Supraśl, Podlasie, Poland.

There is a pretty little town in Podlasie, it is right next to the capital of the region Białystok, it is called Supraśl (pron. soo-pra-shal). One of the main reasons I like this town other than the oak walk, the pretty buildings and the general idyllic scenery, is the shocked monastery.... shocked monastery? Scroll down, you'll see what I mean. Anthropomorphism at its peak :D

A normal every day style church.

What I call the surprised monastery, surely it is saying "OH!", no?

In this photo it looks like its hands are raised, maybe it is being held up for all its money.

I do like paint peeling.

This is a school, if you can believe it.... compared to some of the state schools we see this is darned impressive.

The lady of the school.

A tough looking walrus.

Being out east the town has some more Orthodox influence.

Eaglet

Street side houses.

The cinema and a nice little restaurant.

Signals for the oak walk where you can follow the trail of some really old beautiful oaks.

A local version of Kiszka ziemniaczana or potato sausage

Glastonbury and Frome, Somerset, UK.

Driving down from Lacock, to the south coast, we went through Frome. Frome is a pretty little town with some cool second hand shops, historical sites, interesting street art, and a really good coffee place Moo and Two although I am sure they would prefer to be called a tea shop. So good in fact, I had two coffees!

If a shop is abandoned why not decorate the window?

Seems corny.

I almost see a face here....

These are always so tempting....

St Johns Church

From the window seat at Moo and Two.

I love natures intrusions on our otherwise grey landscape.

After Frome we continued on down the trails to Glastonbury.

We climbed to the top of the Tor. The Glastonbury Tor also has a grisly past. Abbot Richard Whiting was executed here in 1549. Glastonbury Tor is also known as being one of the most spiritual sites in the country. Its pagan beliefs are still very much celebrated. You will notice some of the few remaining hippies of the world here!

Almost there.

Quite a view amongst the hippies, pagans and other day trippers.

some were too tired, others needed love.

The view, I have now figured out what makes the ticking sound and fixed it, I didn't know then.

Sant Iago, Galicia, Spain.

Sant Iago, or Saint James, is a very famous figure in Galicia. That shows you why the capital of Galicia is Sant Iago, commonly called Santiago de Compostela. It is the end of the line for many of the walkers finishing their trek along the camino, of course some continue on to Finisterra as well. The town has a compact old town which, unfortunately, is overrun by tourist related things. You can't walk more than a few metres before you see the same souvenirs at another shop, followed by the same souvenirs, followed by.... you get the point. Also, the restaurants appear to be the sort that have a menu with pictures on it, rarely a good sign. It has some nice buildings and once you get away from the hustle and bustle sections it is really quite quaint. We arrived in the afternoon, but first went for a walk near our accommodation to find some food to cook dinner, then walked into the city centre in the late afternoon to enjoy that lovely soft light time of day.

The cathedral has a little hat, how cute!

All the kids, old and young on mobiles. The times, the times.

We only arrived on the first day just before sunset, which mean some pretty photos.

And some long shadows.

More Iseo Stuff

So, we wanted to go to the Monte Isola the largest lake island in south and central Europe. It sits in the middle of the lake, and only has a small population but is a really interesting place. The highest peak is 419m up and it is some tough going in 30C+ heat. We still thought it would be fun to climb it though.

Sun already blazing, even though it was early morning. Time to get on a ferry.

The lakes shoreline 

Sulzano from the water.

The trail to the peak

The view back across the lake as they dismantled the floating piers

The piers appear to be telling you the way to Taverna Bergamasca

Some unripe berries.

I do love a good meadow.

At the peak there is the Sanctuary of Madonna della Ceriola

A decent view down.

It stands from the 16th Century.

I think, and don't hold me to this, that these little tablets are recorded miracles attributed to Madonna.... I think....

out of the church.

We got to see them removing the underlay from the floating piers where they were on land.

It made some pretty cool patterns

Then we took the train home. Toot!