

I still believe and will love my Red Sox forever win or lose.

GO SOX!!!!

This week's PhotoHunt theme is FREE WEEK share any pix you'd like. Since I have been talking about my time in Stresa, Italy in my last few posts, I decided to share some photos I took early one evening while in Stresa down by the water.

I've decided to stretch the theme a little this week. Many years ago, horses and perhaps mules were tied to these...

(photo taken in Bologna)

(photo taken in Florence)

(photo taken in Lonato)

I have decided to go with the...

Sunday morning, after climbing the Giotto's Bell Tower (in Florence, Italy), I heard band music playing nearby. The band turned out to be the Rossa Italiana Corpa Militare Band. They were closing out the Calcio Storico event that took place a few days earlier in the week. After watching the band play for a few minutes, it started to march. Everyone followed the band. It was really alot of fun. The band marched around the block from the Piazza della Repubblica towards the Duomo and then back to the Piazza della Repubblica.

Somehow, I ended right up in the front and was able to video the band marching. Here's a little video clip I took. Towards the end of the clip, check out the cute kid and his mother's expression as she realizes that I am taking video of him marching along with the band.

Sigur Rós practicing for a concert in Ferrara, Italy on July 4, 2003, as part of the Ferrara Sotto le Stelle/Ferrara Under the Stars concert series.

Caffè Lavena band, Piazza San Marco, Venice, Italy in June, 2006.

The view of Piazza San Marco from Caffè Lavena.

The marching band (I am guessing high school?) in Santa Margherita Ligure, Italy participating in the "Processione sulla Banchina con i tradizionali "CRISTI" e la Confraternite, concluding the festival of Sant' Erasmo in June, 2008.

Technology of the Torre delle Ore clock tower in Lucca and how the bells ring…

Yes, I know, more tower photos... In my defense, I came up with the idea of using these photos months ago after returning from Italy one day while looking at the upcoming themes. I decided to use photos from another tower climb for last week's Technology PhotoHunt post only last week.

The top of the Torre dei Lamberti (Lamberti Tower) in Verona:

I'm alive and well. I have just been a very bad blogger lately. The end of the semester is always a crazy time at work and on top of that I have been busy baking (or attempting to bake) and putting together Christmas gifts for friends at school. I am on vacation for the next two weeks ~ yipeeee!! Hopefully I will catch up with everyone pronto.

I did attempt a PhotoHunt post last week, but could not find any undesirable photos right off the bat and did not have time for a complete hunt. I realized while searching that I don't take photos of things that are undesirable.

I realized while looking through my photos this week that I also don't take many fast photos. I did however find quite a few possible slow photos in my collection if that theme ever comes up. I did manage to come up with something though to post, but I am not very thrilled with my photos for this week's theme.

Anyways, trains are what I came up with...

This first photo was taken in the summer of 2003 on a train while hanging my head out the window in a tunnel traveling from Wengen to Lauterbrunnen (Switzerland).

The next photo was taken this past summer on a train traveling from Arezzo to Florence (Italy). I am sure this photo could represent many countryside views of Italy. My intent was to take a photo of the beautiful countryside, but this was what I ended up with. If you look carefully, you can see me in the corner of the window.

And here is another shot on the same train from Arezzo to Florence with the seats of the train included in the shot. The train I took was a nice new regional train, much more comfortable than the older regional trains.

Twelve mannequins wearing twelve red outfits standing in twelve windows
in a building near the Spanish Steps in Rome, Italy.

*Click on the photo to see a larger version. You will have to expand the photo (drag the corner out) after you click on it to see the entire image.

Flavors ~ nocciola & pistacchio from Cremeria Funivia, a gelateria in Bologna

This was a tough theme for me. I almost gave up until I found this photo I took in 2006 in Saluzzo, Italy. I'm not sure who he is, but he appears to be wearing a bulky jacket, mittens, pants, and boots. I am guessing his bag is probably also a bit bulky.

Another tough theme. I am stretching this one a bit...

With the 2010 Winter Olympics fast approaching, I thought I would add an Olympic twist to my PhotoHunt post this week.

I took this photo of the balanced skier along with a few more photos below in Piazza Solferino in July 2006 while visiting Torino, Italy, a few months after the February 2006 Winter Olympics. I can't believe it has been almost 4 years since I visited this wonderful city.

A beautiful fountain with sculptures balanced on platforms.

Another view of the balanced sculptures by the fountain.

Two more figures representing some of the Winter Olympic sports. Various sports figures surrounded Piazza Solferino.

There are two atriums in Piazza Solferino. The atrium I visited was called
Atrium 2006.

Atrium 2006 housed images, films, and other information about the 2006 Winter Olympic games held in Torino. It was fascinating to explore, especially after watching many of the events on TV a few months earlier.

Piazza Solferino was not the only area showcasing the 2006 Winter Olympics. This symbol of the Torino Olympics was located just outside the train station

I also discovered the BC Canada House, located in Piazzale Valdo Fusi right behind the Hotel Victoria where I stayed. The BC Canada House was left to the City of Torino as a gift and legacy from the Province of British Columbia to the people of Torino and Italy.

Unfortunately, the 2010 Winter Olympics will be shown on NBC, a station I am not happy with at the moment being a huge Conan O'Brien fan - boo NBC!

My problem this week was having too many choices. I even took some new spotted photos today for a photography class I am taking. But in the end, I just could not pass up cute. I took these photos at Sea Life Park on Oahu in April, 2005.

The sun rises and the sun sets daily. Here are some photos of a sunset I took in August, 2007 up on the North Shore of Oahu.

Sorry I have been missing in action lately leaving comments on blogs. Will try to catch up with everyone soon. Happy Saturday!

I am not sure if this is a fountain, a sink, or just some sort of foreign looking sculpture. I came across this while on a tour of the Casa del Podestà in Lonato del Garda, Italy with Katia and Guido.

One more photo (taken at a slightly different angle) of this foreign looking sculpture or fountain or sink.

Two of my favorite tower climbs have spiral staircases:

This staircase leads to the top of the Clock Tower (Torre dell'Orologio) in Venice.

This staircase leads up to the top of the Leaning Tower of Pisa (Torre pendente di Pisa).

3 tires at the boat dock ~ Lerici, Italy

3 ducks waddling along the Po River ~ Torino, Italy

3 colors of the Italian flag (taken on the day of the World Cup final/2006) ~ Torino

If you have been reading my blog this week, I am sure by now you are saying, "Enough about the mission." Well, sorry to disappoint you if you have but I am not done yet. My PhotoHunt post this week is also related to my visit to the Mission of San Diego de Alcala.

During our visit, it was hard not to notice the two guys hard at work applying some sort of fresh thick white plaster onto the wooden beams.

I apologize for missing many PhotoHunt posts the past couple of weeks. I will try to get to everyone this weekend. I finally caught up replying to some of the comments on my blog and am still working on catching up with everyone else's blogs. I thought with the furloughs, I would have more time and energy having Fridays off, but having to get five days of work done in four days almost weekly has been overwhelming and exhausting. I hope to catch up with everyone this weekend, if doing my taxes does not swallow me up.

This was another theme that I had a difficult time getting motivated about. Not really sure why. I have cute, sweet photos of kids, baby ducks, birds, as well as photos of foods that are sweet, but nothing really jumped out at me.

Tonight, after going through my photos one more time, I finally came up with a photo. Last summer, the movie Food, Inc. was shown in Piazza Maggiore in Bologna one night. As I snapped a photo, I just happened to capture the list of sweeteners derived from corn.

Thirty years ago, I read a book called Sugar Blues. That was the first time I really thought about what was in the food I was eating. Since then, I have tried to eat healthy as much as possible. Although I have gone through spurts when I have fallen back into eating processed foods, for the most part, I have tried to eat a healthy diet.

I thought I was eating well until I saw Food, Inc. This movie profoundly changed the way I now shop and the food I eat. If you haven't seen this movie yet, I would recommend that you check it out. If you are a Netflix member, it is an instant movie.

I am happy to see Jamie Oliver try to make a difference. I love Jamie's message on his Food Revolution website. Here is an excerpt:

"I believe that every child in America has the right to fresh, nutritious school meals, and that every family deserves real, honest, wholesome food. Too many people are being affected by what they eat. It's time for a national revolution. America needs to stand up for better food!"

I am hopeful that Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution will change the way we eat. I am hopeful that someday a cinnamon roll and a few pieces of canned fruit will not be considered a healthy school breakfast. I would like to see the sweeteners in the photo above disappear from our food.

When I saw the theme vertical, towers were the first thing that came to my mind.

A different view of the Torre Guinigi in Lucca.

Can you spot the tower hiding behind the vertical bamboo? (also taken in Lucca)

Here's that tower, one of many in Lucca in addition to the two you can climb.

And for something different...

Vertical red sticks - They were from the 2006 Torino Winter Olympics (not sure of the significance). I saw these sticks all around the city.

A Hawaiian monk seal covered with sand:

Some people have an addiction to surfing. The warning signs below that say no swimming & strong current do not seem to matter to these surfers.

Because the people look like little dots in the above photo, here are two more photos of the addicted surfers taken on the same winter day at the same beach up on the North Shore of Oahu.

As for my addictions: coffee, photography, my computer, the internet, the Red Sox, a few TV shows, anything Italy, climbing towers, and warm weather. I think that just about covers it :)

I took this photo of an old photo a couple of years ago of my mom when she was a little girl. I am guessing she was about 5 years old in this photo.

Two years ago, I posted these photos of my mom when she was young. Last year I posted on of my favorite photos of my mom here.

Happy Mother's Day, Mom

♥ We all miss you very much ♥

xoxo

The sun sparkles on the water as it sets on Lake Garda in Sirmione, Italy.

For my 100th PhotoHunt post, ocean bubbles...

The purple crown flower (known as pua kalaunu in Hawaiian) is a popular flower used for making leis.

I took these photos yesterday afternoon using my 60mm macro lens. One of the skills I really need to work on when shooting close up is focusing. I have found focusing to be much more challenging when shooting with a DSLR, or maybe it is more of a challenge because I am shooting manual. The three photos I posted turned out to be the best out of the bunch. I ended up doing a bit of cropping on all three due to focusing issues, but in the end, I like how they came out.

An open car...

An open mouth...

Two more photos of this cute little lizard I spotted in the orchid house at the Foster Botanical Garden on Thursday...

The photos are posted in the order that they were taken as the sun began to set.

My favorite thing about these photos is how they almost look like I I had the sepia setting set on my camera. I'm not sure how the color worked out this way but I think they come out pretty cool. These are some of my favorite photos that I have taken recently.

I took these photos on the same day and at the same beach as the photos I posted here. I will try to post a few more photos of the sun setting from this beach and day on Sunday or Monday.

Ancient triangles...

All three photos were taken at the Museo Archeologico (Archaeological Museum) in Verona, Italy last summer.

Easy theme for me this week. I have tons of hanging photos. Here are a few of my favorites that I have taken in the past few weeks...

The last three are for Marta :)

And with that, I need to let everyone know that I will be taking a blogging break.

I have been hanging out on the internet much too much lately. Even so, I have not been able to keep up with everyone, and I apologize for that.

With school starting again next week, trying to keep up with my shoulder rehab, getting every day stuff done, and trying to find the time to read a book now and then, I need to stop blogging for a while. I will try to peek in on everyone through Google Reader but will probably not do much commenting.

Sigh... there just is not enough time in a day anymore...

At one point, I may try to get my blog posts from my trip to Italy last summer done, something I can't believe I have yet to complete (still have 4 days left to write about), and I may try to finish adding photos to my Italy trip blog posts. Otherwise, this blog will be on vacation until further notice.

Be well everyone. AND GO RED SOX!!!!

For some reason, lines are one of my favorite things to photograph have. I have taken tons of photographs with both obvious stripes and lines that could represent more creative stripes. Even so, I decided to go with this very simple photograph of a cross walk in downtown Honolulu. I took this photo in July as one of many photos representing lines when trying to come up with a theme and a photograph to turn in for my first assignment (scroll down after clicking the link if you want to see the photo I turned in). And let me tell you, for some strange reason, people waiting to use this crosswalk were not too happy with me taking photos of these lines.

Happy Saturday everyone!! :)

I found this miniature dachshund nameplate on a building in Modena, Italy a couple of summers ago. At least I think it is a miniature dachshund. Anyways, this is what I am going with for my PhotoHunt photo this week :)

Things are crazy again. With work, driving into town 4 times a week for my shoulder workouts (which by the way are going well), and postseason baseball games to watch, I don't have much time left for blog posts. I am going to try to do at least a weekly PhotoHunt post. I probably won't get them up though until later on in the afternoon or evening on Saturdays since I am usually pretty exhausted on Fridays and I workout Saturday mornings. Happy Weekend everyone!

This week's orange PhotoHunt theme is a repeat. I searched for some new orange photos this morning before heading out for my workout but did not find anything that jumped out at me. I thought I might have taken some new orange flower photos, but nope, nada. Life has continued to be crazy. No time for new photos this week. SO I am going to do something I don't normally do and post the same photos from last year's orange PhotoHunt post ...

6 views of orange from Italy...

Bologna in the dark...

Happy Halloween!!

This was a tough one. I posted this photo before, but it was the only photo I could come up with for the theme this week. ~ These marionettes almost look alive.

It may be time to replace this written sign located behind the Iolani Palace by the big banyan trees. If you are having trouble reading this, the top part of the sign says: PLEASE DO NOT CARVE OR DEFACE TREE and the bottom part of the sign says: DO NOT CLIMB THE TREE and below that, DO NOT SWING FROM ROOTS.

Have a great day everyone :)

*11-28 Edited to add more photos of the banyan trees and the roots...

A day late... I am not sure if this plant is really hard to find but I have never seen it before and I have not been able to find its name yet...

A close up of the back of the leaf...

Late again... I had a hard time deciding on just which male to choose. I finally decided on 4 views of this handsome fellow (taken in Rome at the Musei Capitolini).

Hoped to get this up sooner today but have been busy dealing with a leaky roof. Torrential rains happening here with flash flood warnings. I was pretty freaked out, envisioning the Minnesota Vikings like roof opening up with my ceiling collapsing and water crashing down everywhere. I am a little less freaked out after my very ambitious and kind neighbor and I went up through the tiny crawl space into my attic this afternoon to check out the damage. Thankfully there aren't any huge puddles up there, just soaked drywall under the leaky spot. Although it will be a hassle to have to be around for the repair and I am dreading the mess that will take place when the inside portion of the repair is done, the townhouse association will be footing the bill which is a good thing. Happy Sunday everyone!!

While walking around my townhouse complex trying out my new zoom lens a couple of weeks ago, I spotted these circles.

Mele Kalikimaka! Buon Natale! Merry Christmas! Wishing everyone a fabulous day!!

Fuzzy flowers...

Fuzzy baby ducklings from the front...

and from the back...

*I did a post featuring more photos of these fuzzy baby ducklings in 2009 here.

Fuzzy lions from a Chinese New Year celebration...

Happy New Year everyone!! 2011!! Can you believe it? Wishing everyone a year of health, happiness, laughter, and joy!

*The blogging program I use was not very cooperative this weekend. I have not been able to upload photos until today. Sorry for the very late PhotoHunt post this week.

Free week. This was tougher than I thought it would be. After going through a bunch of my photos, I decided to post more photos of the water lilies I took while visiting the Lyon Arboretum.

I had the perfect picture, or so I thought until I realized the theme was hands (plural) and not hand. I had to do a little hunting to find another photo that would work for the theme this week.

I took this photo in Torino on the afternoon of the Italy vs Germany 2006 World Cup semifinal match. Italy won that evening and then went on to beat France to win the 2006 World Cup.

Oh, and I admit, I'm stretching the theme a bit here... the guy with the wild red hair is using both of his hands to paint the Italian flag on the other guy's face and the third guy watching has his hands on his hips.

Purple was the fashion color in Italy during the summer of 2009.

Apparently, this girl did not get the memo...

During my visit to Rome a few years ago, I was heading to the Castel Sant' Angelo one morning. On the way, this elementary school caught my eye.

I wonder how old the building is? I wonder how long the school has been open? I wonder what the rooms look like inside the building? I wonder what it is like to work at this school and what it is like to attend this school as a child?

I have not been a very good blogger lately. I have been pretty busy working out (back at PRO after screwing up my other shoulder), going for acupuncture treatments, getting stuck in two hour traffic jams, and planning my trip on the nights I have been home early. Too tired to do much more than peek at everyone's blogs.

I did search for some silhouette photos last week but wasn't able to find any that I liked. Tonight when I opened up my iPhoto program, the first thing I saw was silhouette photos! I guess I did not do a very good job searching last week. As they say, "When it rains it pours". Once I found the first couple of silhouette photos, it seemed all I could find was more silhouette photos when looking for mostly black photos. I figure since silhouette photos also fall under the category of mostly black, I would combine the two weeks. I realize I have posted some of these photos before but I thought they looked pretty cool all in one place.

The first two photos are sunrise photos. I took these a year ago right outside my window.

I took this next photo last April as the sun was setting, again right outside my window.

This next photo was taken last July with my new camera. I remember being home watching a Red Sox game when at one point, I glanced outside my window and noticed this amazing sunset. I was torn because I did not want to miss any of the game but I also could not ignore the amazing colors in the sky. I grabbed my camera and went outside as soon as the inning was over and took a few photos. This was my favorite.

This last photo was taken in the evening up on the North Shore in August 2007 when Katia and Guido were here visiting. As you can probably tell by now, I love palm trees.

I believe this is an older type of European license plate. I spotted this car in Stresa. I do not know what NO stands for. Oh wait! Maybe Novara?

Here is another older license plate. I saw this car in Reggio Emilia. My guess is that RE stands for Reggio Emilia. Either that or maybe the person owning the car is or was a king? Re is the Italian word for king :)

Same red car as above ~ I find it very interesting how the letters/numbers are all in one line on the front license plate.

I also took a photo of the front of the black car in Stresa but the license plate ended up being much too tiny to see once I resized the photo. The license plate was black with white letters/numbers again all in one line.

Here is what I believe is a more modern day license plate found on cars in Italy & Europe. I have no idea what DF stands for.

I'm still trying to figure out just how you tell what country a car is from. I don't think it is a mystery for those living in Italy though. I guess I just never paid much attention before. It definitely is much more subtle than the way license plates in different states in the US are identified.

As far as Italy goes though, I now have a hunch that the first two letters on the license plate stand for the town or nearby larger city where the car is registered. That is if I am correct in guessing that RE stands for Reggio Emilia and NO stands for Novara (a larger town not too far from Stresa).

To further support this theory or hunch, here is a photo of an older car I saw in Spello. My guess is that PG stands for Perugia. Spello happens to be a small town located near Perugia.

As I think more about this, my guess is that the letters PG and NO probably pertain to the type of postal code used where smaller towns take on the abbreviation letters of a nearby larger town or city. If this is the case, I am not sure why RE would stand for Reggio Emilia. I would think cars registered in Reggio Emilia would have an abbreviation for Bologna. Although.. perhaps the owner of the Stresa black car is from Novara and the Spello black car is from Perugia and every town has its own two distinct letters?

Of course, I really have no clue about any of this. It is all just a bunch of wild guesses! I am definitely going to have to inquire about the license plate letters/numbers and what they stand for as well as how you tell the difference between say a Swiss car and an Italian car (as far as where the car is registered) when I return to Italy this summer. It could end up being quite an interesting conversation.

For more cool car photos and a few more license plate photos, check out my archive category "cars in italy".

Two Moors at the top of the Torre dell' Orologio (Clock Tower) in Piazza San Marco.

I took the photo of the two Moors from the top of the Campanile (Bell Tower).

...and here are my two feet at the top of the Campanile.

Some day when I finally get back into blogging (and yes, I know, I have been a bad bad blogger these past few months), I will continue on with my trip. I have so much to share. I just need to find the time and the motivation to get back into blogging again.

Happy November everyone :)