Exceptional rains

Weather conditions are worsening in Italy, that's why I'm still in Naples (my mother lives here). At the moment it isn't easy to come back home by train, as catastrophic floods have devastated the country and have left 8 dead and thousands homeless. The main problem is that rivers' levels continue to rise. The floods have also affected Croatia and Bosnia.

Many foreign tourists can't continue their planned tour across the Italian peninsula.

Early this week I was glad to see many tourists, from North Europe, France, East Asia and Australia, who were visiting old Naples' monuments and landmarks, such as the Palace of the Spaniard ("palazzo dello spagnolo" in Italian language). It was built starting in 1738 by the architect Sanfelice, who created large arches that followed the progress of the stairs on both sides. At the end of the 1700s the building was bought by a Spanish landlord. That's why that historical building is still called Palace of the Spaniard . 

Today, May 18, is holiday in some European countries, such as Switzerland, Norway, Finland and Sweden. It is Ascension Day. This Christian holiday commemorates Jesus Christ's Ascention into heaven 40 days after Easter.

I will probably be back home at the end of this week.

Happy Ascension Day!

Rainy week

Another rainy week in Central and South Italy. There are blue flags in Naples streets as Naples' soccer team has just won its third title. 

The picture below shows, Allumiere, a small village located in the hill (85 km North from Rome). It is known for its cathedral, ancient ruins and geologic formation.

I hope you had a nice Mother's Day yesterday ... I know that this year  Mother's Day was celebrated on Sunday, May 14, in many countries, including the US. 

My sister made a cake covered with cream and strawberries for our mother. Strawberries on top were small but very sweet and delicious.

I will be back from Naples later this week. 

Have a nice week ☁️⛅☁️

Cloudy Monday

Dry and cloudy Monday to start the week. The cloudy sky I see today reminds me the clouds that I saw last week while I was flying over Ireland.  

I much prefer seats located directly next to the window. 

Window seats are better on airplanes, as they give me the opportunity to enjoy both landscape and clouds ☁️☁️✈⛅☁️

Do you prefer window or aisle seat? 

Have a nice week!

Malahide castle, village and gargen

 

I'm back! Hello everyone! So here I am, returning to blogging. As requested by Veronica  I show some pictures which I made in Ireland last week. The first two images were taken in Malahide, a coastal settlement situated 14 Kilometres North of Dublin, with a population of over 17,000. Its name in Irish language is Mullach Ide.

There are a lot of public transport options avalilable to get you to Malahide castle, which lies close to the village of Malahide.  

The touristic port situated in Malahide has more than 300 fully serviced berths and can also accomodate vessels up to 30 metres with space for manoevring.

Back to Dublin we went to St. James Gate, which was the Western entrance to the Irish capital during the middle ages. It is located off the South quays of Dublin.

While I was visiting the Guiness storehouse in Dublin I reached the seventh floor of such tourist attraction, where I enjoyed a view of the Irish capital. 

At St. James Gate there are seven floors of sights and sensations in a building that has been brewing beer since 1700s.

Dubliners are friendly and they use "you're welcome" and "thank you" often. That's why the Iish capital has repeatedly been named one of the friendliest town in Europe. I enjoyed both Dublin's cultural heritage and Ireland's typical food.

With regards to food, last week I had twice the traditional Irish lamb stew. That delicious supper is made with both dark Irish beer and sweet potatoes.

And last but not least, we had awesome fish and chips with daily catch fish. I think the fish was North Atlantic codling. 

I've learnt that Ireland has never sought to join as a full NATO member because of its policy of neutrality. But if the United Nations where to issue a mandate to Ireland, the Irish military would deploy on peacekeping and humanitarian missions.

Today is the 1st of May.  In Italy this month begins with a public holiday which is known as International workers' day. Happy 1st of May to all the blogging friends!

Break from blogging

Hello bloggers, have a nice and sunny Sunday!  ☀️

There is a relationship between the two above pictures, which I took last week in Rome. The second one shows many  tourists who have been gathering Vatican Square since late March. It's easy to see how they enjoy that Rome's landmark. 🇮🇪

In addition, I noticed that some tourists also enjoy Italian milk and coffee with custard on top (1st picture ☕). It's great to see foreign people who enjoy both Italian monuments and Italy's typical food. Some tourists who came form North Europe are still wearing short sleeved clothes, although the weather isn't as temperate as it should in late April. 

A blogger friend from Malaysia, Veronica, two months ago published some posts about Rome after the had gone to Italy on holiday. She enjoyed both Rome's landmarks and Italy's typical food. 🍷

I am taking a break from blogging, as next week I will go to Ireland for six days. Many bloggers and friends of our blogging community would never disappear without a word 😊 ... I will get back blogging next month.

Regards,

G

Thoughts about war in East Europe

 

With regards to the ongoing war in East Europe I think that:

I have never heard that a president, and his wife, of an occupied country have    time to take glamorous photos for a fashion magazine while people and soldiers who live in their country are suffering.

I have never heard of celebrity supporters, such as Mila Kunis, Andrew Garfield and Sarah Jessica, who visit the president of a country engaged in a war against invaders. Since late February 2022 the stage in Kyiv has been set for them.

I have never heard of a president of an occupied country asking USA for no-fly zone, although a fifth grade boy would understand it is not possible.

And last but not least, Russian gas continues to flow through Ukraine, mostly to Slovakia and Austria (1). In other words, since the war began, in late February 2022, invaders' gas has always been flowing through Ukraine. Not to mention of sanctions against Russia that have restricted oil and gas supply.  Consequently,  turmoil in energy markets leads to wind fall gains for U.S. multinational companies. 

According to figures, Exxonmobil made a record high profit of $ 56 Billion in 2022. And in 2022 Shell and Chevron had the biggest profit in their history (2). An interesting question may be: who is winning this war? Not Russia. Of course not Ukraine. The winners are United States' oil companies.

I hope I  haven't bored you by writing such inconsistencies about Ukraine-Russia war. 

Have a nice week!

(1) The picture above was taken some years ago by a friend of mine, Stefano, while he was travelling for job.

(2) https://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/exxon-chevron-shell-profits-soar-oils-surge

Energy performance of buildings

 

With the aim of modernise the building stock, the EU policy-makers would like to reduce  emission in the next years in the building sector. The EU green building legislation aim to improve insulation and energy efficiency broadening its focus on zero-energy buildings, due to the fact that energy prices have been rising since the begnnning of the Ukraine-Russia war. in this perspective, in late March this years, EU lawmakers and leaders, who previously saw little attention on this topic, last month reached a provisional political agreement to reduce final energy consuption at EU level by 11.7 % in 2030.

On the one hand, EU Member States can exempt certain buildings, such as cultural heritage or historic buildings, from obtaining minimum energy performance standards. On the other hand, the requirements laid down in the energy performance of buildings Directive do not prevent any EU country from maintaining or introducing more stringent measures.

https://energy.ec.europa.eu/topics/energy-efficiency/energy-efficient-buildings/energy-performance-buildings-directive_en

With regards to generating electricity directly from sunlight, the above picture shows a photovoltaic plant in the Atacama desert in Chile. My son took the picture last week.

Have a nice week ahead of you!