more colours of autumn

This is a convertible Smart car! I think its very cute. If you are wondering how it qualifies under the title of 'colours of autumn', grey is becoming an increasingly common sky colour. Other colours are much prettier, such as the orange pumpkins and purple cabbages, and there are still lots of flowers in the markets, including one of my favourites - hydrangeas.

I have been braving those cold morning walks to work with Phil, with the help of my woollen leggings and goose down jacket. Even Phil has been shopping for a pair of leggings since the temperature has been down to zero. How could it get colder than this?

its only autumn

It has been years since we experienced a true autumn and the colours are, well, colourful! There is a large mix here of deciduous and evergreen trees, so in addition to the various shades of green, we now have red, gold, bronze and aubergine.

The only problem is the temperature guage which claimed that it was 3.7 degrees when Phil walked to school this morning. I baulked at the idea of going outside in THAT, so Phil had to walk on his own. Maybe I will be braver tomorrow.

the second rome

When we travelled in and around Chile it was as if the Incas had been everywhere, leaving their impeccable wall building skills for us to wonder at centuries later. These photos were taken at Maachu Picchu in Peru and the Inca Bridge in Argentina.

Like the Incas, the Romans too attempted to conquer their world by increasing their boundaries and requiring more nations to pay tribute in the form of taxes, to fund their ever increasing expansionist desires. And also like the Incas, the Romans left their roads, bridges and walls for us to view.

Trier is a small town east of Luxembourg (in Germany) which they say was called Roma Segunda, or the second Rome. It has lots of interesting roman ruins, that have survived not only through time, but also the deluge of WW2 bombing raids. We haven't visited them all yet, but will certainly do on future visits. Below is the Porta Nigra, or black gate, which was once the entrance to the city.

We went to Trier to shop, but there are other delights as well, such as the flowers and mushrooms - which in the cases below, were both the biggest specimens we have ever seen. Dahlias the size of dinner plates and mushrooms bigger than my hand! I wonder if the Romans enjoyed these?