Luxembourg Gardens, Paris. How the French relax in the city. 1 June 2019

June 1, 2019 / get back, laurettadimmick / Leave a comment

All of Paris was out basking in the sun today! 2 days ago you needed a puffer coat to keep warm. Today it was 80 degrees, with full sunshine!

I wanted to see the Luxembourg Gardens and boy, did I see The Luxembourg Garden in its glory today. All ages of Parisians were enjoying this public park today! Young, old and in-between.

There were bocce games, pony rides, sailboat sailing, and Tai Chi. And these are just the videos! There was also tennis and lots and lots of sunbathers. A beautiful, historic park and a beautiful day!

Mapping a rose

May 29, 2019February 14, 2019 / get back, laurettadimmick / Leave a comment

Lugano, Switzerland

May 28, 2019May 17, 2019 / get back, laurettadimmick / Leave a comment

We made a drive-by visit to Lake Lugano and Lugano itself today. Just enough time to get a sense of an area that deserves a much longer visit!

I didn’t include any pictures of the lake or the mountains around it, because it was overcast, rainy, and cold today. :-(( Into each life…

A recent visit to Giardino Torrigiani, Florence

May 26, 2019May 12, 2019 / get back, laurettadimmick / Leave a comment

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A special vineyard in the Italian Dolomites: Castel Monreale

May 25, 2019May 16, 2019 / get back, laurettadimmick / Leave a comment

Not far from Merano, Italy stands a very interesting vineyard: Castel Monreale. Here’s a bottle of their great red, a picture I took later with the backdrop of Lake Como.

https://www.lavinium.it/vino_nel_bicchiere/spumante-castel-monreale-brut-metodo-classico-castello-rametz/

http://www.rametz.com/italiano/cabernet-aa-doc-castello-2015-125-46915.html

So, here’s the locale: not bad, eh?

The grape plants shown in the next 3 pictures are about 75 years old and planted in the old style, which is very labor intensive because no mechanization can be used.

The cortile of the castle:

The green lungs of Milan

May 22, 2019May 14, 2019 / get back, laurettadimmick / Leave a comment

First, in traditional architecture:

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Then, a modern adaptation:

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I was told that the tall narrow apparatus that looks like a crane, on the top of both sections of the high rise, is actually a part of the irrigation system that keeps all this plant material alive.

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Apparently the first high rise has been quite successful, for as you can see, a second high rise is going up nearby.

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The Chelsea flower show

May 22, 2019 / get back, laurettadimmick / Leave a comment

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https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/chelsea-flower-show-wows-with-a-royal-treehouse-and-climate-change-garden/2019/05/21/361d4288-7b17-11e9-b1f3-b233fe5811ef_story.html?utm_term=.c262dbf0df84

Milan has some interesting high rise apartments covered with green plants; very avant garden

May 17, 2019May 13, 2019 / get back, laurettadimmick / Leave a comment

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Here’s an older version of the same thing.

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Orchids, a new look at an old favorite

May 17, 2019 / get back, laurettadimmick / Leave a comment

During a quick stop in Lugano, Switzerland I saw these ordinary white orchids trained in a circle. Apparently its a thing here. I want one but it wouldn’t fit in my backpack!