Miscellaneous Photos

Hello--Friendly, curious bird in the park

More curious birds: Sondra, Shirleen and me near the Roman Amphitheater in Lecce.  The 3rd Century A.D. Roman ruins here were discovered  in the early 20th century beneath buildings that were removed for development of this central location.  The city chose not to unearth the entire ampitheater because an old church and other significant buildings sit atop  more than half of the ampitheater.  During the Roman occupation legions of soldiers stationed in the area would attend "games" here involving animals, slaves . . . other bloody encounters.  The theatre, which is located in the main plaza of the historic center, originally seated 25,000.   It is now used as a venue for opera and other entertainment.

View from my rooftop studio.  I accidentally woke just in time to see the September 28th lunar eclipse from here
at 4:20am - former convent beyond the garden

Harbor in Brindisi--Sondra and I did a fast purview of the town while awaiting the arrival of  Doug, Shirleen & Caryl, whose flight arrived at the Brindisi airport

Church of Santa Chiara in Lecce--I like these accidental compositions--taken as I stepped off the curb.

Romanesque  Basilica di Santa Caterina d'Allesandria, c. 1390,  Galatina, Italy (wonderful interior frescoes by a student of Giotto--but no photos allowed inside)

Waiting for the regional train to Gallipoli

Beach in Gallipoli where we traveled twice for swimming in the warm salty waters of the Ionian Sea