Travetine, Capers and Licorice Allsorts

Tuscany continued............. Made a detour to go and see where travetine is quarried. It was amazing to see entire cliff-like walls of it, which they then slice off so neatly. It is used absolutely everywhere in Tuscany, even the most rundown buildings are constructed in it....in many cases however it had not worn well and had not kept its pristine quality.























Caper plants growing in a stone wall......I had never seen these before, and would have had no idea what they were but someone pointed them out to me.




The final picture is of an amazing Cathedral in Olvietto, again in travetine and the black stone which I can't identify. These stripy buildings were in a few towns we visited, including an amazing one in Sienna, and they reminded me of licorice allsorts. I would love to design a space with graphic stripes as the inspiration.


Stay tuned.........next blog Villa D'Este!

Tuscany in June

Just back from a glorious week in Tuscany. Such a beautiful part of the world, with it's rolling hills, olive groves and vineyards. The colours of the landscape are very similar to Australia, where the greens are more grey. There was so much to photograph, and I have many beautiful pics of all the vistas, buildings, cathedrals etc.....but for the purpose of this Post Uni blog, I am only going to post things that inspire me in terms of design. In Italy there was so much that did this, so it will take me a few blogs to cover it all. I would LOVE to design something in Italy, to use mediterranean plants, local stone and terracotta and to frame the amazing views.




I am not sure what the trees in the foreground are, but behind are the trunks of Pinus pinea, which is everywhere in the Italian landscape. I love the way they form an umbrella like canopy of shade.








Cupressus sempervirens, another common feature in the landscape. Sometimes I hate the way these trees are used in the UK, completely out of context. In Italy I love them dotted around everywhere and lining long drives.


This lichen covered, dry stone wall ran along the length of the garden at the villa we stayed at. Gorgeous.













Interesting paving detail. Not sure of the stone....anyone? But it is used in conjunction with travetine in alot of buildings.






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Happiness

This is my dream car. It is a 1960 Pontiac Parisienne "Pancake Top" Now if someone gave me one of these and converted it to run on gas and not be an American fuel guzzler, then I would be over the moon happy. But not as happy as I am now. In fact at the moment I am happier than that! HAPPY, ECSTATIC, ELATED, OVERJOYED....someone get me a Thesaurus, down right, THRILLED TO BITS!

Maybe this is a bit like childbirth, as I seem to have forgotten all the pain of the past months. There were times I thought I couldn't do it....but it is amazing what you can do if you set your mind to it.

I have no idea what I am going to do with myself today.....I have a week to kill before I go on holiday to Italy. The flat is still littered with paper and pens and the like, but I can't quite seem to clear it all up.......maybe it's because I don't really believe this is it? Someone pinch me.



P.S Here is a picture of me and my English family with the fruits of my labour!