North vs. South

As I am packing a suitcase, I am thinking of our last trip which was to Rome. I am always amazed at how regional Italy is. The language changes a bit from region to region and even the food changes drastically just 30 kilometers away. More about that later because what I noticed the most was the change in fashion (of course I did).

It is almost like the difference between New York and LA. In northern Italy, people are super chic wearing mostly blacks and grays. As I walk down the street here, I see some of the most fashionable people I've seen in my life. They look like an "after" of a before and after make-over or perhaps like someone who stepped off a fashion shoot, but it is a toned down almost hard-edged look. I have actually always prefered this look so it worked out perfectly that we ended up here. Not sure if I would blend as well in Rome because southern Italy is a totally different story. Even in January, this was obvious. The southern Italians are just as fashionable but it is a completely different type of fashion. Colors are everywhere, combined with tans, big jewelry and lots of glitz.

We are packing for Barcellona. . . stay tuned for what they are wearing in Spain!

92 Years

My wonderful grandfather just turned 92. Buon Compleano!

Why I Don't Drive (much)

This insanity is just 4 blocks away from my house.

I'll walk, thank you.

Nove

The cost of living here is rather high, especially with the current exchange rate. Take milk for instance: it is only sold in liters and each liter is 1.60. So about 4 liters make a gallon so that is about 6.50 Euros a gallon. Convert that to dollars and it is almost $10 for a gallon of milk. Just regular milk. Not organic, or soy, or magic. Ugh. I kind of wish I did not do that math.

So when I do find a bargain, I get pretty excited. The best deal I've found so far is in the town of Nove about an hour and a half drive from our house. It is the town that manufactures ceramics for all the big names in America.

I bought this beautiful platter for 17 Euros. The cake stand was less than 25. The platter is almost as big as my arm. You couldn't find any platter of this size for this price even at TJ Maxx.

Are you swooning yet?


Look where it is from.


You might want to sit down.




did you get that?


These are not discontinued items. The platter is currently selling at tiffany.com for $115. Tiffany pieces are not the only great deal. There are entire stores full of Williams Somona, Lenox and many more. Don't you love a bargain?

http://www.tiffany.com/Shopping/Item.aspx?fromGrid=1&sku=15251646&mcat=148209&cid=297559&search_params=s+5-p+4-c+297559-r+-x+-n+6-ri+-ni+0-t+

Check out a Nove store at http://www.laceramicavbc.com/ceramics-shop.htm

Tuesday Tastes: Vin Brule

If you are ever traveling Europe and see a vendor selling Vin Brule, buy a glass. Never, never pass up an opportunity for vin brule. It is a lovely hot mulled wine that is so cozy on a cold day. I've even had it as early as 10:00 in the morning. You will usually find it for sale at outdoor markets so you can sip while you shop. Perfecto!

Lunedi Lovelies: Il Fresco

Our home was built in the 1500's as a palace. After the war, it was broken up into 4 apartments. The home has been in the family of our landlord for over 300 years and they live in one half of the building. Luckily for us, there are still many remnants of the palace splendor. (There are also outdated bathrooms and ugly kitchen tiles but we won't talk about that.) The ceilings are almost 20 feet high, the rooms are spacious, there is gorgeous wood moulding throughout and my favorite-- the frescoes.

The ceiling in our bedroom was painted in the 1700's and to me it is like living in a museum. I love that this is the last thing I see before I go to sleep and the first thing I see in the morning. It is painted in trompe l'oeil, a technique perfected during the Renaissance. It is a french term that means "to trick the eye" and is painted to achieve a 3D effect on a flat space. On our ceiling, it looks like the sun is always shining in the window because of the way the shadows are painted.

To be more specific, it is also painted in a 17th century a tenique called quadratura that became popular when artists began to understand perspective theory. It is a technique that uses trompe l'oeil but also truly opens up a space. Andrea Mantegna is famous for Illusionistic ceiling painting such as this. Wikipedia defines it as this "The artist would paint a feigned architecture in perspective on a flat or barrel-vaulted ceiling in such a way that it seems to continue the existing architecture. The perspective of this illusion is centered towards one focal point. The steep foreshortening of the figures, the painted walls and pillars, creates an illusion of deep recession, heavenly sphere or even an open sky. Paintings on ceilings could, for example, simulate statues in niches or openings revealing the sky."

Here are links for you art history buffs. . .

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trompe-l

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illusionistic_ceiling_painting#Quadratura

Fresco in our entryway. It is a totally different style and I think it must be older than the bedroom. It is more similar to 16th and 17th century frescoes I have seen but I don't know for sure.

We still can't believe we get to live here for a few years.

(Pictures really don't do it justice. It is hard to capture it on a camera.)

Bianca

Here in the fashion capital of the world, there seem to be no rules. In the States, we stop wearing white pants after Labor Day. I've always thought this rule was ridiculous, especially when it is 95 degrees in September in Texas.

However, the Italians (both men and women) are wearing their white jeans through the winter with boots and sweaters. I am glad to see the rule does not apply here and I finally worked up the courage to try my white jeans in January. No one even gave me a second look. Totally normal.

In June, I saw a girl wearing knee high boots and a leather jacket. I think it is brilliant to dress for the weather (and for what looks cute) rather than following a rule.