Travel Theme : Peaceful

Ailsa’s travel theme this week on (www.wheresmybackpack.com) is peaceful. Undoubtedly open to numerous interpretations, so its going to be interesting to see the responses. I live in the City, and my interpretation of peaceful, when it concerns a place, is more than likely to be in the countryside, or along the coast, perhaps in the mountains. I wonder if someone from the countryside, or from along the coast, or from within the mountains, would list the city as their preferred peaceful place..:-), Well, I guess that too is just another one of those interpretations.
…….the journey continues………

Weekly Photo Challenge : Ready

There seemed to be a little confusion about the topic for this weeks photo challenge, sounds like the topic was not “ready” for release :-). So, this was an opportunity for those of us that were not quite “ready” to post, to get our breath back :-). Seriously though, its been a busy time recently, so even though this topic was released late, this post is even later :-(.

I’ve mentioned previously that its been a busy start to the New Year, so I figured why not post something that counteracts this busy start, even though we are only into the second month yet. You know just ease back into that holiday feeling which would be pretty welcome right now 🙂

So my images for the “Ready” challenge  are about being “ready” to unwind already :-), and also resonate completely with a previous recent topic “peaceful”. They were shot while on a road trip through Scandinavia a few years ago. I’m sure you’ll agree, they make you feel completely “ready” to ease back into the holiday season:-) ………………the journey continues…….

Weekly Photo Challenge : Peaceful

When I saw this weeks challenge topic – Peaceful, I was reminded of some peaceful places that I had visited. For a moment I couldnt decide which of them I would post about. But, then I decided to try something different, well, maybe not exactly too different, maybe just a little 🙂

I recently travelled to Southern Italy, and one of the places I visited was Naples. Well, Peaceful is not exactly a word you would use to describe Naples, travel books, describe it as filthy, noisy, large, overbearing, crime infested, etc………….perhaps a little unfair to what is really a busy, vibrant City, with some really wonderful old buildings in the historic precinct. But, I guess everybody has their own perception of the place. The traffic during the Christmas season was absolutely chaotic, with Vespas coming at you from all directions, literally mingling with pedestrains and other traffic. Surviving a day walking through the traffic of Naples, without getting run over by a Vespa is an ongoing challenge for any tourist :-). I can see you wondering why you’re reading all of this in a post about Peaceful 🙂

Well, I discovered a really peaceful aspect of Naples, perhaps it should be described as a peaceful time of the day, but maybe with a little Artistic licence we can still refer to it as Peaceful…

I was fortunate enough to be in a room with a 5th floor terrace that overlooked the harbour and the historic old city. Considering it was mid winter (read late sunrise) and I had my camera with, I decided that it would be a good idea to try and take some shots at sunrise. Well, to my surprise, it was an amazingly peaceful time in what is normally a really busy City. There just seemed to be an incredible calm, like everything was on a deliberate pause……..the clouds filled the sky, and eased over every now and then to let the sunlight through. The sunlight then slowly filtered through and just bathed the beautifully detailed old buildings in warm morning light, adding to that peaceful tranquil moment. The Sea appeared to be completely calm with the still water being broken only by the early morning ferry heading out to the islands. For a moment you forgot about the normal hustle and bustle of the city……………A few minutes later the silence was broken by some shopkeepers moving some stuff into their shops…..and not much longer..morning had broken…….and the new day in the bustling City began……………the journey continues…………………

Todays images are some of those peaceful moments………………