Friday 28 May 2010

Verona and Lake Garda 2008

There's a new film being advertised called Letters to Juliet about an American girl who visits Verona - Amanda Seyfried is in it and needless to say it looks rubbish. Despite that I will almost certainly watch it at some point because it’s set in a city I've been to and I feel inexplicably excited (& a bit famous) whenever I see somewhere or someone I know on television.
I went to Italy on holiday with Rachael in July 2008 and stayed in Lido di Jesolo, a beach resort near Venice. As well as visiting the islands of Venice, Burano & Murano we went on a day drip to Verona and Lake Garda.

The main attraction in Verona is the Casa di Giulietta, complete with balcony. On the way into the square the alley walls are absolutely jam-packed full with the graffiti of couples names, love hearts and poems.


The balcony itself was built in the 20th century but tourists flock there as the focal point of the city’s association with the story (our guide pointed out a grand house in the hills outside of the city, which was apparently the home of the real life inspiration for Juliet).
We were there in high season so it was heaving with other tourists and there was a play going on with Romeo and Juliet chasing each other round the courtyard and appearing at the balcony.


There’s a bronze statue of Juliet that has a very shiny right boob because if you rub it apparently you’ll be lucky in love. It’s a myth I tell you!

The rest of the city is much calmer and really beautiful, there’s a coliseum and plenty of historical buildings, as well as a bustling market and secret winding side streets with panino & gelato shops. The city sits on the shore of the Adige river and the Ponte Pietra was a great place to catch a breeze and take some photos.



We ended the day in Limone and had a paddle in Lake Garda.


Whilst I’m glad I’ve been to Venice and the surrounding islands I doubt I’ll ever go again, however I’d love to be able to visit Verona and the Italian lakes twice a year, every year!

Thursday 27 May 2010

Birkenstocks

My new Birkenstocks, a gift from AB. Love them.

Wednesday 26 May 2010

Element

I would like to thank Element Contemporary Jewellery in Hebden Bridge for inspiring me to stop biting my nails again after a 3 month relapse.
During a recent visit with Naomi and Rachael I saw, and fell in love with, this ring…


But it’s far too delicate and pretty to be seen on a hand with bitten nails, so it was the push I needed to grow mine again and this weekend I’m ready to invest in my incentive!

The shop has been around for a few years and is well established as an inviting & friendly place that showcases a variety of jewellery designers, including some from the local area. Items range from the very expensive to the just-about-justifiably-cheap (the bud ring is pretty reasonable at £30). They have a full and easy to use website
if you fancy a browse but can’t make it to Hebden.

Tuesday 25 May 2010

Monday 24 May 2010

Wait


I don't have anything significant to follow this up with.

British Summer Time

This weekend was glorious. I spent Saturday at Naomi's house sunbathing on her decking, we had a view of the horses in the field next door and the Pennines in the distance. More friends popped round in the afternoon and apart from a quick break to eat a massive takeaway we stayed outside until about 10pm. We bounced on the trampoline, messed around with some golf target practice (I was predictably rubbish) and just generally lazed around all day. Brilliant!

After some more sunbathing yesterday morning we went to a bbq for the afternoon. I was in danger of burning by this point because of the green-tinged translucent skin that I have inherited from the ginger Irish Godfreys (why couldn’t I have got the Smith borderline-olive-skinned gene?). I ‘borrowed’ some stronger SPF cream and manoeuvred away from the strongest glares and it seems to have worked because I escaped the burn, but still have trillions of freckles that just make me look like I need a good wash!

When I got home last night I was grateful for our west-facing balcony because I had a really good view of the sun setting over the Todmorden hills and saw some amazing Crepuscular rays (my new word for the day). I didn’t take a photo but for the purpose of the blog let's pretend it looked just like this…


I feel as though I’ve been away on holiday this weekend and am suitably refreshed - now I’m ready for the bank holiday to begin! Bring on Friday 6pm…

Wednesday 19 May 2010

This was only ever just a temporary measure

This autumn, about a week before the epic snowy winter set in, I went to the Lake District with my mum for a very relaxing long weekend. In between eating hearty breakfasts and pub suppers we were on the constant look out for coffee & a slice of cake to tide us over during our meanderings.
While we were wandering around Keswick one afternoon, searching for our next fix, we stumbled across Temporary Measure, a gorgeous gallery / shop / cafe on the high street.

The lady who owns Temporary Measure turns photos she's taken in the Lake District, Japan & San Francisco (amongst other places), into canvas prints and adds a short narrative that sounds as though it's an excerpt from a longer, more elaborate, story.

The most beautiful boy in all of the world...

I'd actually seen some Temporary Measure wares (bags, purses & trinkety things in a similar style) at one of the pop-up Manchester Market stalls about 5 years ago with my friend Jemma. We both loved it all and indulged ourselves by buying a little badge each, so when I found a WHOLE shop to browse through I was in heaven.
The canvases fill the walls of the shop and you can stare away at them all while you enjoy a nice pot of tea & piece of homemade cake in the little tea room.

Delicious!

Isn't this lovely?

I really like this, it makes me feel free just looking at it.
I don't know where it originated from because it's on lots of people's flickr & ffffound pages but I first saw it on India Knight's blog.

Tuesday 18 May 2010

The first post

I wanted to start this blog so I can share some photos from things I've been (& hopefully will be) up to.

This is a photo of Ian & Sarah, my brother & sister, on a recent night at the pub.

I love it because it reminds me of this:

But they were actually having fun, honestly.