Carota [karota]

Il bastone e la carota!
Una metafora a cui non viene data la giusta importanza.
A volte la vita ci infila un bastone nel culo, che non viene compreso perchè non si sa che poi viene la carota, che invece ci delizia con il suo arancione ed il suo sapore dolce e ci fa apprezzare tutto quello che di colorato c'è nella vita.
La carota è arancione, un colore composto, originato dall'unione del giallo e del rosso; rosso come il sole al tramonto, e giallo come il sole che ci da la vita e ci dà l'ardore che ci fa bruciare e sentire vivi.

WeTransfer

You don't need an FTP for tranferring big files. Through this site you can upload up to 2 Gb in a reliable way and enjoying an easy and good looking interface.
Click here and tell me what you think about it.

Espresso Yourself...Bologna

Espresso Yourself Bologna from flamingshoe on Vimeo.

This is the last chapter of my creature...the CG and some other fine tunigs must be done in a proper way, but you can defenatly get an idea of the potentiality of the TV format.
Don't you think the world needs more episodes of this freaking show?!?!?!?!
I'm just ready to take off anytime anywhere to make this dream come true, and I will risk my nuts to see more shows like this on air or on the net.
Come on guys let's cheer for "El campesino" and his sis Valeria!!!

Home Grown Videos

Home Grown Videos from flamingshoe on Vimeo.

This is not actually a company or a post production reality, it's just me freaking out with my crazy ideas about life and how it should be enjoyed.
This CG was created few years ago, and now that my existence is taking me where no one knows (I just love getting lost) I want to be ready for the next episode of my endless book called "being".
Contact me for any insane project you'd love to develope with me and maybe we could ride a bunch of mad hair pin bends together!

AirBnB

Holy cow!!!
This is such a cool site both for low budget traveler and people who want to make some money out of their appartments. Tha't the reason why I totally love internet...its potentiality is almost endless and if you use it in a smart and an honest way you'll get a lot of of it.
It's official this is one of my favourite site ever, along with CouchSurfing and RoadSharing (you can all find 'em in my blog under "my links").
Check it out and I hope you'll find it useful.
Cheers

Hong Kong 2011

When someone asks me to describe Hong Kong, the first thing that comes to my mind is an old lady in a very good shape. The skyscrapers and the architecture of the city is not old enough to be fascinating, but the downtown can be defined maybe a little bit vintage (not so much). The up and downs of the island reminded me of San Francisco, but the good taste of the californian city is not even close to what you get here. The materials and the shapes of the buildings (except some very new ones like the HSBC buliding) have that weird look that really don't impress but still you can tell they've been futuristics when they've been projected.
Walking around all you get is a massive quantity of shops and shopping centers and an amazing moltitude of people compressed in the narrow streets of H.K. Most of the times you'll find yourself going through building to go from one place to another, and guess what you get? Shopping centers. Some will take place in a couple of floors of a buildings, some others will have their own massive structure made of glossy iron and glass, but you can be sure you'll be able to find whatever you want. And if you're not satified with the fancy look (and prices) of all this you can still try to head to the heart of Kowloon. This is called "the jungle" by the people living on the island, but that's just because it's not as fake as the main part of the city. Here you'll finally run into the real people of Hong Kong, people attending the infinite markets and living the real cantonese culture.
Try to use the astonishing MTR to move around and get oriented with places, and on the red line from Sham Shui Po to Tsim Sha Tsui it will all be a blast. Here's where you'll find any kind of experience you were looking for, from the flee market and the big mess you'll run into, to the unbeatable smell of the cantonese cusine. Just try to stay away from Nathan road, a huge crowded road with no personality at all, and rather stick around Shanghai st and all the western side of that area. Kowloon park is a big green dot in the middle of the dominating cement, and if you're brave enogh to wake up very early in the morning you'll be able to watch people practice martial arts. But the park is a great way to escape the crazyness of this city anyway, so if you're looking for some quite and sense of nature...that's where you have to go.



Victoria's peak is another must if you really want to get an idea of the majesty of the island and its surrounding bay. If you're a big trekker you can either walk up there (and you'll be paid back for the effort), or you can go for the easy way and take the tipical tram.There's plenty to see around there if you don't just stick to the usual path. You can follow this link and click on the different trails available and you'll totally find what you're looking for.
Another way to enjoy the special atmosphere the bay can offer (especially at sunset) is to take a walk to the Avenue of Stars,and rest for a while right on the waters sitting on the many benches you'll find there maybe after visiting the few museums right behind it. I went to the Museum of Arts and I found very interesting the calligraphy section at the last floor of the building.It's very cheap to get in and right at the entrance you'll run into a fantastic shop where you'll be able to buy amazing books and prints of the chinese culture.
Something else funny and very interesting at the same time I experienced in H.K. is the Hong Kong Science museum. It's ment to be mainly for kids, but the interactivity and the curiosities in there are just for any open minded person, and if you belong to this kind of people be sure you won't get bored.
But let's go back to the unusual things to visit in this incredible city. I'm one of those persons in love with nature, and before coming here I took a look at the map to spot where the green areas were. It's not so hard to notice the New Territories and to realize that at the eastern tip there's plenty to see and visit. The coast is full of bays and islands, and after a quick research on the internet I finally found the right site for me...Enjoy Hiking and the THE MACLEHOSE TRAIL. This is a quite hard and long trail, but you can cut it in slices, if you don't have so much time, and get an idea of what I'm talking about. I really suggest you to take a camping tent with you, since there's planty of free cam sites where you can spend the night and take off the day after to keep living the dream.



Well...I don't want to bore you any longer with lots of informations and tips. Things to do and see here are almost endless, so you'd better be patient, do your researches on the net and you'll go back home with a sweet feeling in your earth.
For those in love with the nightlife...well, you can't miss Lan Kwai Fong and Wan Chai. The first one is a bustling array of restaurants, eateries, pubs and bars and beer, alcohol and wine from a myriad of countries could be enjoyed here accompanied by chess, dart and music band. In my opinion this area is way too loud and the quality of the music is way cheap, but I noticed lots of people really enjoying all this. After a long walking and taking a look at the high level of low quality places, I decided to stop at La goccia, where an amazing dj from Serbia was playing some quality stuff following it with his trumpet in an exquisite live session!
Wan Chai is not such an icon like Lan Kwai Fong, but it's more for sexual turism lovers. Usually, I heard, people head to this area of the island when they're wasted enough to pick their choice from the many sad clubs hosting poor girls coming from all over south east Asia.
This is the first impression I got from Hong Kong during my short stay...for sure it takes longer to understand such a "complicated" city, and for sure I'll go back one day!
See ya soon H.K. and thanx to Francy (and the sweet Olivia) for hosting me in her wonderful flat facing the whole bay in Lai Chi Kok.

KICKSTARTER for fund raising

As my dream is to develope projects that give me the possibility to help the enviroment and to travel around the wolrd, I'm in a constant research of funds to make my idea and dreams come true. This site is just perfect for my goals, but unfortunatly they still have some restrictions for non U.S. residents...so this post can only be usefull to Americans, but at least you might be lucky to find some funders.
Kickstarter is the perfect name for such a site and I hope you'll enjoy it a lot.
If anybody knows about any similar site for Europeans or open to any nationality, please inform me through this site, or if you know know anyone interested in funding my project that would be even better.
Well, click here and take a look.
Cheers

La Digue, Seychelles

From La Digue 02

And there they were...from the sky in the frame of a plane window and the wing. The first island of the archipelago stars showing up way before the landing, but you still don't imagine how vast the territory is. Only at the end of the holiday Kiran will tell us that the most far island is Alhambra and it 600 nautic miles away from Mahe the capital (big ships have big pirates problems down there)


Visualizzazione ingrandita della mappa
At the airport the CatCoco CatCoco bus is waiting for you to take you to the Jetty...how nice these guys!!! A free bus picking you up!!! Then you find out the one way ticket is 42 euros x person. A 40 minutes ride to take you to the Praslin jetty.
Ah, don't forget to bring cash euros, since lots of places will charge you that
Cat Rose is waiting for you to finally lead you to La Digue island.
A pearl in the blue sea. Elvis is the man!
His funny face shows up in the middle of a crowd with it big white smile.
Bikes rented and a ride to Pension Fidele, a sweet self catering at the end of a dirt road and deepen in tropical garden with fruit trees all over and a half barrel BBQ looking for us.
60 euros per room, with a whole kitchen available including a powerful fridge, a toaster and a microwave oven.

Josette is the sincere teacher running the place (with the help of sweet Babette for the cleaning), and she welcomes us with a bottle of just made passion fruit juice...she has a tree there.
Everything looks just perfect, so we throw our clothes into the drawers and we run to Grand Anse...actually we ride.


Visualizzazione ingrandita della mappa
3.5 Kms on a lush little street taking you to what you were looking for. A quiet straight soft beach with blue crystal water and a cloudy sky dotted with celestials cyan spots. Huge waves hit the shore, surfers stoked to see all this, and the two of us stretching our tired bones floating in the warm waters.
HOW SWETT!
Don't forget to have lunch at the restaurant right on the beach!!! The atmosphere is chilled out, it's in the shade (very important on this beach since there's none).
For 20 euros you get a great buffet made of grilled fish, all sorts of vegetables, different kind of rice and few creol delicious meals. And don't miss the dessert!
Grand Anse is only one of the three enchanting beaches on the southeast coast. Petit Anse (no shade at all unless you bild up some kind of hut on your own) and the astonishing Anse Coco are the other two.



To reach Anse Coco you need a little effort to climb up a couple of steep slopes in the middle of a jungle (we actually got lost once risking to spend the night with giant crabs and scary spiders), but what you see once you get there you'll wonna walk everyday for 40 minutes. You're gonna be mostly everyday maximum 6 people on the beach and there's good trees you can hide under when the sun starts hitting too bad.
Beside the infinite colorful fishes, I spotted in this bay many eagle rays, a little white shark and an enurmous yellow manta at least as big as me...so be prepared to see amazin stuff down there!!!




Leaving the jetty and going left, you join the road leading you the north west coast. This is probably the wildest and non developped side of the island, and if you follow it till the road stops you'll run into some nice spots. The mighty reef out there doesn't allow to swim since the water is to shallow, but still you get a nice pool to relax in and refresh a bit from the arsh sun. The northern tip is the only worth place to really stop and lay on a nice tiny beach right below the Patatran hotel and the colors of the deep ocean are just bright enough to wear sunglasses. Just before the paved street ends there's a small house owned by Jules...you'll notice it for sure since it's the only place selling drinks and coconuts. If you book in advance he will fix a special creol dinner for you with tables facing the shore and lulled by the sound of the waves.

One day we also had a trip to the small islands around there. Coco island and Felicitè are just awesome for the snorkling (we saw 3 smal black tip sharks and two sea turtles), whereas Sister island is good for a bbq and some relax on the private beach of the island (be ready to pay a lot of money to do this kind of excursions).

Last but not least, we have the unbelievable Anse Maron. I suggest you not to risk and go with a guide for the first time, since the path to get there might be tricky and too much depending on the tides. The walk starts from the only wonderful park of the island (10 euros ticket per person), and before you get to Anse Surce d'Argent you might need a 5 minutes ride on your bike. Once at a small restaurant next to the shore, you leave your bike and you start the real trip, going through postcards beaches and colors you can't believe are real. Sometimes you'll have to walk in the water some other in the middle of the jungle and others...in the middle of huge granite rocks. Don't get scared...if you're a bit overweight to pass through you might be able to climb them!
But let's talk about the aiming point. Good chance you'll be the only person on Anse Maron, and even if you might be a bit tired you won't regret what you've done and how much you swet your ass off...this is something will never, ever gonna happen to you again! The pictures following are gonna talk instead of me and maybe you'll get an idea of what I'm trying to say.



Concerning places to eat, I totally raccomend chataux Sant Claud (fare price for good food and cozy enviroment), and Zerof (at dinner they have a fixed menu, but cheap and tipical). Don't ever go to Chez Marston...they rip you off for a dinner is not even special and you wait for hrs even if the restaurant is half empty.
But if you're staying over a self catering forget about all this, just enter one of the many little supermarket and you'll find almost everything you need. A bag of fresh fish for 75 Rupees (16 rupees equals 1 euro) is available around the jetty when the fishermans come back from their hard day of work...you'll see a lot of people riding their bikes with fishes hanging from their handlebars.
For fresh, juicy and tasty fruit there's a hand made shop on the way to Grand Anse where we use to buy mangos and local delicatessen for our fruit salads in the morning.Speciality of the house...fruit shakes made in front of you!
Well, enjoy this unbelievable island and don't forget to train a bit before reaching it...you'll have to ride or walk a lot anyway (but it's pleasant).

Untitled from flamingshoe on Vimeo.

P.S.
I wonna spend few lines about Pralin and Mahe.
The gratest attraction reguarding Pralin is the Val de Mai park, where the world known Coco de Mer grows and where is totally worth spending the 25 euros for the entrance (get a guide so you won't just be looking at plants and assuming you're understanding what you're seeing). Anse Lazio is the other "big" thing of the island...it is nice, but if you've been to La Digue already it won't be enough for your satisfaction. Great snorkeling next to the rocks and big shady trees on the beach.
We spend just one day on Mahe, and we rented a car to do a round trip of it to get a general idea. It is a big island and it has a lot to offer actually, but not speaking of nice beaches. The only amazing place (I'm saying amazin!!!) is Anse Intendance, where you can also enter (and have lunch at a reasonable price) one of the most beautiful (and expensive) resorts I've ever seen in my life...the Banyan Tree Resort

Kerala, India 2011

For the third year in a row I chose India as the highlight of my trips.
After visiting the north and the east on the past seasons, this time I decided to go to Kerala...a pretty much turistic place, but only if you stick to the usual path (the one suggested by Lonely Planet for instance).
Landed in New Dheli,Spicejet was once again the airline I picked up to take me down to Cochi. On time and reliable as usual!
The Cochi airport is actually far from the "city", and it takes about an hour and a half by bus to reach the real heart of the town. Fort Kochin was my choice, because I had a friend waiting for me there...the mighty Dheeraj.
He will be the dude helping me for the rent of my loyal Royal Enfield. A nice but quite old Thunderbird 350 cc, that will take me for over a thousand Km in idilliac places, but letting me down just at the end of the tour.



First stop: Malakkaparra (Tamil Nadu).
You can't miss Athrapally watefalls on the way to this small tea workers village. They're considered the Niagara falls of India, and if you see them during the dry season, you can understand why! They're massive and powerful. I met three unforgettable guys there, that took in some hidden places where we could only go and spent having fun and laughing a lot!!!
Once passed the waterfalls you enter a wild tiger and elephants reserve after a check point, and here you start getting an idea of where you're gonna end up. The landscapes are just breath taking and the bad road you find from this point on doesn't matter at all.
From here to the next check point telling you you're definatly in Tamil Nadu there's about 100 kms of pure nature and wild jungle, with some lakes here and there, and always the feeling you're in the middle of a dream.
I was supposed to get to Valparai and rest for the night there, but Malakkapparra is just the perfect place to stop and start to deep yourself in the real atmosphere of the tea plantations.
Mojhil e Kiran happend to be in the same spot of the world...and like two old friends working hard in the tea plantations, we met at the only "restaurant" of the village. Sanji, the room renter, was part of the walls as he was running a sweet and clean hostel across the street. As you can immagine he kwnew everyone there, and suddenly he introduces us (me, Mojhil and Kiran) to the pink guy. A skinny dark man wearing this shocking shirt you couldn't defenatly miss in the middle of the fields.
One big bottle of water will do it for an hour walk I thought.



But the more we were going down, the more the valley down there was becoming true.
Let's get to the tribal village then...will take a rest and the will go back up (the village is about a 45 minutes walk super downhill).
I couldn't resist from the sight I could catch from the point of the mountain and as soon as Pinky asked us if we wanted to get down to the river...we all replied YESSSSS!!!
One more hr downhill and we're finally there. An endles valley with a huge river and quite all around! Massive rocks, cracked dried land, butterflies gently baskin in the sun on their piece of grass.
To make a long story short, we filled our bodies with nature and then we ate fresh fish just cought by the guys from the village in the river.
The tigers cold be anywhere, but we know the scarry elephants will come to the river at sun set (a month earlier an elephant killed 39 persons!!!).
Before it gets too dark we start climbing back, but with no water left and a whole day under the sun, I'm dehydrated and in the middle of the jungle I start feeling bad cramps on my legs...and the forest dept is waiting for us up there to kick our asses for being such idiots risking our lives with the wild animals!!!
From Valparai till I get back in Kerala to reach Munnar is just crazy roads to ride on my faithful Royal and wild reserves for tigers and elephants. The sun burns like hell so I decide to stop in an unknow village in the middle of no where, where a dude climbs a coconut tree just to get me two nuts...sooo refreshing!
Once in Kerala I finally start to climb back and get to Marayur, probably one of the most enchanting places I've ever seen in my life. Crews of tea pickers worked like little ants on this soft and smoth mountains, and the sandal wood trees make everything even more special if possible.
I'm tired like shit after riding almost the whole day, stopping here and there to take pictures, but at dark I finally reach Munnar and The Maria cottage where I'll spend the next unexpected 4 days.
It's gonna be all rides and hikes in the quiet and pieceful up and downs, and every corner is gonna be an emotion and a shock for the beauty of the West Gath (that's how the mountains between Kerala and Tamil Nadu are called). It happened I found myself crying sometimes, facing lands blessed by some god and people living in such a laid back lifestyle.



First of all thanx to my sweet Ele, always next to me wherever I've been through the entertaining book she gave me just befeore leaving (Amori, case, universi written by Fosco Maraini...a perfect book while you're traveling).
Thanx Jhon for the amazing two days trek we had in the plantations and for introducing me to your family in Top Station.
Thanx Mojhil and Kiran for being such great mates during our trip to the eden valley.
And thanx to all the people I met on my way...you made my experience special and were the most important part of it. I will nevere forget you.

To & From the airport.com

Clever internet site (but a bit messy in the interface) to find out how to get out of any airport of the world.
Cheap ways, fancy ways, standard ways...whatever is your budget, you get it!
Enjoy the link and click here.
D*

Portraits from the world

This is probably the kind of picture I like shooting the most.
From my many trips around the world, I've been so lucky to run into some of these amazing characters and to capture their expressions with my camera. Most of them were shot with compact cameras few years ago, and only the one from my last trips were done with my Nikon D90

Studio Portraits

I've been in the photography field for the past two years, and I've been so lucky to run into this wonderful tango dancer to realize this photo session that I'm really proud of.
The pictures you'll be watching are just the way they've been shot...any postproduction treatment can be done at any level thanks to an amazing software from Adobe called Lightroom.
If you've always dreamt about having professional pictures of your sons or some quality shooting just for yourself, just contact me through my blog and we'll arrange everything.
Cheers

Giglio island

Giglio island is defenatly one of the many treasures my country has to offer!!!
Just a couple of hours away from Rome there's Porto Santo Stefano, where you can jump on a ferry almost every hour and easily reach heaven with a short ride.
The trip itself is worth a chance, with the Argentario fading on your back and the rocky island shining in front of you with its colors.
As you approach the harbor you can already feel welcomed by Giglio Porto, one of the three little towns present on land and where most of the "night life" takes place. The colored houses and the many bars and restaurants make this part of the island the most enjoyable after a long day spent swimming in the turquoise waters. For the aperitivo (if you happen to be here around 7 o'clock) I recommend Meineken, with a rich buffet and a very friendly staff, whilst for dinner you can choose among three different restaurants: Meino for quality seafood right on the beach but a quite expensive bill, "La Pergola" for a great location and a reasonable price, and "Da Ruggero" for the great service and tradition (at a very good price).
The other town is Giglio Castello with its wonderful medieval setting and the great view you can get from there. Just take a walk into the walls and you'll never forget it. This town gets pretty crowded quite late, but still you can find good restaurants but expensive ones. If you want a "budget" (let's assume this is a pretty expensive summer place) dinner you can have a sit at "La Porta" and eat right on the main square just outside the walls.
Following the only road present on the island, you finally reach Giglio Campese, definitely the ugliest part of the island but where you can enjoy one of the best sunsets you'll ever remember. The huge bay of the town is also one of the very few beaches you'll be able to find, but on high season is totally packed with boats and way too crowded. L'Approdo is the place to be at aperitivo time, and you'd better get there early to get a table right on the sand. I'm not a big fan of this side of the island when where are not talking about "cale" (that's how the little bays present along the coast are called), then I can't really suggest any special restaurant.



But let's speak about hot bathing spots!!!
Beside the famous ones that you can easily find on any touristic map (l'Arenella, le Cannelle e le Caldane), I'd love to share with you some amazing spots I discovered with a little bit of effort and a quite hard walk.
My number one place is Capel Rosso hands down, a very tough spot to reach but for that reason very isolated and not crowded at all. The walk that takes you there leaves you breathless once you reach the light house and then the coast. The whole mediterranean sea opens up in front of your eyes and the smooth granite rocks are just perfect to lie on.
Another "cala" you can't miss is "cala dell'allume". To reach it get to Campese, follow the directions for the football field and once there ask to some locals, because you should park at the end of a dirty road and then take a wonderful walk into a small wood taking you on top of a hill. Be prepared to a great view, an intense smell of wild nature and a blinding blue coming from the bay waiting for you down there!
If you're staying at the "Baia del sole" camping then, you'won't have to walk that much to feel satisfied. The bay the have just beneath the structure is one of the most fascinating spots to relax and enjoy the italian sun surrounded by crystal waters.
Last but not least, i Faraglioni are the attraction of the island hands down.
The path to follow starts again from Giglio Campese, it's bit tougher then the others, but your effort will be payed back.
Beside all these options, you can have a great taste of the island renting a small boat with your friends. At Giglio Porto ask for Alvino and you will be super happy with his kindness and great service.

2010

As the new year is approaching, you can recap through images the "old" one and remember something you might have forgotten.

Egadi islands part four...Gioacchino

Again the rooster...but today we feel like two real explorers so we decide to go find some special unspoiled spots. Blacky leads us to Scaro Cavallo where she decides to stop and to be parked considering the view. On our left the little town cemetery and in front of us Levanzo and the Trapani coast to turn everything into a painting. Again tuff rocks and caves make the surroundings astonishing, and the entrance to one of these caves leads us to an unknown path following an unbelievable cliff on the turquoise sea.
Spotting hares, getting needles in our feet and stuffing down figs and mellon just bought from the local farmer, we reach this huge tuff pit where Daniele wants to get down to find an outlet to the sea...but not succeeding. The view is so incredibly beautiful that we decide to postpone our swim of the day to enjoy Cala Rossa on the background, the sailing boats looking like millions ants in the sea and a little hawk playing with the currents!!!
Once back to Blacky at Scaro Cavallo we opt for staying there a bit and spread our bodies under the sunset light till 7 p.m, to have dinner at Bar Cavallo where a peacefull atmosphere and the genuine and simple cuisine make their garden a tale come true...a little paradise. Hammered and satisfied we head to town where the crazy Favignana night is waiting for us.
And that's where we met him, the Rais, Gioacchino (http://www.gioacchinocataldo.it), very Gioac and not so ino. A man, a mountain, a mith for the island inhabitants, the man portrayed on many pictures rapresenting him struggling 500 Kilograms tuna fishes in the mattanze.
Daniele, just like a terrier does, spots him in the middle of a huge crowd while talking with some tourists in front of a good glass of local wine and gets close to the grand fisher man to solve his doubt: "Are you the one from the many pictures I saw around?". The Rais stands up in all his majesty and gives his massive hand to shake and introduce himself. Daniele nearly reach his hips, but he manages to book a day trip around the island on Gioacchino's boat for the coming up days.

Portraits on a location

Specialized in protraits, natural enivroments and social photography, here's a sample of a photo session I realized in Tuscany.
Planning everything together, from the location, to the dressing style and the mood you want to express, I can deliver you a high quality product you'll be totally satisfied with.
You can contact me through the blog and I'll be back to you right away.
Enjoy!

Egadi islands part three...the rooster

On time like a bank asking for money, at 9 a.m the rooster screams loud from the camping's speakers and following the official resident voice at the reception informs us about the weather and the wind blowing in order to choose the rigth side of the island to go enjoy the day under the sun.
On our bike we head to our favorite grocery store on the way, to buy fruits for lunch and two carpets to lay comfortable on the rocks and then we park next to Lido Burrone. The first impression is good even if a bit over crowded for our standards. Maybe families like it because it's close to the street and there's few beaches to sun bath on, but the colors are still amazing so we decide to stay and take great naps on some uncomfortable tuff rocks (that's why we bought the carpets) and wake up only to refresh sometimes, bite the delicious fruits we have, and read few lines of our books.
Around 7 p.m. we decide to save some good 50 euros and we choose to head to Camarillo Brillo for an enormous aperitivo.

Montepulciano area, Tuscany

I don't need to spend too many words describing such an amazing place. Montepulciano is world wide famous for its wine, its surroundings (as any other part of this Italian region) and its architectural beauties. But as you can see from the pictures I focused more on the natural aspect of the area, since you'll be able to find as many pictures as you want on the medieval buildings and squares of the town, but in particular this are shots taken from a friend of mine's country house, deepen in the hills and where you could spend some days if you book in advance. The place is called Poggio Golo and you'll be delighted by its well furnished appartments, the big swimming pool placed in a wonderful garden and their own production of Nobile di Montepulciano and olive oil.
I can assure you it's worth it to give it a try...you'll totally want to go back there again and again.
If you need any more information about the area and palces to visit, you can contact me here, and I'll be more then glade to help you arranging your perfect staying.
Coming up, in any case, some more good hints on this wonderful slice of Italy called Tuscany.
Enjoy

PANTONE HOTEL

I'm sure every designer knows what I'm talking about.
This hotel in Brussells is the latest awesome idea in the hotel business.
But we're talking about something that has to be seen and not described, so please have a look and get ready to will a ticket to the Belgium capital.
Check it out on this link...Pantone Hotel

Vivo Altrove

This morning, while on the car to come to work, I was listening to an interesting radio program where I heard about this book and its internet site.
I've always been sensitive about the issue covered in it...and here I am to report the site as a very well done work.
For all of those who have been thinking for ever about leaving their country to go live abroad, for those who never found the courage to do so or just have so many doubts about it, and for those who are already living somewhere else outside their home country, this is where you could find all the answers to the questions you never had the courage or chance to ask.
Surf it wisely: Vivo altrove
Cheers.