Inspired Gardening

So I have had a bit of a gardening mishap over the weekend: stepped wrong and ended up face down, no, not in the dirt, but on a concrete pad. Nursing my banged-up knees, I spent some time surfing the net, and found this lovely picture which I just have to share.

  
A charming combination of plants and fashion, the photo is by Nicole Dextras. You can find it along with more pictures at Soiled and Seeded.

Seven Dos and Don'ts Of Visiting the Acropolis

As amazing as ancient Greek architecture is, your visit to the Acropolis can be a bit stressful if you do not go prepared.  Here are some things to keep in mind:

The Greek Theatre in Taormina

A highlight of a Taormina visit is the Teatro Greco, an ancient structure originally built by the Greeks in the 3rd century BC for theatrical performances. In the 2nd century AD (yes, that was 500 years later) the Romans reconstructed it to fit their entertainment choices, that is gladiator and wild animal fights.

The Teatro Greco would be a remarkable monument by itself, but what makes it especially splendid is its being situated on top of a hill with majestic views of the Ionian Sea, Mount Etna and Taormina. You can still catch a performance here - add one more thing to the bucket list!

This is what I call theater with a view! Mt Etna 

is puffing smoke quietly in the background.

Beautiful Taormina, Sicily

If you are one of my loyal readers you have probably noticed that I have not been blogging much lately. The reason is simple: I was busy traveling. However, all good things must come to an end, and this is exactly what happened to us - we got home after being gone for almost two months.  So I am back in blogging mode again and will try to post a little more regularly.

To make good on that promise, here are some pictures I took in Taormina. This beautiful medieval town is situated about an hour's drive from Messina, along the coast of  Sicily.  The quiet charm of the town (despite the thousands of tourists that can descend upon it every day) made me want to stay for a week, a month, a whole summer.

The landscape is dominated by Mount Etna (a quite 

obviously active volcano) in the background.