Tuscany looks Stunning

Tuscany looks stunning and I want to see the wonderful mountainous scenery or visit fabulous Siena.  Siena looks exciting and the famous Palio horse race where the atmosphere in the town in full of fun and expectation seems a must.
http://www.tuscanynow.com/villas-in-tuscany


I have never been to Tuscany but would love to. In the words of a chef I should have been born Italian.  I find this beautiful country pulls me like a magnet.

There are so many reasons I would love to go to Tuscany that I have created a Pinterest Board with the link below
http://pinterest.com/chrismse1/tuscany-my-italian-dream/

A walk in a vineyards watching the grapes rippen in the sun then drinking the sweet wine in the shade.  A Tuscany lunch of meats cheese and fruit watching the mountains glow in the sun would be memorable. I am sure I would be booking my next Villa holiday before I went home.

Visiting the historic building and meeting the people who live here would be  a highlight of my holiday. II Monte farmhouse looks like a perfect place to appreciate Tuscany and the views of Florence in the distance would be romantic.  

Getting the Light Right

close up zoom

St Marys church Hemel Hempstead



Practice run for trying to get the light right with the new camera.

Flower garden Gadbridge Park


Haven`t managed to get this right using a manual setting so will go back to the auto and try again.

Flower garden Auto setting




Time for something that moves now 

Quite like this one and its a manual setting

bit dark this one but I am managing ducks and geese ha

Fountain


The fountain looks really refreshing as its so hot today. I was trying to frame the shot to avoid the bus on the right.  The camera was on auto setting for this and I am struggling to get the light right on manual. will learn its early days.

cute



That`s my practice photos for the day the only ones I am prepared to share anyway. If you would like to see my other blog it is at http://www.alondontourist.com 

The Patient Fisherman

Heron stands waiting for his dinner

I was trying out my new camera today in St Albans park and luckily for me this beautiful Heron was fishing for his dinner.  He was a still as stone which was great for me trying to get a picture as first I had to tie Archie`s (the dog) lead to a bench.

St Albans Cathedral Roof top



The zoom on the camera works well then as I was quite far away from the Cathedral.

St Albans Park



This is where I was standing when I used the zoom to get the photo above of the rooftops. I am not impressed yet with the sharpness of colour in the photos but that is probably me not knowing the best way to use the camera.

                                              I am getting away from this swan he is bigger than me.




I like this photo the geese is trying to escape the swan after just eating some of the bread the swan had earmarked for himself.

  What have you got in that bag bread I hope.

The detail is much better with this camera and I am happy with this close up shot of the duck. I now know how to zoom and how to get a close up shot.  Just need to learn the millions of other things. 

Still Waiting

A Summer Day in the Country

A pretty  butterfly

 More butterflies land on the lavender bush




As I live in a town it is a joy to sit in a country garden and watch the butterflies flutter around the plants and flowers.


I was surprised that one large lavender plant attracted four different kinds of butterflies as well as bees in the few hours I watched.  It has been a beautiful day here in North Wales today and it seems we are not the only ones desperate for some sun.

A corner full of colour

You can see the bee behind the butterfly


A pair of bees enjoyed the lavender and other flowers in the garden.

Lavender bush

Pansies



A close up of some colourful pansies in their pots


Then a walk down the lane and some pretty wild flower sit in the dwindling sunshine.

Foxgloves

Hedge Wildflowers

These pretty wildflowers are just beginning to close

Then the sun sinks down to my left

A walk in the lane




My wish list has changed after today I am now coverting a better camera and a pair of decent wellies for when the sun is not kind. A pair of binoculars and a decent knowledge of wildflowers.  In the meantime I will watch the Olympics but look forward to another walk in the countryside tomorrow.

Five Colours Competition

Mytravelsupermarket are running a competition with some great prizes details on link http://www.travelsupermarket.com/c/holidays/capture-the-colour .

The colours that need to be shown in pictures are Blue, Green, Yellow, White and Red. My photos are below so I am hoping they are good enough to win myself something nice. Do you fancy a try as the overall winner will win £2,000  now wouldn`t that be nice. I would be off to Florence as I would really like to go there.

I have chosen five photos from holidays in the uk which I have really enjoyed. The skydiving in Cumbria was definitely a one off I was the one taking the photo from the plane not the person skydiving. That was my son I would need to be thrown out of the plane as I am just not brave enough to jump.  






Blue -Skydiving

  





Green - Bernard Shaw's Garden

Green  Bernard Shaw`s Corner which is now owned by the National Trust. I spent a lovely few hours here  wandering through the lovely garden. I saw the Oscar awarded to Shaw for his contribution to Literature which sits in his office at the house.  





Southwark Cathedral London

 

YELLOW the lights in Southwark Cathedral shine over the flags and light one of the beautiful arched windows. I visited Southwark on a recent trip to London to see some of the Olympics. I watched Beach Vollyball at Horseguards Parade and then went to see this lovely Cathedral.  

White - Wimbledon is so exciting and the buzz on Murray's Mount is fun and special. This photo shows the magnificent roof over centre court. The sun decided to grace the courts when we were there so we didn`t see the roof closed. We did see some amazing tennis from Serena William and had a wonderful day. 




Wimbledon Centre Court

Piccadilly Circus



Red -  London at night I love London it is such an amazing city and the lights of Piccadilly Circus strike a comanding pose against the dark night sky. This photo was taken when we went to see the musical Rock of Ages recently.


The hard part with this competition is to get five other blogs to recommend  the competition to.  You also need to tweet or say on facebook which blogs you have recommended but maybe your friends would love to enter to. 


Blogs recommended:

http://www.meanqueen-lifeaftermoney.blogspot.co.uk
http://theyearofless.blogspot.ca/
http://www.theprizefinder.com/blog/
http://the-frugal-graduate.blogspot.co.uk/
http://psychicsouls.weebly.com/

Easy Strawberry Sponge Cakes

Strawberry Sponge Cakes




These are ideal for those times when guests are on their way. Fabulous with cream teas and they look very tempting.


I used a sponge mix to make 12 muffin size cakes because I am not very good at mixing butter and sugar. I don`t always get light cakes if I make the sponge myself.

When cold I cut the cakes across the middle

add a thin layer of strawberry Jam and some clotted or whipped cream (I used whipped cream)  place top of cake back on over the cream.
add clotted or
whipped double cream to the top

 add sliced strawberries and any other small fruit like blueberries if liked.

Now go and impress the guests.

Three Cheese and Tomato Salad

Easy 3 cheese and tomato salad.


"I want to win a week in one of your Tuscany villas!" http://www.to-tuscany.com/


 #TTFBC



I often make this easy salad and serve it with olive bread. It can be a starter or a tasty lunch.



Ingredients - Serves Two

Rocket Salad leaves 1/2 packet
8 vine tomatoes
1 packet  drained Mozzarella  cheese
Parmesan cheese freshly grated
Brie (with chilli flavour if liked)
olive oil and basmati vinegar for dressing
I also add some pesto


Serve With Olive Bread and Green Olives



Method

Divide washed rocket leaves between two plates
slice Mozzarella cheese and add to plates
slice brie and add to plates
slice vine tomatoes and stack over the cheese
add grated Parmesan
make salad dressing using olive oil and vinegar add to salad or leave in small dish on the table.

Serve with black peppers, olives and crusty or Olive bread.