ON THE WAY TO THE SUPERMARKET

I pass this house on my way to the supermarket frequently. The pink building in the rear was once the barn but has been converted to another house. The colours remind me that if you want to paint your house in this part of Tuscany you have a choice of three colours: white, chrome yellow or oxblood or a mixture of the three.

Most houses opt for a rather yuckish cream, a good old Italian compromise. Bright white is rare but chrome yellow and oxblood (so named because at one time real oxblood was used to colour paint and waxes) are frequent as are primrose yellow, pink and peach.

The owners of these houses use a lot of flowers in eye-popping colours but a little later in the year. People were having lunch under the trees so I only took the one shot.

I tried a joint blipping trip today and this is not exactly a good idea because both see the same pictures. We both saw this one of an ancient Etruscan site. The Etruscans liked hilltops where they could see in all directions in case of enemy attack.

You can see my version here: OLD CHURCH ON AN ETRUSCAN SITE

The Etruscans inhabited the area at least 500 years B.C. Such artifacts as have been found show that they were skilled artisans. One of their words, or at least a version of it, remain in the Italian language. It is said that when Etruscans fired up their kilns they threw animal entrails into the air and shouted "auguri!" to insure good luck. It is used frequently today for Christmas, birthdays, etc. for "best wishes." You can even say "auguroni," really big good wishes.
MORE ETRUSCAN INFORMATION