EXPLORING MY ADOPTED CITY AND BEYOND
From Venice, travel deeper into the landscape of the watery Veneto region and you enter an Italy suspended in amber, where the disparate architectural elements of ancient Rome, the Middle Ages, and the Renaissance come together beautifully. The charming city of Verona becomes a picture-perfect postcard scene created over the centuries, unbroken for generations. The… Continue reading
Industrialist and philanthropist Samuel Courtauld played a distinctive role in shaping the United Kingdom’s appreciation for Impressionism, significantly transforming its perception and acquisition during a period when Great Britain was still languishing in its conservative past. His innate inclination towards discretion and a reserved demeanour may explain why he remains a relatively obscure figure today.… Continue reading
The Abbey Approaching from afar, along the winding drive that leads to the magnificent property, the imposing structure that is Lacock Abbey seems to appear suddenly around a bend, bestowing itself upon you like a beautiful, yet illusive mirage. Hints of the abbey’s age and historical importance are evident in the picturesque little village that… Continue reading
Wavy, distorted lines – like those that brandished television screens in 1970’s science fiction movies, alerting viewers to hallucinatory flashback scenes – should prelude every visit to Dennis Severs’ House. Tucked neatly within a row of almost identical Georgian townhouses, the house at number 18 Folgate St is an immersive journey back in time, and… Continue reading
How can one put pen to paper, or, in my case, digits to keyboard, in order to do any amount of justice to the heavenly, naturalistic paradise that Sarah Raven has created at Perch Hill, her home and farm in East Sussex. Cocooned in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the home that Sarah shares… Continue reading
The maze of beauty that entwines the hilltop town of Arezzo, nestled within a picturesque series of undulating valleys in eastern Tuscany, is due, in part to the striking Renaissance architecture that adorns this ancient settlement. However, originally colonised by the Etruscans almost three thousand years ago, the strategically located hilltop town became one of… Continue reading
Disappointment looms large in life, and although not always catastrophically so, my tulip dreams this past week were nevertheless, monumentally shattered. But alas, we pick ourselves up in times of crisis, put our big girl pants on, and soldier onwards as best we can with heads held high and spirits triumphantly roused. Such calamitous events… Continue reading
A dreamy day to wander – or so I had hoped. Despite the weather’s utmost efforts to thwart our meandering mood, Dan and I wrap ourselves in copious layers, ready to face the bitter, unrelenting wind that raps unwelcomingly upon our sixth-floor apartment window. No matter, I set my woollen beret on a fashionably jaunty… Continue reading
I have become infatuated with Paris this spring. Not because my own adopted city is lacking in floriferous bounty; London is currently flush with an impressive array of brightly coloured bulbs, all unfurling in spectacular abandon. Right now, the city is a veritable smorgasbord of flowery delights and wistful scents. Yet the promise of Paris… Continue reading
The lines blur incoherently between the changing seasons. In Australia, I eagerly counted down the days until March, when the stifling heat of a long and unrelenting summer was meant to stand gallantly aside, allowing autumn to respectfully saunter in. It never did. The eucalypt leaves, brittle like corn chips, crunched noisily under foot. Months… Continue reading