bella italia

A few impressions from our trip to Italy. We did quite a bit of driving, to Florence, then on to the Maremma and back to Lucca. The weather was beautiful for most of the time, and the landscape in Tuscany is pretty, as are all the old little towns.

Sunset Saturday XXX

The sunset seen from Pitigliano. The colors and the light were really soft, and I loved the sharp silhouettes and changing nuances of the hills in the distance. And all the green in the valley...

Firenze at night

When we made it to Firenze, it was already dark. We went for dinner and then took a walk down to the River Arno, and into the historic center. It was quite late at night, but the atmosphere was great and I actually preferred it a lot to the crowds during the next day.

some snow & ice

On our way to Tuscany we went over the Alps, where we got into the first snowfall of the season.
Not pretty, and not exactly what we had hoped for. But the good thing was that once we got closer to the Lago di Garda, the sky cleared and the sun was out...

And luckily, the weather stayed more or less like this for the rest of the week...

Sunset Saturday XXIX

Sunset at the Chobe River. I took this picture during my first trip to Kasane last year on an evening walk through town. It's nice to be close to the water, which isn't really an option in Gabs. But I guess we'll get our fair share of water (probably mostly in the form of rain) in the next couple of weeks in Europe...

counting down

(picture: Wiesn 2006)
This week was the last week before our big holiday and so I was busy finishing stuff for work, and meeting people before we leave for Munich tomorrow.

The Oktoberfest is starting tomorrow as well, and since it's been three years that I've last been there, I am kind of excited for this as well (I even had a dress made ;) Plus, I am really looking forward to seeing my family and friends back home, and hopefully we'll get some nice, relaxing days in sunny Italy, too.

it's a celebration

A colleague of mine got married last week and I was invited to the wedding, which was taking place in a beautiful outdoor place near Mokolodi.
The bridal party made their entrance dancing through the garden, and there were heartfelt speeches by the fathers of the bride and the groom, followed by food and drinks, music and entertainment.

I met some of the lapologa girls there and we all sat together at a table under the large white parasol. It was great to watch all the guests in their beautiful attire and I even got a (slightly blurry) picture with the newly-weds, glowing with happiness!

Congratulations to the bride & groom and thanks for the invitation!

a garden party

We had our open air tribute-to-spring movie party yesterday and even watched two films (Ratatouille for the kids, and My Blueberry Nights for the grown-ups)!

Everyone was sitting around the garden in the mild spring air and the moon was rising above us.
It's good to know summer will be back soon...

Thanks to all our friends for coming and making this a special night!

Sunset Saturday XXVIII

Another beautiful sunset at the beach in Cape Town during my first visit there in July last year. It was quite windy and the sky had been full of clouds earlier, but in the evening it cleared and so we got a great view of the sunset.
Enjoy the weekend!

what I am working on...

We've just launched the first SADC Photo Competition 2011!

To find out more, check this website.

Party Planning

We're having a tribute-to-spring movie party this Saturday!
You can vote for your favorite film until Friday, 9 September 23:59pm in the side-bar...
See you there!

Sunset Saturday XXVII

The view of the evening sky from our balcony in Teresaville, Singapore. We were staying on the 10th floor and could see the back of Mount Faber from there as well as a whole lot of other high-rise buildings, a motorway and the communal pool of our condo. It's been almost two years now, and somehow I would like to go back for a visit...