Bank holiday weekend in Rome

I was in Rome over the bank holiday period. Saw the museums and Sistine Chappell . It was hot humid and crowded but worth it. I shudder to think how it will be in the height of season. Although I had been to Rome once before I had missed out seeing the Vatican City because I had a stomach bug. So decided to go again. I also visited Tivoli where Hadrian's villa and villa D'est are situated. It was good to be away from the crowds. Hadrian's villa was constructed at the foot of the Tiber river. Now it is a charming mix of ruins and natural landscape . It is difficult to imagine the scope of the original Villa. Only one fifth of the three hundred  hectares that originally occupied the site are visible today. 300 masterpieces have so far been recovered and displayed in museums and collections all over the world. Only the bare frame of the villa remains today but one can see glimpses of the past grandeur and superb architecture of the villa and imagine what it would have been like in its hey day.

Villa D'est

It was built by cardinal of Ferrara. Since he was accustomed to pomp and luxury he decided to build this villa. It was built very rapidly even by today's standards . Inspite of his aspirations to the papacy he never became a pope.

The garden of the villa I found absolutely amazing. It has more than 400 fountains and jets.  Every imaginable nook and corner of the garden has a fountain. A few were not working and I am not sure if they had been shut or not in working order but imagine so many fountains in a confined space! Just so amazing and there were fountains inside the villa as well which were not turned on and I am guessing this must be to preserve the beautiful frescos on the ceiling and walls. If you have not visited Rome and intend to do so don't miss out visiting these two sites.

We had a fun day

Today was our British Red Cross fundraising event. We reached our target in flying colours. Of course this would not have been possible without all your help and support. So I thank each and everyone of you who contributed for this great cause. You can go to this link to checkout how much we raised if you wish to do so   http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/thecrazyquintet or the the button on the left hand column will take you to the page. The link will be open for a few more weeks if anyone else wants to chip in. 

After we registered at the desk we started our walk. We had so much fun along the way. The weather was great. London was full of smiling people and many of them waving and some cheering us on.And many many tourists who no doubt wondered what we were doing walking in crazy red shoes:-)  Along the way we too did some sight seeing:) . It also made me realise how much we miss when we are going by public transport or in a car. I must have travelled those streets umpteen times on my way to work but never knew that there were so many little interesting nooks and corners along the way.

Victoria embankment gardens

Millennium bridge

St. Paul's cathedral

Embankment

The iconic tower bridge

The Shard

Old Blackfries bridge

All in all it was a wonderful day.

Once again a huge thank you to everyone.

Off the beaten track

This post is not really about dolls but about a book for kids that I found in a shop in India. I thought it really was rather a charming book and a great way to teach kids about our animal world so I bought it. What really attracted me to it is that it is made of recycled material. It is hard backed and partly covered with cloth. It seems as though it was typed. The other reason for buying was I guess nostalgia. I was first introduced to books that had hard cloth cover and very old. When i was a kid I found a treasure trove of old books and got permission to take books from there and read. Now where I grew up is another story so I will tell you about that another time. So back to this book. Here are a few pictures from the book.