Calle de la Rasse, Venice

When I think of Venice...

I often think in shades of pink...

New lettuces

A new addition for my front porch container garden, to go with the lemon tree, the petunias, the geraniums and the pot of strawberries.

Venice - window shopping

I really wanted to buy everything. I love these "velvet" shops in Venice. This is another digital scrapbooking kit by Marcee Duggar of The Digital Scrapbook Place.

Oh, the handbag in the middle was 200 euros.

Just on the scrapbooking, I work in Adobe Photoshop Elements 6, and from Marcee's Maisee page kit I used a background, a circular frame (cutting out the picture with the cookie cutter tool), an element of barbed wire and an overlay.

Can you see my sister in the background - taking the photo?

Camogli

I went to Camogli again this October. One of my very favorite places...

Cyclamens, in pots at Castle Brown above Portofino

PhotoHunt:Furry - Tigger

This is Tigger - the wise one, the oldest. She's turning ten and Giancarlo was chosen by her, when we went to the Pound on his 11th birthday, to look for a kitten.

This is my latest PhotoHunt entry.

Floriade in Canberra

The Great Pumpkin visits our house!

The Digital Scrapbook Place has made October fun for me this year. Designers have inspired us to enter fun competitions and have encouraged us to learn new techniques, such as the blending in all my backgrounds. I've really had a fun time this month!

Bramasole, Frances Mayes' house

I hadn't been to Italy for a few years when I went with my sister in 2001. One of the first places we went to was Bramasole, in Cortona. I'm a big Frances fan. Her friend Antonio who is in all her books showed me around her garden while she was out. I had the time of my life.

I went back to gaze at her house during two of my other Italy trips.
It's something VERY special!



Bramasole ancora - Bramasole again. It's such a beautiful villa.
I was saying to Antonio that there used to be two palm trees in front of the house. You see, the frost got one.

This is Frances Mayes' villa in Cortona, Italy. Seven years ago, I was standing at the gate looking in at the garden when Antonio walked out of the front door (he is one of her friends) and then he asked me if I wanted to speak with Frances. No! I didn't want to intrude - I was just admiring her roses!

We had a long talk in Italian, and he was so impressed that I had come all the way from Australia to look at her garden, that he gave me a quick tour of the front part of it.It was an experience I will never forget.

Next time we went to Cortona, after looking up from the road at the villa and garden again, we went to say hi to Antonio at his shop in the town. When we walked in, he said, " Ahh! Australia!" He remembered us!

More power!

Well? Have I told you? :)

PhotoHunt: Me - Portofino Memory

This is my latest PhotoHunt entry.

Camogli

In 1992 I saw a documentary of Camogli and decided to take my family there. Later that year, we watched the fishermen mending their nets, gazed in awe at the trompe d'oeil and I made a secret vow to return there one day.

Well, it took me a while. My next visit was during my Enchanted April trip of 2005. I was a bit more fortunate with the 2006 trip, as I managed to stay there overnight before heading to Santa Margherita. I made an afternoon visit to Camogli from there and looked in some art galleries, watched more fishermen with their nets and sat for ages gazing at the fishing boats, the delectable painted houses and listened to the church bells peal.

PhotoHunt: The ski slope inside the Emirates Mall

This is my latest PhotoHunt entry.



I can't wait to go back to Dubai! Roll on Christmas. Oh, and here's a youtube I took.

PhotoHunt: Time - The Clock Tower in Venice

This is my PhotoHunt entry for time.

A daytrip to Capri - April 2005

Another early start for a very special day. First, up to the Mayflower Bar in nearby Parco Lauro for cappuccino and delectable brioche con marmellata. Then we walked past Piazza Tasso to the steps that lead down to the harbor. It's a long walk down and I wouldn't want to walk back up again. At 7.45 a.m. we caught the Caramar car ferry to Capri followed by the funicular up to Capri's main square.

After a relaxed cappuccino and another round of pastries in Piazza Umberto we began to window shop along the exclusive dress and jewelry stores that lined the narrow roads. Dolce e Gabbana, Hermes, Pucci and Gucci, Yves St Laurent, Louis Vuitton - we could have had our choice today of designer shoes, handbags or watches. We both know ‘tis better to have window shopped than never to have shopped at all.

We continued our walk upwards, passing the Certosa and the perfumery. We followed a wisteria trail. The scent and the sunlight combined to make it an unforgettable day.

The views were well worth the walk when we reached the lookout. Small yachts with white sails glided across the ocean, seagulls circled and wheeled in the azure sky. The flowers in the lookout garden blazed with color.

Capri in April is such a special time. It was our first visit there in spring time. Our past visits have been in the fall. The garden on the way to the lookout was full of flowers. Hot pink bougainvillea draped the already pretty hotel entrances.

Each trip to Capri we have been drawn to a beautiful ceramic store owned by Adele and Silvia, on Via Fuorlovado. We spent a delightful hour there choosing delicate hand crafted ceramic bowls in shades of lilac and deep, velvety violet. We weren't sure how they'd take it, so didn't let on who the bowls were for - pampered pussy cats.

In the same narrow street was the artist Massimo Federico, with an exhibit in Galleria d'Arte Personale. One painting in particular of the spectacular Faraglioni Rocks called to me. From Capri to my home in Canberra, this yachting scene is a daily reminder of the view from the lookout high above the town.



I Faraglioni Rocks, Capri


Back down the funicular, we returned to Sorrento on the ferry. The taxi ride up to our cliff side hotel was an experience as our driver attempted to make it in record breaking time. To calm our jangled nerves, Dean Martin sang soothing Italian songs on the car’s cassette player.

Once more that evening, as we sat on our balcony overlooking the Bay of Naples in the lemon scented air, we saluted each other with our Amaretto glasses and said at the same time, "We should do more of this."

PhotoHunt - 13 Venetian Glass Candies

All carefully placed on a tray from Florence.

This is my PhotoHunt entry for thirteen.

Venice reflections

Venice, Campo Santa Maria Formosa cat