Category Archives: Italy
Thank goodness for Santa Maria Novella!
Santa Maria Novella, originally uploaded by On Linden Way.
In last months’ post “10 Must Have Items for Living on the Road”, I teased you all with number 10: “Little Luxuries”. I thought today was a good day to share with you one of my personal favs: body oil from Santa Maria Novella – totally divine…
A few summers ago when I was in NY, my Mom and I went down to SoHo for one of our “Ladies’ Lunches” and general gad-about. She led me into a store leaving the hot city behind when the door closed and I was transported somewhere else on waves of soft perfume. The store carried many Santa Maria Novella’s products: I was hooked.
So when I was lucky enough to be in Florence earlier this year I made a pilgrimage to the famous store. Once again I was taken away by the heavenly scents. For myself I bought a bottle of the body oil and for the “house” a terracotta-clay pomegranate infused with oil of the famous scent.
If you ever get a chance to buy something (maybe online?), trust me, you won’t be disappointed!
Serene
Serene, originally uploaded by On Linden Way.
Growing up in the hustle and bustle of New York City, it was always fun to discover hidden places, quiet place, places where you could pretend to be alone amongst the busy-ness of it all. Often as a teenager I would go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art (a huge building) where I knew all of its nooks and crannies to find refuge in one of the many special galleries.
This courtyard in Florence reminded me of that. Away from the street noise and vibrations, you can stop and breath.
Seen From the Ponte Vecchio
From the Ponte Vecchio, originally uploaded by On Linden Way.
Tuesday arrived out of nowhere, and so here I am having fun with textures! And yes, another image from our recent trip to Italy, this time Florence.
I enjoy working with textures, especially giving some “oomph” to a ho-hum image. This one is a good example. The small image below is SOOC (straight out of the camera). I saved its life. It was doomed to the trash can when the Texture Fairy tapped me on the shoulder and said “Wait my dear, this one could be pretty if you give it half a chance”. So I did and relegated it to the “To Work on” file. It’s been sitting there patiently waiting its turn, until today.
By the way, in addition to the Fairy, today I had “help” from these guys (textures thanks to Caleb and Shadow House).
Baci – A Kiss, Italian Style
Kiss – Italian Style, originally uploaded by On Linden Way.
I suppose I should have posted these photos of my favorite “bonbons” yesterday, being Valentine’s Day and all, but I was too busy eating them (cue: Cheshire cat grin).
I realize that when one thinks of chocolate, Italy does not come to mind. But how about design and packaging ? Isn’t this box clever ? When you lift the lid off, the bottom section turns into a flower-like bowl. Functional and cute.
For as long as I can remember, I’ve loved these Italian chocolates called “Baci” (or “Kiss” in Italian). Not only are they a mouthful of chocolate and hazelnut goodness, inside the shiny silver wrapper, carefully protecting the “bonbon kiss”, is a paper wrapper on which are printed love quotes! Written in Italian, English, Portuguese, Spanish, and Greek (? strange, I could’ve sworn it was French), these “treasure papers” beat Chinese fortune cookies hands down.
Here are just a few of the quotes I thought I’d share with you:
“The sound of a kiss is not as loud as that of a cannon, but its echo lasts a great deal longer.” – O.W, Holmes
“Never close your lips to one to whom you have opened your heart.” – (Anonymous)
“Real friendship can be enjoyed in silence.” – (Anonymous)
“To get the full value of joy, you must have someone to share it with.” – M. Twain
“Words of love are always the same, they take on the flavour of the lips that utter them.” – G. Maupassant
“Where love is concerned, too much is not enough.” – Beaumarchais
And on that inspirational note, I’d love to know what your favorite “bonbons” are ?
Room with a View
I loved our recent discovery trip to Italy; so many images are lingering in my mind. Here is one from Siena.
I decided to play around with textures on this photo, giving it a timeless quality. Which is actually quite true of many places we were: they had transgressed centuries. All you had to do was kinda “squint” and mentally erase elements from the picture in front of your eyes (satellite dishes, cars, telephone poles, signage etc.).
I bought a book to learn to speak Italian, as I’m ready to go back in a heartbeat! Sigh.
Life and Death
Seen on a side street in Assisi were these public announcement supports: on the left (“Life”) colorful posters for upcoming concerts, movies and gatherings; while on the right (“Death”) were sober black and white death notices (some with photos of the recently deceased).
The epitome of it all.
Ding Dong
Isn’t this great?! Lions heads seem to be very popular as emblems for door knockers and in Italy for door bells. I thought this groups was fab, as each one has a different expression!
I’ve spent the past four days pulling together the last of the photos from our trip to Italy, so if you’d like to grab a cup of coffee and travel to Italy, please have a look at “Pasta!”
During the next few days, I will be adding a selection of images also taken during our recent trip to Italy, so please come back!
Ciao!
Terracotta
Behind a gated wall of a “palazzio” in Florence I spotted a magnificent garden, with old glass green houses, clipped boxwood hedges and topiary. The presence of several palm trees made claim to the Mediterranean climate. Earlier in the day it had drizzled rain and the vegetal aromas reached me outside on the cement sidewalk, mockingly inviting me for a stroll along the pebble pathways.
Back from Italy
We arrived back in Beaune last night, and I’ve a ton of photos to edit and then share with you.
In the meanwhile to whet your appetite, here is a fresco I spotted decorating an alleyway in Assisi. The colours are rich, and the detail fine. I loved the monkey! See him ?
