San Gimignano rises on a hill (334m high) dominating the Elsa Valley with its towers. Once the seat of a small Etruscan village of the Hellenistic period (200-300 BC) it began its life as a town in the 10th century taking its name from the Holy Bishop of Modena, St. Gimignano, who is said to have saved the village from the barbarian hordes. The town increased in wealth and developed greatly during the Middle Ages thanks to the "Via Francigena" the trading and pilgrim's route that crossed it. Such prosperity lead to the flourishing of works of art to adorn the churches and monasteries.
http://www.sangimignano.com/sstoriai.htm

Italy

Arundhati Roy: A 'small hero'

The first sentence of the The God of Small Things, which I found very charming

"May in Ayemenem is a hot, brooding month."

...
Roy argued that the 21st Century might be the time for "the big" to be dismantled - it might be, she said, "the century of the small things".
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/1857495.stm

Reading notes

I tried to make this sweet stuff, which has the Vietnamese name, banh xu xe. The idea of making one has stuck in my mind since I tasted one small piece at the Vietnamese New Year fair in Ottawa last month. One more reason is that I always associate this gentle and subtle favor of it with my grandmother even though I don't remember how she made it. I found several recipes in the internet and combined them to create a new one.
The shell of the cake was made out of tapioca flour, scented with fragrance of grapefruit flowers and sprinkled with sesame seeds on top. The interior was a thick paste of cooked ground mung bean, shredded coconut and sugar.
Does this special sweet stuff sound exotic? It tastes wonderfully with a cup of green tea especially in this dry weather of Canadian winter.

Visiting Boston and Amherst.

Vietnam is on the news! Yes, this time it is not about war, poverty, or that sort of thing. The word "Vietnam" has appeared on the news as it is related to Angelina Jolie, a Hollywood movie star with her newly adopted son, a Vietnamese orphan.

I am happy for the boy. I am impressed with Angeline Jolie. And I am giving label for this post as news and media.

Canadian landscape?

Black History Month

Grandmothers help Grandmothers

Landscape...last year

Morning, 1st of March