Tuscany/June 2015 with Joe and Susan

This was my third time staying at LeTraverse in Pienza and it was as lovely as ever--the village, the surrounding areas, and of course, the owner Pinuccia!!!  Many of you have seen my previous Tuscany photos so this time I tried to capture alleys and passages and where they lead and what mysteries they might hold.  Enjoy!

Diane, Susan and Joe on the church steps in Pienza.  Every day with had gelato and many times right there on those steps--yummy:)

I couldn't resist!

I couldn't resist either!

I love old churches and the secrets that surround them.  See next photo.

I felt like I was in the Da Vinci Code.  I discovered stairs leading where I didn't know.  Joe was the brave one climbing down into a very small room, but alas no hidden secrets--at least none he could see.



Civita di Bagnoregio is a hilltop village close to Orvieto.  It was my first time there.  Susan and Joe had previously been there when there were hardly any residents and/or tourists.  It was amazing and the hike there was just as amazing.  See below. 

The goal was to reach that portico at the top and we did!

Susan and Diane with special friends--Anna and Pinuccia.  A farewell dinner.

We're nearing the end of this school year. Can you believe it?!

Happy Memorial Day to everyone!  I have just about three weeks left and I'll be heading to Tuscany for a week with my good friends Joe and Susan.  And then I'll be home to beautiful So. California to see many of you.  As we draw to a close I've added a few photos of my wonderful students.

The 2nd graders study Mongolian 3x a week and at the end of the year they present what they have learned at an assembly for the entire school.  It's quite a performance!  My two students, Bebi and Serchee, in the photo were the narrators.

These girls are my Mad Scientists for the school's Science Fair.  We experimented to see if there was iron in Corn Flakes, Cheerios and Special K.  Interesting outcome!

I'm not sure if I'm a Mad Scientist or Cher or Lady Gaga!!!  It might be time for me to have a vacation.

I just spent a wonderful week in Singapore with my friend Nancy. It’s an amazing place and of course, being the photographer I took over 500 photos. The architecture is a photographer’s dream and I tried to capture the essence of the place and its warm and friendly people. I will also be posting photos on Fine Art America.

 

We stayed at the Marina Bay Sands Hotel.  What can I say?  The white building that looks like a lotus flower is the ArtScience Museum and definitely worth seeing.  Info on Singapore  

There's an infinity pool at the very top.  You'll see it later.

 

As I said in my email, the architecture is incredible all throughout the city.  This is the inside of our hotel.

 

This is the famous Orchard Street on Easter Sunday looking a lot like NYC.  It was fun to browse the area and be with the people.  Nancy and I took lots of breaks because of the heat and humidity.  My skin loved it!!!

 

A tree inside a mall area with messages to Lee Kuan Yew first prime minister of Singapore who recently died.  We always got great info from taxi drivers.

                                                                      

He's on the bridge connecting to our hotel/mall selling water and other goodies.

I couldn't resist taking a photo of these boys.  It was almost dusk and I'm not sure what they were looking at--I guess whatever fascinates little boys:)

 

I love this shot of this flower just starting to open up under the ArtScience Museum.

 

Flowers and water are everywhere. 

  

It started to rain so we ducked into a restaurant that connected to this long alleyway.

 

Yes, we had the famous Singapore Sling and tea at the very famous Raffles Hotel.  It was fun and something I've always wanted to do!

 

Night shots in Singapore are so amazing with different colors in the water, buildings and sky.

 

We stayed in Tower 3.

 

When someone told me to go to the Gardens by the Bay I thought I would see some pretty flowers, but nothing like what we saw.  In the distance is the Supertree Grove which lights up at night.

 

Okay, yes we went to the top and walked the same walk.  A feat for someone with vertigo!!!

 

 

We're inside the flower dome.  There were lots of student field trips and I love this shot because the trees look like they might become alive taking on human qualities.  It's my imagination!

 

Inside the cloud forest when it was raining outside and yes, we also walked way up there!

 

 

An amazing light show!

 

I took so many photos of flowers which I'll be posting on FAA.

 

We made it to the top of our hotel for a delicious dinner and incredible view as it got dark.

After dinner we went to the other side and you can see the cargo ships in the harbor.  No, I didn't look down!

 

This is the infinity pool at the top and I'm told that yes, there's a ledge and some kind of fence, but this photo still leaves me breathless!!!

We took a cable car to Sentosa Island and walked along the beach.

 

 

 

We had lunch at this hotel and watched the kids swim in the pool.

 

On our last day we visited several museums and walked along the waterway having lunch, enjoying the sights and eventually having tea at the Fullerton Hotel.  You can see the "tip" of our hotel in the distance.