The only tea plantations in Europe

This is the only place in Europe where tea can be grown. The Azores Islands. Middle of the Atlantic Ocean. The only tea factory and tea plantations in Europe.

Picking of tea leaves starts between April and September. Next there is a wilting - one hour-long rolling process that crushes the tea leafs, followed by fermentation, drying and packing.

Porto Formoso tea factory. Pekoe tea. Tea plantations.

The two existing factories: Gorreana and Porto Formoso produce three different types of black tea. Tea varieties are determined according to where on the bush the leaves are picked from: first there is a orange pekoe, the most flavored one, that comes from the bud and from the first and the youngest leaves. Then there is a pekoe, a less-flavored variety, derived from the second leaf and finally we have a Broken Leaf, the least aromatic of the three with less tannins, that is made from fragments of the remaining leaves.

At the end of the tour one can enjoy a cup of tea in a specially prepared tea-room.

So sit comfortably, grab your cap of tea and enjoy. Certainly you won't find a fresher tea anywhere else in Europe.

We visited the two tea factories during our second visit to São Miguel island. March 2009.

Maciek.

Sameiro Sanctuary

Tuesday April 07th, 2009. So finally we are in for a Easter Holly Week.
Today in the morning we headed 40 kms north of Porto to a small village of Samerio. The Sameiro Sanctuary is located at the top of the hill overlooking city of Braga.

Late 19-th century church in neoclassical style was the place where on May 15th, 1992 Pope John Paul II celebrated a Mess to over 100.000 pilgrims during his Apostolic Voyage to Portugal.

Our Lady of Sameiro.

Pope John Paul II has always been a great champion of catholic family life.
In Sameiro he addressed issues directly connected with family: the importance of interpersonal love, responsibility and dignity.
Marriage is a fully an interpersonal relationship. Pope underscores the importance of mutual love between the spouses. This is a main building block for the future of any society and country.

Pope´s words spoken in Pomeiro in 1992 seem to be very up to date in our
laicized and socialism-orientated societies.

Model: NIKON D80

Date/time: 2009-04-07 12:42
Shutter speed: 1/50
Exposure Program: Aperture priority
F-stop: f/8
ISO: 400
Metering Mode: Pattern
Flash: Did not fire
Focal length: 20 mm
Lens: 10.0-20.0 mm





Maciek.

Azores Islands - Continued

It is thought that the name of archipelago Azores is derived from the bird named Goshawk ( "Açor" in Portuguese ), which was common on the islands at the time of discoveries. Other think that the name came from Portuguese word "azures" which means "blue".

Mosteiros is a name of the small village located in the western part of the island. There are some small islets close to the shore. The word Mosteiros in Portuguese means "monastery" since some islets resemble churches.

This photo was taken at the sunset at the Mosteiros voulcanic black sand beach. Tripod. Remote control.

Model: NIKON D80

Date/time: 2009-03-27 20:13:12
Shutter speed: 3 sec
Exposure Program: Aperture priority
F-stop: f/4
ISO: 100
Metering Mode: Pattern
Flash: Did not fire
Focal length: 10 mm
Lens: 10.0-20.0 mm



Date: 27 of March 2009 during our second short visit to Azores Islands.

Maciek.

Islands of Azores - remnants of Atlantis

In the middle of the Atlantic Ocean is a small group of nine of volcanic islands known as Azores.
These islands are probably the surviving remnants of mysterious Atlantis continent.

São Miguel is the biggest ( 65 kms long ) and most populated ( 130.000 inhabitants ) island.

One of the main tourist attractions of the island is its natural beauty. Lagoa das Furnas ( below ) is one of 3 biggest lakes located in the half-active volcanic crater. The last eruption happened in 1630 and caused 200 deaths.

Model: NIKON D80
Date/time: 2009-03-29 20:13:12
Shutter speed: 1 sec
Exposure Program: Aperture priority
F-stop: f/25
ISO: 100
Metering Mode: Pattern
Flash: Did not fire
Focal length: 11,5 mm
Lens: 10.0-20.0 mm
Tripod.


Date: 29 of March 2009 during our second short visit to Azores Islands.
Maciek.

Arezzo and "our" Piero della Francesca

The meeting of Salomon and the Queen of Sheba.

Our itinerary led through the province of Arezzo in discovery of the works of Piero della Francesca, one of the greatest Italian Renaissance painters of the XVth century.
In Arezzo we rushed up to Basilica of San Francesco - Romanesque style church in the center of the old city. In the Bacci di Lorenzo chapel we found what we were so much looking for: Legend of the True Cross series of Piero della Francesca frescoes. It is a collection of 1o big masterpieces made between 1452 and 1466. The most impressive are The adoration of the wood and The Battle of Constantine and Maxentius.

The landscapes resemble the rocky mountains between the Arezzo and Sansepolcro, birthplace of Piero. When you look at the painting what you feel is an aura of serenity and dignity.
The structure of the paintings is clear and well organized. Perfectly used chromatic palette and chiaroscuro transform the paintings into the fantastic 3-dimensional images.

Constantine Dream fresco is one of the first night chiaroscuro paintings of the Renaissance era.

Piero was an artist and a mathematician. The perspectives on the frescoes are geometrically ideal. His treatise "De prospectiva pingendi" ( "On painting perspective" ) was the first ever writen tutorial how to paint a perspective.

Basilica of San Francesco in Arezzo and a fragment of The meeting of Salomon and the Queen of Sheba.

Camera: NIKON D80. ISO 100/2600. Neat Image post-processing.

Maciek. 26.04.2009

Tuscany: rolling meadows or beautiful natural carpets ?

The Tuscany meadows found between villages of San Giovani d´Asso and Buonconvento.
The last sun rays flicker over the rolling early spring fields.

This photo was selected / awarded the front page of plfoto.com web photo gallery. Tnx all.

First early morning light over the Tuscany fields. These absolutely gorgeous views can be found close to Torrenieri village.

Photo 2:
Model: NIKON D80
Date/time: 2009-03-14 07:36:00
F:5,6
Exposure Program: Aperture priority
ISO: 400
Metering Mode: Pattern
Flash: Did not fire
Focal length: 100 mm
Lens: AS-F Nikkor 70.0-300 mm VR


March 2009.

Maciek.

Our "Saudades" of the perfect beach

iMonkey.

Saudade in Portuguese means being sad with the feeling of nostalgia and hope.

Running through my old photos I suddenly found these two old pics. "This place was like a paradise" I thought. A few years ago we encountered vast areas of uninhabited and deserted beaches close to Mexico-Belize border. Now we feel "saudades" and hope one day we will be back there again.

Place: close to Mexico-Belize border, 2004.


Maciek.

Siena and "our" Simone Martini

I am a very selective art book reader. To be honest after many years I prefer to get back to only one but very special book: Waldemar Lysiak "White Man Painting" ( 8 volumes, first published 1997 ). I read and then I travel to see the paintings with my own eyes.

This time we first went to Siena, Tuscany, Italy. Palazzo Pubblico. Two giant Simone Martini frescos: Guidoriccio da Fogliano and Maestà.

Siena - XIVth century. The dusk of Renaissance. First secular ( non-religious ) painting of modern era. Guigoricco was a Condottiere - an Italian soldier of fortune. Rich, bold and beautifully dressed, he marches through the Tuscany landscape after the seize of the city of Montemassi.

The painting has yet still a very primitive, post-Gothic perspective. But the whole beauty of the fresco is hidden in its dynamic but proud pose of Guigoricco on his horse. He really seems to be "Clint Eastwood of the XIVth century" ( W.Lysiak ).

Guidoriccio da Fogliano. c. 1328. Fresco. Palazzo Pubblico, Sala del Mappamondo, Siena, Italy

Maestà means ‘majesty’. It is used to describe a representation of the Virgin and Child enthroned as the Queen of Heaven, surrounded by a court of saints. Maestà by Martini is one of his early paintings. Very much Gothic in style. No perspective, no landscape, all the saints and the altar are painted in Byzantium style. But look at the saints faces: they are so non-Gothic and so much different from the Giotto saints. These faces come from Renaissance: full of human feelings of adornment and compassion.

Maestà. 1317. Fresco. Palazzo Pubblico, Sala del Mappamondo, Siena, Italy.

Camera: NIKON D80. ISO 1200. Neat Image post-processing.

BTW. No photos allowed at Palazzo Pubbilco ;)

Maciek. 24.04.2009

Tuscany, continued...

The windswept, colorful fields between Montepulciano and Pienza with sun and light playing over their surface.

Early spring. View to the south. Late afternoon hour.



Model: NIKON D80

Maciek.

Our garden in early March

Early March 2009.
Clockwise: Glicinia flower, Jasmine strong perfume smelling flowers, Azalia flowers and unknown species ( Thanks to Anna ( her blog is here ) the unknown species is Piersis Japonica )



Model: NIKON D80
Maciek.