Thursday 8 February 2007

Flickr Pictures

The photos you see in flickr at the moment are from a trip in 2003 to Barcelona Mercat de la Boqueria. We went to Barcelona for 8 days and had a fabulous time...We stayed in the area of El Born - http://www.barcelona-tourist-guide.com/areas/el-born.html which is very up and coming, with brilliant restaurants, close to La Ramblas, Port Vell - http://www.aviewoncities.com/barcelona/portvell.htm, the Cathedral and Metro lines, which will take you to the Sarada Familia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sagrada_Familia. This is a must to see. We went to Montujic and then caught the funicular back over the sea to Port Vell, it was amazing.

I will try and find more photos for you. Barcelona and Sicily are two places I will certainly be going back to!!!! Lots still too see in both places.

Tuesday 6 February 2007

Who Loves Recipes????

















http://sicilyscene.blogspot.com/ which is Welshcakes Limoncellos site. They all make very interesting reading and the recipes are brilliant.

I love cooking but it has to be simple. Love cooking with pasta, rice, tomatoes, herbs, vegetables, chicken, salmon, prawns. We always go self-catering when on holiday, you get the feel for the place and visiting the markets is so amazing. And we eat just as the locals do, and always trying different foods. What we love is the hustle and bustle of the markets, and so far the best two we have found are Barcelona Mercat de la Boqueria and Ortygia...http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5948069202144291651&q=siracusa+market. Found this video link hope it works!!!!












Monday 5 February 2007

Siracuse and its history.

http://www.answers.com/topic/syracuse-sicily This link will lead to the history of Siracusa.

Syracuse (Italian Siracusa, Sicilian Sarausa, Greek Συρακοῦσαι, Latin Syracusae) is an Italian city on the eastern coast of Sicily and the capital of the province of Syracuse. Once described by Cicero as "the greatest Greek city and the most beautiful of them all", the ancient core of Syracuse is part of the UNESCO World Heritage List

Pictures of The Greek theatre of Syracuse can be seen in Annes's Flickr.

The Ear of Dionysius Siracuse

Pictures can be seen in my Flickr.

The Ear of Dionysius (Italian Orecchio di Dionisio) is an artificial limestone cave carved out of the Temenites hill in the city of Syracuse, on the island of Sicily in Italy. Its name comes from its similarity in shape to the human ear.

The Ear of Dionysius was most likely formed out of an old limestone quarry. It is 23 metres high and extends 65 metres back into the cliff. Horizontally it bends in an approximate 's' shape; vertically it is tapered at the top like a teardrop. Because of its shape the Ear has extremely good acoustics, making even a small sound resonate throughout the cave.

The name of the cave was coined in 1586 by the painter Caravaggio. It refers to the tyrant Dionysius I of Syracuse. According to legend (possibly one created by Caravaggio), Dionysius used the cave as a prison for political dissidents, and by means of the perfect acoustics eavesdropped on the plans and secrets of his captives. Another more gruesome legend claims that Dionysius carved the cave in its shape so that it would amplify the screams of prisoners being tortured in it.

Because of its reputation for acoustic flawlessness, the Ear of Dionysius has also come to refer to a type of ear trumpet that has a flexible tube. The term 'Ear of Dionysius' can also refer to surveillance, specifically that for political gain.

Saturday 3 February 2007

The Season is upon us

The season is upon us once again. What season???? you are all asking yourselves. Its the circus of the Formula 1, and it all kicks off again on March 10th, when around 600 or more personnel travel to Melbourne for the 1st race which takes place on 18th March, when we all (the fans) get up at some unearthly hour - to see our teams WIN or Fail.



My husband works in Formula 1, so it is not all fun for me, as he is away for most of the year, between March and October. But when I get to a race it is brilliant. In the last five years I have been to Silverstone GP every year and in 2004 and 2006 my friends and I travelled to Magny Cour, south of Paris, for five days, two days of travel and 3 of Motor racing. It is thrilling, tense, atmospheric, I just can't describe the buzz it brings!!! We have had brilliant times and as we all support different teams, it can be quite competitive but so much fun.