Tag Archives: olive

Orchard and Vineyards

Orchard and Vineyards
“Orchard and Vineyards” — Lush hill country, filled with vineyards and orchards, between Sabrosa and Alijo, Portugal.

One of the days of our Douro Valley walk in Portugal included a section between Sabrosa and Alijo. Between them we descended into this lovely valley full of vineyards and olive groves. We followed turn-by-turn directions from the walk’s organizers, and because of this I did not always track our precise location. That’s my long way of saying that I think this is the valley of the Rio Pinhão, though I’ve so far been unsuccessful in this spot on maps.

Regardless, it was a beautiful area. We came down a steep hill from the heights of Sabrosa, passing around and through vineyards. We reached the bottom of the valley, followed a road for a short distance, crossed a bridge and began the climb up the other side of the valley, a walk that would eventually bring us to our accommodations in the town of Alijo.


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G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

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Doorway, Two Olive Trees

Doorway, Two Olive Trees
A doorway flanked by two potted olive trees, Arezzo, Italy.

Doorway, Two Olive Trees. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

A doorway flanked by two potted olive trees, Arezzo, Italy.

This summer’s European travel was fairly lengthy — our plan had on on the road for just under ten weeks. We spend the majority of our time in Portugal, Spain, and Italy, but with shorter stays in a few other places near the beginning and end. On a short trip it is possible to just “go, go, go” for days on end, but on a longer trip there really needs to be at least a bit of downtime — which explains our stop in the Italian town of Arezzo.

While Arezzo is perhaps not on most itineraries, it was a very pleasant place to spend a few slower days. In addition, it surprised us with some interesting things that we didn’t expect, including very old fortifications along the upper reaches of the town, with beautiful views of the countryside. There is also a big cathedral in this same area that surprised us with its beauty, though it is more subdued that some of the cathedrals that are more popular tourist destinations. I photographed this pair of potted olive trees and a door nearby.


G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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Public Stairway, Telegraph Hill

Public Stairway, Telegraph Hill

Public Stairway, Telegraph Hill. San Francisco, California. August 18, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A public stairway ascends Telegraph Hill from downtown San Francisco, California.

Yes, I’m still extracting more photographs from my mid-August morning walking across a good portion of downtown San Francisco. After walking from the train station across Market and through the Chinatown area to North Beach, I wandered a bit around the latter neighborhood, eventually ended up in the Telegraph Hill area. While waiting for some traffic weirdness to pass I happened to look down a side street and catch a view back toward downtown buildings, so I wandered over that way and ended up going down this very steep “sidewalk” a bit.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

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Painted Brick Wall

Painted Brick Wall

Painted Brick Wall. San Francisco, California. August 18, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A painted brick wall with a grated alcove near Chinatown, San Francisco, California.

This is the person-less version of this scene that I was shooting when the man walked into it and I created the photo I posted earlier. I suspect that this interesting pattern is the result of someone painting out the rampant graffiti found all over Chinatown, but the color choice seems a bit odd for something so prosaic. The wall is just a few yards down a side street off of Grant.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

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keywords: san francisco, california, usa, travel, scenic, urban, city, sidewalk, wall, brick, painted, orange, beige, green, olive, red, white, window, arch, alcove, grate, metal, fan, texture, structure, urban, city, street, chinatown, downtown, travel, landscape, detail, stock, building