What I am reading now

On my bedside sits always a collection of books, patiently waiting for me. The stack never gets any shorter, since I add to it...oh for the love of reading! Occasionally I straighten them out and some of the ones on the bottom get reshuffled to the top... for fairness!
But a few days ago Justine Picardie's Coco Chanel biography was displayed at my local bookstore and I simply couldn't resist.
It got plonked right on top of it all!

I love her story, her couture, her style, the movies about her and now I get a chance to read all nicely assembled by
Justine Picardie. (She also has a wonderful blog, just follow the link on her name above)



And have you read 'Daphne' by the same authoress?


But this will have to wait a little longer, now it's Coco all the way!

It started as good as I was hoping it would...

XX
Victoria

Lovely Cortona

A couple's retreat...Just when I thought, after seeing Arezzo, it could not get any better my husband (and I) had the idea to visit Cortona...alone!


This day was a precious gift to us. Isn't there anything sweeter than a few leisurely hours alone for a hardworking couple with children of a certain age and little time for themselves??? We are not blessed with any family back at home and time for just the two of us is very rare indeed.
We spent the day together, leaving everyone behind and took off to a mini road trip to Cortona, the old Etruscan city on the border to Umbria. We started early towards Arezzo, spend a delightful late morning shopping and sightseeing, had lunch in a tiny Osteria, hidden in a courtyard and covered in Wisteria, potted lemon trees - ripe with fruits - all around us.
We felt giddy with delight just to do as we pleased...
We walked hand in hand through a park, found an old, now overgrown Roman amphitheatre, later a fortress from the middle ages and then continued our journey towards Cortona...


Cortona hangs on high up on a steep hill side, but oh, it's a treasure to behold. A winding alpine road leads up to the first piazza, the views are amazing at every turn. The city is a fortified place, it's thick walls onces protected the inhabitants. Now we walked the steep narrow streets and marveled at every door, nook and cranny. The city is build up on top of itself. Houses from earlier centuries became the foundation of later ones. If only these walls could talk...The temperatures were soaring, but the city was shady and we stayed cool within.



The small city is a time capsule, now lively with artisans and craftsman and -woman. Handmade leather goods, handmade shoes, purses, bags and wallets are on display. The leather scent is so enticing...


I met a wonderful artist, she creates artful batics on larges linen strips, paints delightful pattern on linen dresses and her daughter creates colorful knitted coats and jackets. All this and more she sells at a small, but oh so seductively filled store. I could not resist and bought a lovely dress.
Finely woven linen can be found all over Tuscany, table clothes, hand towels and bedding... Thinking of my luggage allowance taking anything home was out of the question...(And the prices stopped me too, it's very expensive.)
We paused in a street cafe, watching the life around us going on....


Old man spending the afternoon over coffee and grappa, moms with two, three children in tow stopping by for ice cream...tourists making hard desicions as what to bring back home. We felt almost like locals.....


It was wonderful to stroll throught the steep lanes and alley ways, incredible vistas down the mountain and romantic corners wherever you turn.


The rooftops are centuries old, covered with the typical red roof bricks of the region.


Pottted plants, gardens and well taken care of old houses give this place a magical flair.





It is also a city of churches and cloisters, we counted at least 5 or 6 monasteries, all lived in and religious live is observed in a sweet and humble way. Many times have we stepped into a small chapel or larger church to discover an organist practicing, or a lovely solemn atmosphare, cool and spiritual.


Smallest chapels are lovingly decorated and fresh flowers and devotional candles burn under many altars.


The lovely terra cotta works of Andrea della Robbia can be found and works by many painters, today unknown.

We ended this glorious day at the terasse of a small hotel, having dinner just to ourselves, the lovely cusine of Tuscany and an incredible view down towards Umbria before us. Ahhhh.....





We returned home, filled with delicious impressions, memories and a glorious day just for the two of us...


This journey in Italy is coming to an end, come Saturday we will pack our bags and leave back to Germany, where the children and I'll stay with the older sons and a good friend in Berlin for a couple of days before returning home. My husband will be back in New York by Sunday night.
I can not put my emotions into words...


Ciao!
Victoria



All pictures taken by us...apart from the lovely work by Andrea della Robbia.(google image)

Arezzo

Arezzo has been the biggest surprise for me at our stay in this region so far. It is such a beautifully ancient city, filled with architectural treasures. One of them, the church San Francesco, was build in the 13th century and contains Piero della Francesca's Legend of the true cross(1452-66),one of Italy's greatest fresco cycles.


The frescoes, now visible again after long restoration, show how the cross was found near Jerusalem by the Empress Helena. Her son, the Emperor Constantine, adopted the cross as his battle emblem. He also granted the Christian faith official recognition through the Edict of Milan, signed in 313. All is so beautifully executed, I could have sat for hours and slowly take it all in. Of course this was impossible, since there was so much else to see and we moved on after an hour.




Arezzo is one of the wealthiest cities in Tuscany, filled with antique stores and markets.





Jewellry making is a large part of the local industry and gorgeous pieces are displayed in many stores!
One can walk throughs many beautiful piazzas, one of the most impressive ones being the Piazza Grande. Truly medival in it's design, many buildings date back to the 13th century.







We dined under the handsome arcade designed by Vasari in 1573. The old Palazzo della Faternita dei Laici, right next to it, is decorated with a gorgeous relief of the Virgin by Bernardo Rossellino in 1434. One can get so absolutely absorbed into history.
Wherever you look, the city is filled with breathtaking beauty and is alive and full of acitvity. We so enjoyed our time there.


The movie 'Life is Beautiful' was filmed here. I will want to see it one more time now, seeing it under a new aspect...I loved the movie and now even more!

We will visit one more time, the city deserves a second time to stroll through it's small streets and to enjoy many more details.


Now we are back to the house in the mountains, where the weather is always different then in the valley below! Today we went up into storm clouds and now it's raining...
We are cozy inside, listening to Vivaldi and the wind outside and I get an early feeling what autumn must feel like out here!


I keep on writing my blog, this is a great way for me to preserve my memories and all my impressions are still fresh and unaltered by the passing time.
Thank you all for commenting I am so grateful for your loyal followship, soon it will be time to return home and I will catch up with all your news as well!


CIAO!
Victoria


Pictures by V.Zlotkowski, images from Piero della Francesco's frescoes via google image.

Days and nights in Tuscany

Much life happens outdoors and we so enjoy exploring the places around us.
It is not just the small towns, but simply walking up the hill behind our house or the meadows, which have been cut and the fields have all been harvested and large rolls of aromatic hay are rolled up in huge bundles.


The white cows of Tuscany walking slowly in the evenings and we can hear their bells every night.
Just below the property is a large field, with a grove of trees. Every night a group of large deers appears. I captured these majestic animals, gracefully walking and grasing, not being really afraid, but watchful.




There is a trail going into the mountains and we have been trekking along for an hour and we perhaps could reach another hamlet, but the children are not used to such long walks and eventually we returned.


Around every bend we find something new, animals, vistas, stones and broken pottery!
I have picked greens and flowers along the path and the meadows. Its a paradise!
By now the house truly has our touch and we love sitting at night and watch the sunset. The house is perfectly suited for a larger family and cooking in this wonderful farmhouse kitchen is such a pleasure. At night we realize again and again how quiet it is up here, only the occasonal animal sound or the zicadas interrupt the silence. At night the sky gleams with millions of stars and we watch many shooting stars! And we share our wishes with the universe...
There is lots of room for everybody and everthing, a double stove provides ample space for preparing multi-course meals, we bake and we talk, eat and play games until late at night!



My little Ragazzo Italiano!


My oldest and his girl...


Well, we have made plans already to return here; we simply fell in love!


Soon more, there is much I want to show you! Today we are off to Arezzo, a wonderful town from ancient times with a church filled with the frescos of Piero della Francesca!



XX
Victoria



All pictures by V.Zlotkowski

Bella Italy

It's Sunday, the first day of August! Oh, time flies...
Today we woke up to glorious sunshine after a few days of absolutely uncommon rain storms which send cold weather into a classic summer region...
But we did not bother and visited small towns nearby, all filled with historic treasures and plenty of things to do even when it rained!
On of them is Anghiari, just 6 miles away from Sansepolcro. Its a hill top town, high above the valley and so old, that stone age artifacts are proof for the desired location...The Etruscans have settled here and from then on various people have fought over and lived in this strategic important town. Today its a peaceful and well loved destination, filled with ancient houses, all sitting on top of each other, wedged between a 100 meter high wall and the hill behind.
The views are incredible!









Life in Italian towns differs quite a lot from what we are used to in America or other places in Europe for that matter. The day begins slowly and there is a very long siesta. That means the shops and museums are all closed between 1 and 4PM, a circumstance we had to get used to. After late mornings we were ready to stroll through the town to sight see or shop...Now we know better and the places all come to live after 4PM, going strong until midnight and beyond. The Italians have the lovely habit of walking the piazzas and narrow streets, chatting with friends and neighbors, sitting with large families around small cafe tables and generally enjoying themselves.
We adjusted fast and now walk nightly and come home after midnight...Something especially our teenage kids look forward to tremendiously.

We have expirienced so much already, cultural, historically, different landscapes and many encounters with wildlife. I have not seen so many rarely seen animals upclose before. The house sits quite far out, alone in the montains and we've seen deers and birds of all sorts, the occasional scorpion - small ones who are not dangerous to humans - but nevertheless fearfull to look at. Small lizzards have the run of the walls and stones outside. There are loads of large bugs and we live peacefully next to each other! Much buzzing around the lavender bushes!


We have rescued a fruitbat who accidentally came into the living room and a bird who flew into the hallway.
It is all wonderful!


I am thinking of you all and thank you for following me along on our journey, it is such fun and we recover from month of work and school and soak up a wonderfully different culture!

Take care, much love!


XX
Victoria


All pictures by V.Zlotkowski