policeman on the pizza beat...

I know this story is a few months old, (May 2020), but...'When you are the only cop on a Queensland beat the size of Britain, you learn to be adaptable.'
Outback pubs reopen, giving Birdsville policeman a break from pizza delivery - Worth😊or 😊😊https://t.co/G8Lm3ujQXw

— Gemma Wiseman (@AuraGem) September 30, 2020

Canaima National Park...

That's a 'still existing' old that's hard to wrap the mind round... Flat-topped mountains dripping levels of waterfalls...not your stereotypical mountain in southeastern Venezuela, where the country borders Brazil and Guyana. https://t.co/YZtX7evVJ3

— Gemma Wiseman (@AuraGem) September 30, 2020

Byblos old and new...

Different places, not high on the tourist list, intrigue me. Byblos, 40km south of Beirut, Lebanon is c.7000 year-old city-with Phoenician, Egyptian, Roman+Persian influences, a meeting of ancient+new worlds...mosques, churches+trendy barshttps://t.co/lZq3Tj4MD7 via @Kawa_Media pic.twitter.com/kWnpIX6JEy

— Gemma Wiseman (@AuraGem) September 30, 2020

a muted night...

the night may seem
muted
but in the silence
a thousand eyes
watch #tanka pic.twitter.com/ljGkrD6QvG

— Gemma Wiseman (@AuraGem) September 30, 2020

out here...in here...

Out here, beside the geraniums, the night thickens, like gravy, like a plot.

A plover cries and cuts through the dark sky.

I confer with the yard, and think of Old Amos, out in the yonder gumtree hills...

— Tim Mallon (@PatMalo85776814) September 29, 2020

Out here... in here...

A Zen moment...connecting with the deeper being... 

cockatoo checkin'...

It's a grey, chilly day, but it's always a cockatoo day... One cockatoo is dreaming of fruit yet to venture forth in my apricot tree...Jus' checkin'... pic.twitter.com/kmn3bbIKV6

— Gemma Wiseman (@AuraGem) September 30, 2020

the debate...

Curiosity drew me to 'the debate'... I lasted 5 minutes... The meltdown of logic and sanity was just too much...
Where's the humanity?

'Sarum' here I come... pic.twitter.com/O3rMt1tG0J

— Gemma Wiseman (@AuraGem) September 30, 2020

Kangaroo Valley...

Kangaroo Valley...Spent many happy hours exploring this stunning area south of Sydney...The village shopping precinct is a wonder too...Awesome fudge (hand-made) at the Fudge House and Ice Creamery...But that was long ago... https://t.co/JpVIJkUCNQ

— Gemma Wiseman (@AuraGem) September 30, 2020

virtual trip - Pompeii + Amalfi Coast...

Watched a brilliant virtual tour- Pompeii to the Amalfi Coast- this morning (6,000 participants) + a reference made to this incredible mural in a villa covering 4,000sq.m.
Bikini Girls – Splitting the Atom on Sicily in a Roman Villa https://t.co/LucvJ6SdVI via @cultureconcept

— Gemma Wiseman (@AuraGem) September 29, 2020

Interesting information on Pompeii:

1. Pliny the Younger recorded details of the Vesuvius eruption in letters to a friend. 

2. Pompeii amphitheatre is 150 years older than the Roman colosseum.

3. 47 bakeries in Pompeii - bread sliced into 8 - looks like pizza

4. Thermopolia - diners - 100 or so more than bakeries.

5. 25 brothels - lupanares - phallus was a positive symbol of luck + many sculpted in stone pointing to a brothel 

6. Streets featured raised sidewalks + raised stones for crosswalk

7. Graffiti carved in walls + door mats were stone mosaics...One has a message 'beware the dog'.

8. Caupona - food and wine served today - Pompeii atmosphere + food

9. Villa of the Misteries - huge estate - suburb of Pompeii - farming + stunning mural representing Bacchus cult

10. 2-3 days needed to roam Pompeii effectively