Hello Hue! { Florence, Italy }

Lemon Drops

Pan for Gold

Parakeet

Dark Celery

Gold Rush

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE these colors.  Our living room tries to be in this palette, but I think it has too many black and white accessories to succeed. This is just so warm and inviting and Florentine...don't you want to sit down at a lovely outdoor table with a bottle of wine and some bread and olive oil and soak in the sun? 

{butcherblock server}{amber glasses}{dinnerware}{plate}

{bowl}{candlesticks}{serveware}{placemats}

You are practically relaxing in beautiful Tuscany. 

Mediterranean Vacation { Florence, Italy }

Our last full day in Italy was spent in Florence.  Next time, we will spend MUCH more time there...it was magical.  What they say about the light in Tuscany is true; even on a cloudy, drizzly day, the city seemed to glow. 

We spent a glorious hour at Il Duomo, necks craned backwards at the beautiful interior of Brunelleschi's dome, trying not to bump into too many people as we walked around. At this point of the trip, we kind of had a "It's Tuesday, this must be Belgium" feeling.  Another European city, another stunning ceiling. 

On the excellent recommendation of a friend, we visited the small museum behind the Duomo, which contains the original Ghiberti bronze doors and an unfinished Michelangelo.  It was a lovely little gallery, uncrowded and full of treasures.  As we were in Florence on a Monday and the Uffizi was closed, we had the opportunity to explore without feeling like we needed to hurry off to something bigger and better.

Then a stroll across the Ponte Vecchio and around the Oltrano.  We scoped out some great places to shop (colorful leather gloves!) and eat dinner, then returned to our hotel for a quick nap.  I was so exhausted after a solid week of travel that I walked back up the Via Calzaiuoli without setting foot in a shop. 

And for our last dinner in Italy, we walked back down to the Oltrano, finally deciding on a small bistro near the Pitti Palace.  We ate a tasty, light meal, drank a great bottle of wine, and capped off our vacation with a gelato eaten while strolling around Il Duomo under the stars.  *sigh.  Such an elegant, accessible city. 

Florence is a whole vacation unto itself.  Plan to take a week - a day just didn't cut it. 

all photos, mine

 

Hello Hue! { Back to Venice }

So of all the beautiful, vibrant colors of Venice, I chose a photo that is practically black and white.  Yep.  I think I was scared of a crazy-clown color scheme.  And Venice by night is a totally different beast than Venice-by-day.  Most of the tourists have gone, the streets are quieter, the alleyways more mysterious.  Plus I love gray and yellow.  I have ever since Sarah did that farmhouse bath.

But lately, gray-and-yellow have been everywhere.  Weddings, nurseries, prints, sheets, fabrics, outfits, dinnerware, and don't even get me started on the chevrons.  It can so easily skew...Pinterest-twee.

{via, with apologies}

So how to capture the dark, secret, aged elegant feel of Venice-by-night in a budget-friendly grown-up bathroom kind of way?  First, paint the walls gray.

 

{Charlie and Co.}

But add a nice dark vanity with a gray and white Carrara marble top. Pottery Barn sells similar styles for over $2500 - without the marble top.  I hate the whole 'buy it for less' deal, because unless it is the actual item you are looking for and you find it at a discount store, it really isn't the same thing.  And it probably doesn't have any of the features you liked about the original (e.g. heft, durability, construction, finish).  So... you'll likely be buying a new one.  Soon.  Which doesn't add up to 'less'.

However, this is not a cheap vanity - just fewer bucks than PB.  It imagine it will be serviceable.  Plus the carved detail is a little Venetian. I don't hate the mirror, but it looks a little top-heavy.  I don't want to worry about a concussion while I'm brushing my teeth.

{vanity}

And add in some carrara mosiac tile (maybe this is a small bathroom, and you can splurge on $10/sf), some aged brass fixtures and, since I apparently have to buy something for every room from PB, some towels. 

{sconce}{fixture}{tile}{towels}

You're practically brushing your teeth in romantic, moonlit Venice!

Mediterranean Vacation { Back to Venice! }

After disembarking our home on the high seas, we had a couple extra days to spend in Italy and decided to stay in Venice for the night before catching a train to Florence the next day.  And extra day in Venice is never a bad idea...plus there was time to get our land legs back so we wouldn't be tripping all over ourselves in Fashionable Florence. 

It rained, of course, so luggage was hauled through the soggy streets...not for the first time, we were insanely happy about our decision to only bring carry-ons.  Watching people struggle over the cobblestoned Piazzale Roma with GIANT suitcases full of cruise-wear (in the rain) was a little horrifying.  

We actually took a vaporetto from the train station - and listened to the fabulous Rick Steves audiotour I'd downloaded in the States.  We loved every second of our trip down the Grand Canal, but the water seemed...kind of high. What's that?  Record-breaking floods all across Italy while we were gone?  People swimming across St. Mark's? 

Yeah.  Our vacations and Natural Disasters.  A match made in heaven. 

 

Our hotel was in the Rialto area - we'd decided to try one night in a tourist hub, and...it was fine.  We much preferred Hotel Dalla Mora and the Dosudoro, but the shopping couldn't be beat in the Rialto.  We found some real gems amongst the tourist kitsch.

Then a walk to a very soggy Saint Mark's.  At this point of the trip my poor feet had walked all over the eastern Mediterranean (having never recovered from our first day in Venice!), so I decided to just wear my Keens and go for it - everybody's feet were wet that day.  And a pair of cheap wellies cost about $25 on the street!

We shopped our way back to the hotel and then took ourselves on a walkabout before dinner.  Saint Mark's had dried out, so we were able to see it in all its glory.  We found a small restaurant near our hotel and, after having a pre-dinner cocktail (awesomely leaning against a stand-up bar in the alleyway outside), decided this was The Place.  We had to wait about 45 minutes for a table, but the staff were very friendly and accomodating, and the whole place felt very...local.  We had such a great time just sipping our cocktails and people-watching. 

 Venice was even nicer when we had time to relax and enjoy it.  Un jet-lagged.  With time to eat copious amounts of seafood pasta.  And drink lots of wine.  *sigh. 

all photos, mine

Mediterranean Vacation {Bari, Italy}

Leaving Venice, we sailed overnight to the heel and a cute little city called Bari.  Some of the cruise websites we read before leaving the states said that it was kind of a throwaway port, and why didn't Costa stop at one of the beaches further south.  We found Bari charming, and once off the beaten path, soon discovered it had a winding, crowded, graffiti-plastered, southern Italian vibe all its own.

The Via Venezia was worth the walk - even though it was overcast, we had a great view of the harbor and it was nice to see vibrant plants still blooming.
 

 

The Basilica de San Nicola is the big draw in Bari - apparently Saint Nicholas himself is buried here.  The church has a strong Byzantine look to it, and the tombs are ornately lit and quite beautiful. 

  Un caffe?  Un Euro.  And sooo, so good.  Suitably fortified, we journeyed on.

 Hanging laundry in Bari seemed to be a strange art.  Open space amongst the crowded buildings was a commodity, and people got extremely creative with where (and what) they aired out.

True Story.





all photos, ours

Mediterranean Vacation, Part 1

It all began soon after we returned from New Zealand. Freshly bitten by the travel bug,  we wanted to plan our next vacation ASAP.  Since we were broke, and had a mortgage, winter heating bills, and student loans (still!) to pay, we looked for the Cheapest Possible Option that was not Canada. 

"What about an all-inclusive or a cruise?" I said, thinking we could cut down on food costs and still see some sights, maybe in the Caribbean somewhere.
"What about that cruise line that sank?  They should be pretty cheap right now..." mused my husband.
Thinking he was kidding, I checked it out anyhow and lo and behold, they were.  Extremely. A couple days later we found ourselves booked in a cheapie interior cabin on a week-long Costa cruise, bookended with some time in beautiful Italia.


We flew Aer Lingus into Dublin and then onto Rome.  It was a beautiful day to fly over Europe, and we had an amazing view of the Alps.

Travelling was hard.  We drove 8 hours to JFK, then flew to Rome, and then got on a train.  By the time we arrived in Venice, we were exhausted and ready to crash.
Stepping out onto the steps of the Santa Lucia station, we forgot we were dirty and hungry and tired and in sore need of a cocktail.  It was magic, and we couldn't stop smiling. The sea air smelled warm and heavy, the canals were lit with sparkling lights, and people everywhere seemed to be in a festive mood.  I highly recommend seeing Venice for the first time at night. 
 

 

Our lodging for the night was Hotel Dalla Mora , a short walk from the train station, and a great choice - extremely helpful and friendly staff!  We quickly learned that a wrong turn in Venice can be a costly error, especially if there are no bridges readily available.  We spent a good 10 minutes standing across the canal from the hotel (see where the people are standing below?), wondering how the hell we were supposed to get over there. 

  

Our host recommended Casin dei Nobili for dinner, so after a quick shower and change of clothes, we made our way down into the Sestiere Dorsoduro.  It was not fancy, a little touristy, but the food was hot and the wine was good.  

.

  

The following day we had a little bit of time before we had to board the ship, so we wandered around, walking through the rain to the Punta Della Dogana, where we had great views of both St. Mark's and San Giorgio. 

 

Then back across the Accademia (beautiful, even in the rain)...

...to St.  Mark's Square.  We were hopeful it would be dry when we returned from the cruise so we could enjoy an overpriced cappuccino and people-watch in one of the cafes.

 

The nice thing about the rain is that it makes a great excuse to go shopping.  

 Leaving Venice that night, the rain lifted and we leaned over the observation deck with our cameras, all giddy and googly-eyed.  It could have been very romantic, but we geeked out and filmed the whole thing instead. 

(yes, that's an H&M ad...)

We LOVED Venice, and were super-stoked we got to spend more time there on our return.



all photos, ours