February 6 Greymouth

 Greymouth was grey this morning, overcast with some light rain. We drove down to the beach which was covered in mostly grey rocks rounded by th pounding waves and littered with driftwood of various sizes,

Someone had built a house on the beach made from driftwood. Beautifully constructed, though not much shelter from the wind or rain. It was clearly a popular meeting place though, decked out with timber seating around a fireplace that appeared to have been used not long ago.

Looking east down the river.

February 4-5

 We’re, off for four weeks travelling around New Zealand with our friends Greg and Sharon. After a delayed start in Melbourne we arrived in Christchurch and picked up our hire cars to drive west for an hour or so to Darfield, a small town not far from Christ church. The next day we crossed the mountain range via Arthur’s Pass, named after Arthur Dudley Dobson, the explorer who discovered it, arriving in Greymouth early afternoon,

Mist covered mountains not far from Darfield

Castle Hill is a collection cultural location for the local Maori people 

We c stopped at Arthur's Pass fir lunch. There were several signs warning us to watch our for the Keas, the mountain parrots that love to steal food off people's plates.  We saw one swoop down and steal a small butter segment while we were there. 

Kea hoping for a Fitbit

A small waterfall a short walk from the road at Arthur's Pass. Note the crystal clear water.

June 29 Tucson

 Jerry & Del took us to see the gallery of a local artist, De Grazie, who worked in Tucson and  Mexico in the second half of the 20th century focusing on local indigenous people. He was a multi-talented artist, working in paint, textile, wood, metal, enamel, along with architecture. The gallery we visited was designed and built by himself over a number of years. 

Here is a selection of the works we saw there:

He was particularly interested in horses and would go to a local rodeo on a native reservation near Tucson.to draw the horses and riders.

Bronze roadrunner

Mariachi player

  

Tabletop

Silver horse sculpture

He designed and built this chapel with the help of people from the tribe he was living near

Inside the chapel and its side room.

June 27, 28 Tucson, Arizona

 A full day of flying from Rome to Los Angeles, then to Tucson on Friday to stay with Del, Di's best friend from school - some 65 years of friendship - and her husband Jerry.  Then today we had a slow start.  Di, Del & Jerry went for a morning walk before the temperature went to 40 odd degrees, while I stayed behind to enjoy their swimming pool. 

This afternoon we visited the Tucson Museum of Art which was marvellous. 

Tucson Airport

 

Di & Del,        Jerry & Del.

The Sculpture Garden

Peruvian pottery, dating from around 100 to 1000 AD including the jaguars below

 

                                                   Kachina dolls carved from Cottonwood roots in the area around Tucson, representing various Hopi spirit figures. 

Mexican masks 

 

More recent basketwork and a bronze sculpture of a Hopi warrior

June 24-25 Last days in Italy

 We decided to break our trip back to Rome where we'll begin our flight to the US. We stopped in Follonica for lunch by the sea and had our first pizza since Italy coming to Italy.  Very Good! We them drove on to Marina di Grosseto, a beach resort town lije Follonica, as shown by the hundreds of umbrellas covering the beach. The next day, today, we continued to Civitavecchia, the Port city of Rome, stopping at a large seaside town for lunch again. Huge cruise ships in the Port here and lots of tourists enjoying the sunny weather. 

Follonica beaches, one with umbrellas andsun lounges for hire,  the other BYO.

Marina di Groseto. A small strip of public beach, the rest reserved for paying customers.

Orbetello city gates 

 

... and inside the city. 

Tomorrow is a long day with flights from Rome to Los Angeles via Helsinki so no post tomorrow.