Anne's Short Musings

A nice way to pass the afternoon I found this pair fishing by a canal in Kyoto. The Philosopher's Walk is a beautiful walk lined with cherry blossoms in the Higashiyama district. It begins at the Silver Pavilion and follows a walk taken most days by one of Japan's most famous philosophers, Nishida Kitaro - and also teddy bears.

Today I discovered the marble quarries of Carrara, in Tuscany. I'm not too far from Florence , yet feel a world away. All week I have been sweltering in +30 C temperatures, but the up here in the mountains the air is cool. A mist has rolled in over the mountain tops, and droplets of water sweep by in the breeze. I stand in awe at the sheer size of these blocks. The entire mountains are made from marble, and have been mined since antiquity. Think Roman Forum, then Michelangelo's David . Both made from marble from this quarry. The morning passes, and it is time for coffee in Carrara. Later I will visit the Arts Academy, and wander past the Duomo where art students are busy with hammer and chisel. The whole town, it seems, is made of marble. Like my photos? - if you feel like contributing to my coffers, please click the link to buy either my   photos  from the micro-stock site  123RF , or products from my store,  EnsoCreations.  Cheers!  Otherwise

One of my favourite memories of Bruges was the Dog of Bruges. He has since passed away, but I will always remember him watching the tourists barges as they drifted past his window. Like Venice , the canals of Bruges make it impossible to walk in a straight line; I found it simplest to follow a canal. The Groenerei (or Green Canal) is one of the old town’s major waterways, and was only two bridges away from my hotel. As I walked along I was surprised to see a golden retriever pawing at a window of the Côté Canal Hotel. The delightful canals of Bruges Unseen hands opened the window and spread out a quilt, and the dog made himself quite comfortable lying across the windowsill, soaking up the sun as he watched the world go by. How could you not fall in love with this town? I hadn’t yet heard of the famous Dog of Bruges . Every morning he settled into place as the tourist boats started up for the day. Apart from appearing in the photos of e