Italy: What is There Not to Like?

Well, it’s that time of year again. I always enjoy looking at the data from my blog from the previous year to see what’s up. I also take this time to look at everything I did and the places I went…….. since I mostly write about travel in one way or another. It’s always amazing to me what I actually did do! Looking at my blog statistics one only has to travel to one country to have many enthusiastic responses. That country would be Italy! Everyone wants to go to the cities or villages in Italy, take a cooking class in Italy, boat about Lake Como, study Italian, or go to a festival. My Number One posting is still from 2013, (By the Sea, By the Sea, By the Beautiful Sea)  https://cadyluckleedy.com/2013/07/30/by-the-sea-by-the-sea-by-the-beautiful-sea/ about how to collect the charms for the Cinque Terre Bracelet or you can make it a necklace! It’s up to you! The Italian videos, I made,  were watched over and over too! Were the Italian posts so popular again because many new people discovered the posts from 2014 or because they have been re-directed there because it was my Number One post?  Enquiring minds would like to know!

If I could pick just one country in the world to travel to I would pick Italy. Just saying…..in case you want to make that one special trip! I don’t think you can take a bad photo in Italy either, all the great photos encourage going there. Add to that, very friendly people, gorgeous scenery, terrific food, historic sites and beautiful weather and what is there not to like?

I changed my THEME about a week ago.  I had been looking and trying to decide. I got tired of looking at the same old thing! There are so many Themes on WordPress to choose from! I wanted one that was different from the one I had, but not so different that it would take me months to configure my old blog or lose any of the data, (due to me not knowing what I was doing) One gets so comfortable in the old ways, right? I love the new Photography Theme and will be tweaking it as I go along.

I have new ideas that I will be working on. There seems to be many new Challenges that look interesting! I love the Photo Challenges! If you haven’t tried a challenge, it is fun! It stretches you artistically and gets one to thinking. One thing leads to another. This year I have decided to try the Color Your World: 120 Days of Crayola Challenge! You might want to check it out and see if this one is for you. It will be a starting point for me this year.

I will keep up! (Commenting on the posts rather than just hitting the “LIKE” button) Easier said than done since I like so many of them! I try to comment at least on three a day! So to start off the New Year I would like to comment about a few of my blogging friends and what I like about their site! Let’s start with some Gardening Bloggers and Travel Bloggers and what I like about their blogs! There are quite a few so I’ll break them down over several posts!

I have met so many fascinating people……and bloggers, you know what I mean, not actually met them, but I feel like I know all my blogging friends. They are all so interesting!

My friend, Annette, is the blogger I have known the longest. She writes, My Aberdeen Garden.

We met in Blogging 201 and have remained good friends. I love seeing what she is up to in her garden in Scotland! I also admire her because she always knows the botanical name of plants while I just say “you know that pink rose.” I have all my blogging friends pictured in my mind as I post to them. I have Annette pictured as a black-haired, thin woman, who is a lot like me; a “No Nonsense” kind of gal! She is very particular about her garden and its look. She changes things up a bit on a regular basis. (Like all great gardeners I know)

Next is Joan, from Retirement and Beyond, https://joanfrankham.wordpress.com/ She lives in Ireland and is an enthusiastic hiker. She takes lovely photos of the Irish country side, that I so like. She must be in a hiking group, as often I see the group in the pictures. I picture her, plowing through a stiff wind, head down, rosy cheeked, making her way with a walking stick, and looking so healthy! Then I picture the group, after the hike, in a cozy warm pub, throwing back a nice stiff one! I would really enjoy their accents and stories!

You can learn a great deal and see beautiful flora photography at Gillian’s Country Garden UK blog, http://countrygardenuk.com/blog/. Gillian is a young gal with lots of knowledge about gardening and plants. If you want to know about a plant or see a beautiful plant that you might want to try or ask about, Gillian is the gal for you. I always look forward to her posts! She is so knowledgable and young! I am jealous!

Well these are just a few of my Favorite Friends for today…….  more to come. Enjoy 2016 blogging!