Autumn Diversion

Autumn is a time for pumpkins and chrysanthemums. This group is on my front porch.
Portland's Japanese Garden in the Autumn

The Japanese Gardens were celebrating the Festival of the Chrysanthemum this weekend.

It was the perfect crisp day to visit the colours of autumn this past Saturday.

Chrysanthemum's are so beautiful this time of year. We can see them everywhere.

I have vivid memories of traveling through the northeastern part of the U.S. several

years ago and seeing them at every farm stand along the roads.

My autumn diversion was a walk through the gardens with my camera.

Today it is cloudy and the leaves are falling like rain; so I am

happy I took the autumn diversion. The leaves will soon be gone and we

will be traveling through winter. Take joy in the autumn colours.

Tomorrow we will return to travels through Europe.

Up on the Roof Top

The roof top at Domus Carmelitana in Rome
The view from the roof top garden.
See the angel flying over?

Awww! Tea anyone on the garden roof top?
What a view, that is the Basilica in the background.

Sunset from the roof top.

We were only at the Domus Carmelitana the night before we left for our cruise.

The roof top was beautiful. The hotel was an old convent with a quaint chapel and austere rooms. But the experience of the roof top was lovely.

Autumn in Florence

Deena over at Can I Be Pretty in Pink www.deenasstory.blogspot.com

is celebrating Autumn this week.

Right now I don't have autumn pictures around my home,

but as our trip was coming to a close I began to think of autumn

at home and saw this cart of autumn colours in the market place in Florence.

Enjoy the colours of autumn where ever we are.

Babington's

Welcome to Babington's Tea Rooms

On the back of the menu there is a quote:
..."(he) who with tea amuses the evening,
with tea solaces the midnight,
and with tea welcomes the morning"
Samuel Johnson
Literary Magazine, 1757
The gift shop, where I purchased one tin of Babington's Special Blend.
It is a combination of Ceylon, Darjeeling, and China teas.

Our waitress. All the wait staff wore the same dress with the Babington kitty all over it.

Teapots, one for hot water and one for tea.

Note the kitties on the top and also the pot holder that looped over the kitty.

We had the Babington's Special High Tea.

The sandwiches were salmon, egg cream, cucumber, and tuna.

They were very nice, but I think I would order one of their salads if

I were to visit again. The salads looked beautiful.

The Hot Buttered Crumpets were delicious with Canadian maple syrup.

We met two ladies at the next table from Great Britain and had a lovely chat about tea.

They had come to Rome for the day and were celebrating the beginning of their day with tea at Babington's. Tea seems to bring about celebrations of beginnings and endings.

Tea at Babington's was the ending celebration on our trip of many colours.

On to Rome

Eye candy along the way. Our first stop at a bakery and gelato shop.
Pillars and Obelisks everywhere we went.

Peeking inside a shopping mall. Now does this look like any shopping mall you have seen?

Trevi Fountain

It was so full of people we couldn't get down to toss a coin in.
We were warned to watch our pockets here, but we were fortunate not to have any pick pocket problems.

Ahh! Babington's Tea Rooms

Flying into Rome we had one afternoon to explore before joining the cruise ship.

We decided to follow the walking tour listed in Rick Steve's book on Rome.

It was suggested as a night walking tour, but we took it in the afternoon. We found Rome confusing to adjust to directions and the walking tour was the perfect way to become familiar with directions and locations of sights.

We soon found ourselves in Nuvona Piazza, where there once were chariott races. Then wandering down narrow passageways past obelisks and pillars, stopping for our first gelato of the trip, we came to Trevi Fountain. We stood enjoying the sights and sounds of so many people clustered around the fountain, as we ate our gelato. For 1 euro I had a large scoop of raspberry and another scoop of pistachio - what a bargain and so good.

Next we were on our way to the Spanish Steps to find Babington's Tea Rooms at the foot of the steps. What is it about finding a tea room in another country for us lovers of tea? It is like coming home and taking a break from the chaotic crazy world for a few minutes.

Since we were not ready to eat I just bought tea with the promise to come back at the end of our trip for the full tea experience. Our full tea experience was at the end of the trip, but I will share it tomorrow.

It must be Amsterdam, it is Sunday

Flowers in one of the stalls at the Flower Market
There were many bulbs at the Flower Market.
These Amarylis bulbs were so big and displayed so beautifully.

A church just around the corner from Anne Franks secret hideaway.

My computer is not happy with me downloading 850 pictures and I may have lost a few from Amsterdam in the process. I hope to find them soon.

Walking through Amsterdam we found bicycles everywhere. Crossing the street was tricky moving through the rows of bicycles.

Jet lag was definitely a problem as we began the trip.

We were in bed by 7PM each of the two nights in Amsterdam.

We had no idea there were so many canals in this city, but walking through the city on a quiet Sunday morning was beautiful.

When I was in school I had written a paper on Anne Frank and have always been facinated by her story. It was amazing to be stepping through the halls and rooms where she, her family, and others had hidden away. I hadn't realized that the building they hid in was her father's jam business. While they were making jam in the bottom floors above were family hiding for their life. It was very touching.

Sunday morning in the Flower Market was the perfect way to walk and observe the people shopping there. We brought blue tulips home and hope to have them growing in our garden next spring.

From the window of the Hestia B&B we could see flocks of bright green parrots feeding in the bird feeder. What a sight.

So the colour for Amsterdam would have to be blue for the water of the canals, blue tulips, and green parrots.

Tired Feet and Happy Heart

Tired feet and a happy heart have indeed returned back home last evening. Once I organize my life and pictures I will share much more in the next few weeks. Today I will just share the itinerary for a trip of a life time.

September 19th

Left Portland and flew to Amsterdam, Netherlands

September 20th

Arrived in Amsterdam

Walked and took a canal boat tour

September 21st

We took a peaceful Sunday morning walk to Anne Franks home and toured the hideaway.

Walked through the flower market and bought tulip bulbs

Visited the Van Gogh and Rilksmuseum

September 22nd

Flew to Rome

Still adjusting to time change

Did our own personal get acquainted with Rome walking tour

Nuovo Piazza where chariots once raced

Trevi Fountain

Pantheon

Spanish Steps

Bought tea at Babington's Tea Room

September 23rd

Boarded a Carnival Cruise ship called the Splendor

This was the perfect place for my husband to recuperate from his August surgery

September 24th

Naples and walked the streets of Pompeii

September 25th

A day at sea

Tea at 3PM while we listened to the Mozart trio play classical music

and watched the sea outside the window.

September 26th

Dubrovnik, Croatia

Walked the streets of old Dubrovnik and toured a small island nearby,

walking through their Botanical Gardens

September 27th

Cruised slowly into Venice with the sounds of Pavorotti playing in the background

What an awe inspiring sight

Traveled by small boat to the island of Murano to visit a glass factory, then

onto the island of Burano where they are know for lace making

Burano was a beautiful island full of colorful homes

September 28th

A morning gondola ride through the canals of Venice

Shopped and walked through the crowds of St. Mark's Square

Tea at Cafe Florian on St. Mark's Square

September 29th

A day at sea

Pedicures while watching the sea flow by

September 30th

Messina on the island of Sicily

Walked the cobble stone streets of Taormina and visited the Greek Theater

The sights of the Mediterranean were beautiful from here

October 1st

A day at sea

Enjoyed lounging in the sun and having afternoon tea

October 2nd

Woke to the sights of Barcelona, Spain

Walked and walked some more through the street and alleyways

Walked down the main street for shopping, Las Rambles and found

tucked away markets, tea shops, and a historic chocolate shop called Escriba's

Found the Picaso museum, which had his early works

Saw several churches including the Gothic Cathedral

Tapas for lunch

October 3rd

An unexpected day at sea, as the water was to choppy to stop

at Cannes, France

France will just have to wait for our next trip

October 4th

Livorno, Italy where we took a tour bus to Florence

Visit Michelanglo's David

Walked the street and shops

Beautiful churches and art

Delicious lazagna lunch

Oh and gelato was first created in Florence, so of course gelato

October 5th

Cruise completed and thoroughly enjoyed

Back to Rome

Took a double decker bus tour around the city

Visited the Colosseum and the Forum

Walked

October 6th

Double decker bus again and visited a beautiful church

Vatican Museum

Sistine Chapel

St. Peters Square

Basillica

October 7th

Walked some more

Rome's Botanical Gardens

Got lost in a park and saw more of Rome than we knew existed

October 8th

Borghese Museum

Finally ended the trip with tea at Babington's

October 9th

Flew home

Needless to say we thoroughly enjoyed the trip, ate way too much but very good food, gelato at every chance, and met many people of the world. The ship alone had representatives from 58 countries working on board. Colours of the world, there were many. I took over 800 pictures and will post a few next week. For today just imagine and dream of the colours of the world.