It’s been a few weeks since my last blog post mainly due to been manically busy with client work but I also had a two week break in Italy over Easter. As many of you know, I was married to an Italian and lived in Italy for ten years so it’s my spiritual home and I try and go back at least once a year. I stay with friends who live in the Piemonte region and we usually jump into their camper van and head off somewhere for a few days.
This trip was particularly memorable as I went to Venice for the first time! You’re probably thinking how strange given how long I lived in the north of Italy. I agree with you but cannot offer an explanation!
I find Italy so inspirational for my interior design business – the light, the colours, architecture, art, textures, even the food and wine. It’s the whole package. Don’t get me wrong, other countries offer similar sensory stimulation but I guess it’s because Italy is my second home.
I flew into Malpensa airport (one of two Milan airports) and my friends whisked me straight from the airport to one of my favourite places, Lake Orta (lago d’Orta). This lake is right next to Lake Maggiore (lago Maggiore) but is much smaller and more intimate. We grabbed a seat right on the lake at our favourite family-run restaurant
After a leisurely lunch we drove up the hill above the lake to the 16th century Sacro Monte di Orta (literally 'The Sacred Mountain of Orta'). It is one of the Sacri Monti of Piedmont and Lombardy, included in UNESCO World Heritage list. The views from the mount are spectacular. Each of the 20 chapels dotted around the mount depicts a different biblical story.
No visit to Lake Orta would be complete without a walk around the exquisitely beautiful historic town, Orta San Giulio.
The town hall of Orta San Giulio
Bronze sculpture in front of the town hall on the lake's edge
Central piazza from where you can take a boat to the island
Narrow cobbled streets - no cars permitted in the town
Next day, a walk in the fields and woods around the village where my friends live - Cellamonte in the Monferrato hills. I lived in this little village for eight years and never tired of the views.
Wild garlic flowers I picked
Narrow street below the house
View from my bedroom
View from my bedroom
Hazelnut trees
Rosignano Monferrato - neighbouring village
Off the next day in the camper van to Ferrara where we based ourselves for day trips, the first of which was to Venice. We took the train there and nothing quite prepares you for the scene when you exit the railway station which is right on the Grand Canal.
But the narrow canals and streets with very few tourists were so much more beautiful.
I love the way some of the houses are decorated with window boxes of colourful flowers
There are church towers everywhere.
The largest church in Venice is Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari which is mind-blowingly beautiful.
One of the highlights was a bookshop that we stumbled upon called 'Acqua Alta' which means 'high tide'. It is on the edge of a narrow canal and nothing quite prepares you for the interior! You can enter from a narrow courtyard or from a boat on the canal. It's full to the ceiling with books including bathtubs and boats full. The little courtyard is stacked with books which have been used to create steps to a viewing platform of the canal.
Piazza San Marco was bumper-to-bumper with tourists so we jumped in a water taxi back to the railway station. You see so much more from the water!
It was only a day trip but enough to give me a flavour of the city. I shall return in the near future and spend several days visiting the art galleries and museums.
Another day trip from Ferrara was to the gorgeous little town on Comacchio which is nickname 'Little Venice' for its canals (it does in fact look like a mini version of Venice). There was hardly a soul out and about but that may have been because a serial killer had murdered two people in the town two days earlier !!! In the images it seems rather like an abandoned film set!
On the last day we walked around Ferrara which is
Ferrara cemetary which was an old monastery
Back in Cellamonte the next day and we decided to visit the Santuario di Crea (literally 'Sacred Mountain of Crea'). The 20+ chapels are dedicated to the Mysteries of the rosary and are positioned around the 1,000 year old Marian sanctuary on the highest of the hills in low Monferrato. This sanctuary was one of my favourite places when I lived in Italy in the 80s.
At the top of the mount is 'Paradise' the last chapel
Paradise
Phew, I hope you made it to the end of this Italian spam and that you enjoyed following my little two-week Italian break. Would love to hear about your Italian holidays and places that you recommend to visit.
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After five of these day trips in search of historic little parish churches in Sussex, I couldn’t wait to research and plan the next one. I was still fixated on Sussex so this time I selected the following six churches and one historic house, Firle Place.
I was really starting to enjoy these days out on my own with my camera so decided to venture back into Sussex a week after the previous trip, armed with another list of churches.
If you read my previous blog post, Visiting Churches in Sussex (day 1), you will know that I am doing day trips to Sussex in search of the little churches often found in woodland, at the end of lanes, in hamlets or villages – steeped in history. I’ve focused on Sussex as it’s not too far to travel by car and it’s a beautiful county.
I decided not to have a summer holiday this year and instead do day trips to Sussex which is only about 80-90 minutes from home, on my own with my DSLR camera for company. I wanted to focus on visiting historic little Sussex churches in obscure places.
Sorry for my radio silence since my last post on 31 October - in the run up to Christmas I was manically busy with client work and in January I headed to Sydney for five weeks.
I thought I'd kick off with one of the highlights of my Sydney sojourn - the coastal walk from South Coogee (where I was staying) to Bondi, a distance of about 10k with some of the most spectacular scenery. I did this walk last year with a friend but this time it was just me, my iPhone and my DSLR. The weather was cloudy, windy and about 26C so perfect for a long walk.
It’s been a few weeks since my last blog post mainly due to been manically busy with client work but I also had a two week break in Italy over Easter. As many of you know, I was married to an Italian and lived in Italy for ten years so it’s my spiritual home and I try and go back at least once a year. I stay with friends who live in the Piemonte region and we usually jump into their camper van and head off somewhere for a few days.
appy New Year everyone! Apologies for my radio silence over the last six weeks; I was in Australia for a month visiting my two sons who both now live in Sydney.
I thought I'd share some of the photos of my trip to Australia. It was the most amazing holiday with plenty of wonderful memories. I flew over the city in a helicopter, did a jet boat ride at breakneck speed across the harbour, an evening out on the harbour in a friend's boat, visited some beautiful beaches north and south of the city, a trip to Adelaide and most importantly I ate oysters nearly every day!! However, I found it strange having Christmas in a hot climate (the last one I had was back home in NZ in 1976!). I definitely prefer a northern hemisphere Christmas.
Petersham Nurseries is an interior stylist's paradise as the shop is so beautifully styled into "rooms" or zones with a clever mix of plants and vintage and new items. Take a virtual trip via this post.
I took a trip to Los Angeles, and spent some time soaking in the sun, atmosphere and food portions along the stunning coastline.
I’ve called Day 7 ‘Churches in Sussex’ for consistency but in fact it involved churches in Surrey and Hampshire! I had planned to visit Sussex churches but I decided to combine a visit to a friend in Hampshire.