Sunny mornings - sunny days

At the window this morning.


Being housebound I enjoy the wonders of the sunny mornings, those glorious late summer days with a stillness in the air!

Little salt and pepper pigs from Berlin...

I love the dark blue sky above me as I recline on an easy-on-my-back-chair in the garden.
The children are jumping with much delight on the new trampoline, truly a live saver for my son, who misses his soccer pals and structured exercises. I am amazed how they enjoy literally hours of jumping...

Just one more day and school resumes! Hallelujah!

I have begun to edit the thousands of pictures we have taken over the last 8 weeks and there is so much, so many memories attached, so many things I want to show you still...
But, life goes on and somehow I feel we must go with it and therefore I will only show pictures which fit into the context of the coming blog posts.
While I am still under the last German design impressions I'll show you some rooms from the homes of my friends, all no decorators and true showcases of styles in Germany!

First the newly renovated house of our good friends in Munich:







And here some impressions from my wonderful girlfriend's home in Berlin, where I have enjoyed many happy times of hospitality!
She is a whirlwind of energy and joyfulness, her home a mirror image of her happy attitude to life.









Some images of my parent's lovely little nest, in which they have lived for the last twenty years! When I see their place, warm memories of my childhood years come back to me, since my parents kept many of their original pieces from the years in Dresden and brought all with them after their move to Munich! This always reminds me how wonderful continuity can be. When I visit, it is always like coming back home, even it is neither the location nor the era of my childhood...
The set up of this living/dining room has not much changed since I have been a little girl! I love this room!
The year clock, named for the fact, that it only needs winding once a year, has fascinated me since I was small. Do you love coming back (home) and finding all in it's place? Somewhere else? I feel often like that when I go back to former familiar places, where I feel a little pang, when things have much changed...I love to find what I remembered!






The embroidered linen table cloth and napkins which my sister and I gave my parent's to their beautifully celebrated 50th weddding anniversary in August!


All these places are very different and yet, they all demonstrate quite clearly a certain German way to live. Modern, bohemian, traditional. And there is so much in between!

I hope you liked this little insight into German homes.

XX
Victoria



All pictures taken by me.

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.