8/365 - Florentine Sculptures

This is a photograph of the Loggia dei Lanzi, which is an open-air gallery just off the Piazza della Signoria in Florence. Most of the sculptures that you see are in fact the originals - there plans to replace them with copies and put the originals into a museum, where they obviously will be less affected by the weather.

This photo was taken on our second day in Florence - our first full day - when we really spent most of the day just wandering around, taking photos and getting our bearings. I loved the Loggia because it typifies the impression you get of Florence: a city that although it respects its cultural heritage, it also is used to it and is not about to hide everything away, but keep it all on display, as it has always been.

The sculptures you can see:

From left to right (on the pedestals):
- The Rape of Polyxena by Pio Fedi
- Menelaus supporting the body of Patroclus (this is a copy of what was originally an ancient Roman sculpture)
- Hercules slaying the Centaur Nessus by Giambologna

On the back of the Loggia are five marble female statues (three are identified as Matidia, Marciana and Agrippina Minor) - which of the ones that you can see, I don't know!

Location: Florence, Tuscany (taken on 30th December 2010)
Photographer: Heliona/Helen

7/365 -- Out the front door

This is a view from our front door. You can see the mountains that we face as well as the buffalo grazing a few fields down. If you look beyond the buffalo then you see a large flock of Trumpeter Swans that spend the winter in our area. I love the view and the peace and quiet of living in the country now!

Location: The Beautiful Pacific Northwest United States

--Vana

7/365 -- Nah nah nah nah...

Filling in for PB and Alasse today (or at least for one of them). This was parked on display in a car dealership lot in my hometown while I was on Christmas break--I did some Googling and found one story that claimed it's the real Tumbler and is there for promotion because the next Batman movie will be filmed in Michigan, and one that claimed that it's a replica (5 years in the making!) built by a guy who lives nearby. I don't know which is true, but it's sufficiently awesome that my sister and I drove over to the dealership to get our photos taken with it, as did many other people. Nah nah nah nah, nah nah nah nah, BATMAAAN!

Location: Grandville, Michigan

~Sil

6/365 Lots of little Wise People at Epiphany Mass in Cologne Cathedral

Today is the feast of Epiphany, in honour of the three Wise Men finding the baby Jesus after following the star.
This is a big day in all Christianity (the 12th day of Christmas, the day of presents in Mediterranean countries and the day of Christmas in the Orthodox church), and in Cologne is especially important as it houses the relics of the Magi. So the mass celebrated by the Archbishop in the Cathedral is one of the big events of the year here.

It is also a custom here that children dressed as the Wise Men go from door to door to spread the good news and to bless the house they enter, collecting donations for church charities.

The children this year did particularly well in singing their songs and saying their verses. Now I'll just hope that I'll be at home when they come round to my door sometime this weekend, as I hope they do. :)

6/365 These are a few of my Favorite things...

About 8 years ago we were vacationing in the Western United States. While we were in Colorado,  at the very top of Estes park in the Rocky mountains, there is a gift shop which had these leaf ornaments coated in iridescent copper that I found so naturally beautiful and so delicate  that I had to have a few. I liked them so much that I have several hanging around the house year 'round because I cannot bear to part with their beauty after the holidays.
Different leaf types come with their own 'meaning'... for example, Cottonwood leaves, which look like a heart=Lightheartedness,  Oak=Wisdom & Longevity, Sugar Maple=Essence of Tranquility,  Birch=Security & Success, Aspen=Imagination & Creativity
They make me smile every time I look at them.. so I guess I could say Leaves=Happiness <3

Dawn/RoseMorninStar

5/365: The Grey Season...

Yes, another grey day in Washington.
So what else is new?

This is the view I get at work.
Break time is the fastest 30 minutes known to humankind.

I love the tree in the background.

Calma

5/365: Winter Flowers

For my first picture I shot this with my cell phone.  I wanted to have something pretty in the middle of winter to remind us of the promise of spring to come.

This is the flower of the spathicarpa sagittifolia plant, very commonly found in many homes and offices.  Mine flowers all year around.

I am looking for an inexpensive digital camera, maybe by next week I can take pictures that will be of a better resolution and quality.

I am enjoying this so far and everyone has great pictures up.

Jules/rwhen