Honestly, this is the epitome of perfection when it comes to sandals. Little miss Tory has kicked it into high gear. I have to give her props The 2009 collection is blowing me away.
Yes, ladies... the next time shopbop lays out a 25% off everything
sale, you can bet these Tory Burch Luke sandals will be mine. (Grechen, if you are reading this... I've got my eye on your site and your twitter feed. Do tell!) MINE I
say! Mwah-ha-ha! *sigh* More pix below. Drool if you dare...
May 31, 2009
May 30, 2009
Carpe Diem
There's a book you might want to add to your collection. It's not a novel or a book one might read cover to cover. But if you'd love to have the kind of tome on hand that allows you to open it to any chapter to gain new perspective, a fresh outlook or just a reminder of the power of the present moment, I recommend Living a Charmed Life. It's full of candid personal tales, life lessons and general reminders to us all to stop waiting for "someday" to arrive.
You know what I mean by "someday" - right? It's putting off your happiness until you're married, or land that sweet new job, or finally see Paris. I see these people all of the time. They are waiting to be happy. How can you wait to be happy? Happiness isn't the grand result of perfectly aligned planets and years of work. Happiness is now. It's yours. It's a decision you make every day. Every moment. And if you enjoy the process of living, then yes - you will surely be happy when you and your new hubby (or wife) are celebrating that new job by sipping coffee in a cafe in Paris
You can't live life waiting for perfect events. You have to focus on the "now." You see... someday is today. And the sooner you embrace that and take note of it, the happier you'll be. So if you need a great little book to nudge you in that direction, pop this one in your beach tote this weekend and read it between dips in the water or put it on your nightstand to read the occasional chapter before bed. It'll remind you to enjoy the present for what it is, a gift. You'll be happy you did.
Now stop reading and go play in the sun!
May 29, 2009
The New Power Suit
Regardless of your sunworshipper status, I think we can agree we all bow to the bathing suit gods come May.And whether yours answers with a tankini, a string bikini or a maillot, you've got to find the style that suits your body so you can lounge poolside demonstrating as much sprezzatura as possible. Don't worry...we won't tell a sould how much time you put into looking so positively gorgeous. Only you and your aesthetician will ever know.
{Q; hey, franki... where do I get those fab suits? A: top suit is by none other than jcrew. visit jcrew.com...bottom two, trina turk - available at nordstrom.com. now go get your suit on, ladies!}
May 28, 2009
Yep. It Feels A Lot Like This.
Yesterday morning the unthinkable happened. A steaming fresh mug of perfectly good coffee spilled.... over my fully powered up 17" MacBook Pro. Mr. Venti and I calmly dried her off, shook out the excess drops of wasted caffeine, removed the battery and attempted to dry her off. Through it all, I was eerily calm. Not a glimpse of panic. She'll be okay... right?
I powered her up last night, rubbed her glistening aluminum chassis and silently prayed she'd come back to life as if nothing happened. The lights were on, but no one was home. Just that Apple icon and loading indicator in a perpetual "loading" loop. Signs weren't looking good, but still I retained my sense of equanimity. Things will be fine. I'm certain of that.
Today we dropped her off to be worked on. Maybe they can pull the bits of perfectly Splenda'd coffee from her circuitry and resuscitate her. Bring my lovely machine back to life. I'm undeniably optimistic. She'll be fine. I'm sure of it.
So if things are a wee bit quiet for a few days or if I don't respond to your email right away it could be because I'm operating now from my old PowerBook and my iPhone. (Yes, we've got a veritable mountain of juicy good Apple equipment here, I'm not ashamed to admit that. Should I be? Nah.) If you're waiting for a note back from me or just want to be absolutely positively 100% certain I have your email address (or simply want to share a similarly horrifying story of a wasted cup of coffee), shoot me a note or drop a comment. I'll just be here tapping my toes and drinking my fresh cup of coffee. Far, far away from all of my glistening computer equipment. And yes, I'll be twittering like crazy in lieu of my big laptop's presence.
And Lord, if you read my blogs, I learned my lesson. Drink first, blog second. I get it. I really, really get it.
May 25, 2009
Shaken, Not Stirred.
You just have to see this gorgeous collection of elements created for Domaine de Canton. The beautiful collateral and packaging are for French ginger liqueur, which apparently makes quite the festive martini.
The concept was produced by boutique firm Mucca. You need to click the images to take in the finer details of the images to see the beauty of the elements. As is so often the case with great design, the beauty of it lies in its simplicity. The packaging has a very limited color palette: matte black (almost a charcoal), glossy black and champagne. And look how pretty the bags are above. Not to mention the stand out shape of the bottle. That's a memorable design touch. (more after the jump...)
May 22, 2009
Exhale
It's time to go play for a few days. I hope you all have a lovely holiday weekend and don't spend too much time online. Life is wonderful, get out there and enjoy it. Ciao!
Loud & Proud in LA
Hey, peeps... if you're blogging (or desperately wish to begin blogging) in the LA area, be sure to show your pretty face at the Blog Out Loud event coming up June 4th, from 7:30-9pm at Patio Culture.
Naturally, there's a blog with all the deets you'll need. But I know what you want. You want to know who's on the VIP list, right? You're in luck. The panel of five of our beloved peers will boast Rebecca, Richele, Megan, Audrey and Jonathan. They'll dish about their experiences and help facilitate a lively discussion about the current state of blogging.
Still need motivation? Seats are limited... so be there or be square.
May 20, 2009
The better to see yourself
Wow. Look at Restoration Hardware going all Neoclassical on us. Honestly, this is gorgeous. True, I'm a sucker for an oversize mirror. But this one has Texas-sized dreams and ambitions written all over it. It certainly fits my Venti lifestyle and outlook. (more after the jump...)
Thom Lanvin: The Man
You must, must, must go read the Thomas Lanvin interview on Decorati. In it he discusses his to-the-trade home furnishings showroom and his approach to design. It should come as no surprise that Thomas, like every creative professional I know, sees travel as one of his greatest sources of inspiration. Getting out of your space, your routine and your comfort zone are key. It's important to push your own boundaries and see, breathe and taste new things. Naturally, he feels much the same. (more after the jump...)
May 19, 2009
Pedal Pushers
There's something ridiculously fun abut the idea of an Hermès bicycle. I mean... at $4000 for a "one size fits most" frame, it had better do all of the cycling for me. True, there are the finer details which I've skipped over. The glorious orange lacquered stainless steel. The touches of Taurillon Clemence leather on the seat and handles. The unmistakable orangeness of it all.
This is exactly the type of creation that I want someone to own. I'd like to think that there's a couple who packed up their corporate lifestyle, moves to the south of France and ride into town every other day on their matching Hermès bikes. I like to imagine they've outfitted them with leather baskets on the side of the rear wheel well that allows them to bring home bottles of wine, fresh fromage and other necessary provisions.
On days when they aren't entertaining friends, they'll tool around on the coast and venture where no cars could possibly venture, all whilst practicing their now nearly fluent French. To this couple, this pair of tangerine cycles were a worthy investment. Transportation. Necessities. A commitment to their new life. A better life. Anything else would be downright uncivilized. Don't you think?
Nine Hundred
Take just a moment to observe the grand style and fearless design that this 900 square foot apartment contains. You read that right... 900 square feet (more after the jump)...
May 17, 2009
Brand out. Stand Out.
Everyone has business cards. But how much do yours really say about what you actually do for a living? If you design chairs, does yours make that abundantly clear? If you're a designer of any sort, you can bet that the bar is set much higher for you when it comes to business cards. Yours better be amazing.
Ruffles and Clutches and Cashmere, Oh My!
Maybe I've consumed one too many j. crew catalogues... or maybe emptying my closet to start fresh has given me a new lease on life...but I'm leaning decidedly preppy and ladylike these days.
Where once I would have described my style as bold and moderne, now I must concede that it's downright girly. Pastels. Big hats. Pinks, Florals. Ruffles. Baubles and clutches and cashmere, oh my!
But the most amazing part it is this... I'm loving it. I'm loving it so much, in fact, that the 10% of the old closet I was still clinging to is now going to go away as well. Fresh palette. Fresh start. Fresh outlook.
And, really, what fun it it being a girl if you don't own a few pairs of pink pants and some metallic ballet flats? I'd go so far as to say it is is indeed my responsibility to frill it up as much as possible.
May 16, 2009
Looking Through Avedon's Lens
The NYT has a wonderful article about iconic photographer Richard Avedon this week. His work is the stuff of legend. Pulling moments and actions out of models that others would have missed or never intended to capture. Avedon was - and is - in a league of his own.
For me, it is his ability and need to capture movement. As you know, I believe candid shots tell the most compelling stories and give the subject the greatest opportunity for a flattering image. But more than that, the contain a glimpses into a real moment in time.
May 15, 2009
Boudoir Collections
Graham & Green, my much loved Notting Hill provider of luxury home furnishings, is celebrating 35 years of exceptional home fashions. To mark the occasion, they are offering you the chance to win some very indulgent gifts for yourself...
* £500 of Myla lingerie
* £500 of Graham and Green furniture
May 14, 2009
Crashing Kasler's Pad
One of the most drool worthy moments inside the High Point showroom tour was when we stepped into Suzanne Kasler's gorgeous chinoiserie room at Hickory Chair. It was like stepping into a jewel box. Your eyes could barely stop looking at the impressive center arrangement of quatrefoil chairs beneath a hulking yet appropriately delicate light fixture.
The architectural detail of both the space and the furnishings was truly the centerpiece of the showroom for me. Of the many rooms we toured, this one begged to be lingered in more than any other.
Suzanne, the famed interior designer from Atlanta, worked with the
brand to create a refined collection of glamorous furnishings. The
chair, which Cassandra has written about previously, will is perfectly
proportioned. Nothing quite explains how well balanced the design is
until you see it in person. It seems so often that when a chair back
veers too far from the normal rectangular shape that you lose the
comfort of the piece. Nothing could be further from the truth with this
chair. It sits like a dream, and that gorgeous decorative back offers
just the right *oomph* when seated. I need several of these in my home.
Perfection.
And everywhere you looked, stacks and stacks of books every girl I know would love to have on her coffee table or bedside. Chanel, Vogue, Louboutin, Jacobs, Dior, Lanvin...a fashionista's dream dream. It was such an exercise in storytelling. That we'd stepped into someone's private dressing room. That somewhere nearby, the woman who lived here had a collection of designer gowns, fun frocks and (surely) an admirable collection of Chanels to accompany these glam pieces of furniture.
And my new BFF Cassandra La Valle of Coco+Kelley and I just couldn't stop swooning over the feminine perfection of the room. At one point we were begging people to take our photo in the space, just so we could remember what it felt like to live - even for a moment - with such design perfection. Umm... yeah, I'd say we got a bit carried away with our personal pix. But can you blame us? Look at the stunning surroundings.
Suzanne Kasler nailed glam with this collection. Honestly, I think we were both overwhelmed by the magnificence of the brand as a whole. But when you entered this room you knew you were in the midst of something tremendous. The lighting, the placement, the slight shimmer on the walls. It was heaven.
You'd just entered a new level of furnishings. The drawer pulls, the curved leg of an ottoman, the added flourish on a divan, the timeless design on a chair back. This was no ordinary designer and these were far from ordinary furnishings.
The furnishings begged to be touched, sat upon, admired and - yes, blogged about. It all just felt so perfect. And just when you thought the room couldn't possibly get more gorgeous, you walked a bit further and found something else that made you stop in your tracks. Honestly, I think we both felt that this room was pitch perfect. Feminine without being frilly. Elegant without a hint of stuffiness. Rich and relaxed. There was just a confident ease to the space you could not possibly ignore. And isn't that what style really is at the end of the day? Ease?
So I leave you with these lovely, dreamy photos of the furnishings (and a few silly ones of us living the luxe life for a few moments, imagining this was our home).
Be sure to check out Cassandra's coverage of the tour as well!
May 13, 2009
It's All About You
We are off to the private showrooms at High Point today. Stay tuned for the skinny & tons of photos.
May 12, 2009
Southern Hospitality
What did Tuesday bring? Much adventure. Cassandra & I had the pleasure of attending - and graduating from, I might add - Hickory University today. She and I were among a throng of interior designers invited to the event in picturesque Hickory, North Carolina.
In one day we toured the entire factory, seeing how these amazing pieces are formed, sanded, finished, customized, refined, upholstered, hammered, nailed, tufted and welted to your exact specifications. This is as close to bespoke as you're likely to get in the American furniture market. Nearly every piece of furniture we observed today was accompanied by a custom order ticket. I can barely get my head around the processes they must have in place to keep so many orders and options straight. Watching them work is like seeing an orchestra perform. There's so much synchronicity and fluidity to their motions and such a sense of calm in what seems like such chaos.
And amazingly, every one involved is happy to accommodate even the most intricate detail of personalization. It's late and I have so very much to share, but I'll need to post the juicy details once I'm back at home. Let's just say hotel wireless is not the best friend of the photo-rich blogger.
Tomorrow it's off to High Point for the showroom tours. In the meantime, enjoy these quick snapshots from the day. And before I go let me just assure you, that southern hospitality you've heard so much about is anything but myth. The entire Hickory Chair team has been so welcoming and gracious that I'm almost convinced we could stay all week and be greeted with welcome arms. In just two days I feel like we're family.
Oh, Sydney!
Where on earth do I begin? The heels. The booties. The Missoni. Oh my! If you missed reading the Sartorialist last week, be sure to go back and view his amazing images of some very fashionable Australians he photographed.
I can tell you this, there are some beautiful Aussies out there. And the magnificent scenery in the background is only upstaged by clear sense sartorial responsibility by our Down Under brothers and sisters. Clearly, we can take a page from their fashion playbook. Those in the southern hemisphere obviously put some thought into their outfits before stepping out for the day.
May 11, 2009
In My Carry On
I'm traveling for a few days this week. Here's the book in my carry on luggage. I'll be sure to let you know if it's worthy of being added to yours or being thumbed through while poolside this summer. It's just my kind of book - a collection of fantastic essays giving insight on how to see the magic in everyday moments. Yes, just my kind of book!
Be on the lookout for my posts this week...I've got some exciting furniture design tales to share!
Tory Finally Shows Us Some Skin
Yowza. Just thought I'd leave you with this delicious sight before I took off for my flight. Looks like Tory is offering up lots of snakeskin this season. Hello, gorgeous.
And don't forget the yummy shoes. Prrrr....
Look out for my tweets and posts from High Point...
May 10, 2009
Think Happy Thoughts
Sometimes when I need a quick smile, I admire these Tory Burch Keltons. Perfection. Perfection in a Mexican-inspired woven huarache sandals leather made sexy with a 4.5" stacked stiletto made of imported leathers. *ahem* But perfection nonetheless.
Happy, happy, happy Mother's Day.
High Point
Is this not the sweetest dress form you've ever seen? I spied it on Paris Atelier last week. What I wouldn't do for a high resolution version of this photo...or the dress form itself! This shot is perfection.
Prepare for an amazing week fo posts, by the way. I'll be blogging from High Point, North Carolina and dishing up behind the scenes information and photos from some amazing furniture collections. Expect interviews (fingers crossed), photos and up close looks at what it takes to bring hand crafted furniture to life.
In the meantime, please enjoy the musings of Paris Atelier.
May 09, 2009
Live In the Moment
Get some rest this weekend and live in the moment. And yes...catch a cat nap of your own ;)
{All images of Paris balconies via Flickr}
A Bit of Beauty for your Weekend
Thanks to the amazing posts from my guest bloggers (I should really leave it to the pros more often!) I enjoyed a week of mental relaxation. Along the way I discovered some truly amazing blogs, images, ideas and inspiration.
If you have not visited Bits of Beauty, swing by and see Jenn. She wowed me this week with these unparalleled images by photographer Christian Coinbergh. Consider me a new loyal fan of both. And...as always....enjoy your weekend! XOXO
May 08, 2009
OK, here's the last of my traveler's tales from Campania
Many thanks again to Franki for the chance to share some of my adventures in Campania. Franki and I became acquainted originally in the comments section of another blog where we were trading one-liners about the wonders of La Sirenuse, a hotel and spa in Positano. It's fitting then that I should write a bunch of posts on her blog about the region. Although I've left out any of my Positano material on purpose. I need to have something to come back with later, right?
Anyhow, no trip to the Bay of Naples or the Amalfi Coast would be complete with a trek through some archaeological ruins. Pompeii and Herculaneum are the famous ones and they are located pretty close to one another, tucked into the congested wonder that is greater Naples. If you find yourself anywhere near this part of the world, you owe it to yourself to see both of them. Pompeii is as massive as Herculaneum is compact and each has its own, though different charms.
However, situated just north of Naples is the Roman archaeological site that's the least-known least seen. I'm talking about the Stabian Villas, and they are located just outside of Castellammare della Stabia. The Romans called the town Stabiae and just like it's more famous sister cities, it too was wiped out when Vesuvius blew in the year 79. Vesuvius' eruption in 79 was a natural disaster the likes of which the modern world has never seen. A major, productive region of the world's sole super power was wiped off the face of the earth. It would be the equivalent the US of losing greater Los Angeles today. Though Pompeii and Herculaneum get all the attention, the modern city of Naples and its expansive suburbs are all built on top of many smaller cities and towns, none of which will ever see the light of day. But every once in a while someone finds something that can be excavated.
So in 1950, a high school teacher in Castellamare della Stabia found what's now known as the Villa San Marco. The Villa San Marco is a 36,000 square foot single family home and it sat on what was then the shoreline of the Bay of Naples. The Villa San Marco was but one of what are believed to be 150 similar villas that lined that stretch of coastline. Think about it though. A 36,000 square foot single family home. That's enormous by any standard, let alone an ancient one.
The villas of Stabiae were the Roman world's equivalent of Malibu or Aspen. These homes were vacation homes mostly and they belonged to a who's who of the ancient world. Julius Caesar, Cicero, Augustus and the rest of the Classical smart set spent their summers wallowing in the sweet excesses accorded the elites of the Roman world.
Three villas have been excavated since 1950 and the dig is now run as a cooperative effort between the University of Maryland and the Soprintendenza Archeologica di Pompei. It's also open to the public if you know where to find it and who to ask.
Pompeii is a thrill as I mentioned earlier, but it's been so picked over and so many people walk through it every year that it's hard to get a real feel for what life must have been like in Pompeii. Herculaneum's a little less grand and a little less trammeled so the Aha moments are easier to come by. But in Stabiae, the Villa San Marco, the Villa Arianna and the Villa del Pastore and nothing but Aha moments. These villas are remarkably intact and as you walk from room to room you can get a real sense of who these people were.
The Roman elites lived lives that are at once so much the same as ours yet so distant it makes me scratch my head. These people had disposable income, they took vacations, they sent their kids to college, etc. Walking through these massive, luxurious homes is like holding up a 2,000 year-old mirror in a lot of ways.
There's a bedroom in the Villa San Marco that belonged to an adolescent boy. The walls are richly painted and fresco-ed, but on the wall near where his bed was, you can make out where he scratched the names of his favorite gladiators right into the wall. It's the same way a 13-year-old boy would write the names of Evan Longoria or Michael Phelps today. Experiences like that allow a visitor to hold the hands of the ancients and realize that we're not so different after all.
The Stabian Villas are an active archaeological dig and it's not unusual to see the excavations happening before your eyes. The archaeologists doing the digging are passionate about their work to say the least. If you see someone with an ecstatic look on his face who's also covered in dust, ask what he or she's doing. You'll be treated to one of the most remarkable experiences there is; meeting someone with real passion for the work they do and a re-enactment so vivid and true you'll swear it's the year 79 all over again.
This is a detail of a fresco in the main dining room of the Villa San Marco.
This is another fresco from the Villa San Marco. My photo is failing to convey the complexity of this painting in every way. The entire thing is a trompe l'oeil masterpiece. Until I stood in this room I never really got it that the ancients knew how to use perspective in their art too.
This is part of the fresco-ed wall of the boy's bedroom in the Villa San Marco.
This is where the young man's bed would have been. In life, you can see where he scratched the names of his favorite athletes into the wall. Talk about an Aha moment. Geez!
This is Perseus holding the head of Medusa from the Villa San Marco.
This is an image of Iphigenia and she's holding a torch over her left shoulder. This is also from a fresco in the Villa San Marco. Iphigenia was a well-known character in the Greek dramas that were a popular form of entertainment in Ancient Rome. She would have been instantly recognizable, the way L. Frank Baum's Dorothy Gale or Lewis Carrol's Alice would be today.
This is a painting of a pigeon on a ledge, obviously. It's part of a much larger mural that depicts a foggy spring morning. I love the expression on the pigeon's face.
The Ancient Stabians displayed images of their friends' villas in prominent places. This depicts a villa that would have been down the road from the Villa San Marco. This one's wild because a much taller, pre-eruption Mount Vesuvius looms in the background.
Here's the edge of the site, where greater Naples picks up again. Naples is a sprawling, lively place and sites like Pompeii, Herculaneum and Stabiae are surrounded by regular neighborhoods. It's a shock to go from the cacophony of the streets in Naples to the quiet of these places.
So that wraps up my last remembrance of good times and cool stuff in southern Italy. I've been around quite a bit, but no where looms as large for me as Campagnia does. Thanks again to Franki for giving me the chance to write down some of these stories and remember to come find me on my regular blog, Kitchen and Residential Design. Maybe some time down the road Franki and I will do some joint posts on Positano, it seems to hold the same place in our imaginations. Ciao!
Oh! If you'd like to read more about the Stabian Villas, here's a site in English dedicated to them. Restoring Ancient Stabiae
Details, Details, Details
Before I get into the main topic of this post, I want to thank Franki Durbin again for giving me the opportunity to be a Guest Blogger for Life In A Venti Cup. I've really enjoyed authoring these blog posts, and I hope you have enjoyed them as well.
My first guest post highlighted some interesting photography iPhone apps, my second post was about changing your point of view in your photographs, and this post is going to cover another idea to make your photographs more interesting.
That idea is: Focus on the Details
Sometimes we are in such a rush to get from Point A to Point B, that we forget to admire the details around us. I will use the Eiffel Tower again as an example. A classic Eiffel Tower photograph looks something like this:
Image courtesy of Anirudh Koul
However, by simply taking the time to admire and capture the details, your photographs can become quite unique and creative. Here are some of the details of the Eiffel Tower:
Image courtesy of -RS-
Image courtesy of monkeycat!
Image courtesy of Juergen Kurlvink
Image courtesy of killermonkeys
Hopefully you've found this post inspiring - not only due to these photographs, but as a reminder to soak in the details of the beauty that surrounds us everyday. Please feel free to leave Comments below, or contact me directly via Twitter: @ryanswigert
May 07, 2009
Find Amalfi if you're on the Amalfi Coast
Just below the lofty heights of Ravello lies an even older town, Amalfi. Amalfi dates its history to the year 600 and it was the Amalfi Republic from around the years 800 to 1200 that gives this entire coastline its name. Prior to the rise of Venice, Amalfi was the European trading port. Amalfi today boasts a population of around 5,000 people, but in its heyday the population of Amalfi numbered closer to 65,000. I cannot imagine 65,000 people jammed into this labryinth of a town, but jammed they were.
The Via del Duomo, Amalfi
Amalfi has one main, wide street, the Via del Duomo. The Cathedral of St. Andrew, the Campanile and the Duomo of Amalfi sit right next to one another and the small piazza in front of those buildings is the extent of Amalfi that most visitors see. That's a real shame because like a lot of places, authentic Amalfi can't be found along its main drag. The Via del Duomo and the Piazza Duomo are packed to the gills with the same bad restaurants and limoncello stands that crowd so many of the towns in this part of the world. So if you ever find yourself in Amalfi, don't stop in the Piazza Duomo, keep walking.
Within a block of the Piazza, Amalfi reveals itself as a town nearly devoid of streets. A confusing and delightful rabbit's warren of walkways and staircases connects the buildings as the town itself works its way up the side of Mount Cerrito. Amalfi has the street plan it does because in the days of Saracen and Norman invasions, having an impossible to navigate street plan was a defensive measure. Gangs of marauders would get caught up in the dead end passageways and switchbacks and could be slaughtered more readily. It's easy to imagine how it must have been a thousand years ago when you find yourself back in the neighborhoods of Amalfi.
Fascinating though the town is, what really affected me was this. On the way to Amalfi from Positano, you can look out over the wide expanse of the Mediterranean and see three islands just offshore known locally as The Sirens. I was an English Major back in my day and my literary geekdom knows no bounds. Until I saw the Sirens for the first time that morning it had never occurred to me that Homer's tale of Odysseus in the Odyssey could have been inspired by real events and real places. The ancient Greek mariners were all over this coast a thousand years before Rome. In all likelihood, the rocks and currents surrounding these small islands were pretty treacherous. The Greek sailors knew to avoid them and a myth grew out of that avoidance. Eventually, a blind poet named Homer solidified that myth when he composed the Odyssey. Wow. It's pretty wild to rub shoulders with three thousand years of western literary history like that.
So fresh from my literary moment on the bus ride south, I got off the bus in Amalfi. If you look due south from the marina in Amalfi your eyes can't help but to land on the Hotel Luna as it creeps up the cliff-side. As I was standing there looking at the hotel I remembered something I'd read a week before. Namely, that Henrik Ibsen had holed himself up in the Hotel Luna to write A Doll's House in 1879. Now, when Ibsen was sitting in his hotel room at the Luna he would have been able to see the Sirens on a clear day. Maybe it's just me, but I had a breakdown of the literary sort on the spot. I still get a shiver when I think about it.
These small towns along that rocky coast hold the very roots roots of our culture. Finding those roots and connection points is especially important for Americans. We're a people without a context, stumbling blindly without a real sense why we do what we do. That's both our strength and our weakness by the way. Places like Amalfi provide an anchor for that rootlessness and an opportunity to think about how we're the same instead of dwelling on how we're different. Finding those connections is why this American travels.
My friend JD walking up an Amalfi street.
The Cathedral of St. Andrew, Amalfi.
Lunch time in Amalfi. This was the best and freshest calamari I've ever eaten. The chef and her husband came out and sat with us for lunch.
The Hotel Luna rises above the harbor and marina in Amalfi.
The Sirens as seen from the road just north of Amalfi.
And remember, come see me in my usual spot on the 'net, Kitchen and Residential Design.
What's Your Point... Of View?
In my previous guest blog post on Life in a Venti Cup, I shared some interesting photography apps for the iPhone. In this post, I will share with you a very simple idea to make your photographs more interesting.
That idea is: Change your point of view.
Let's use the Eiffel Tower for an example. When I think of the Eiffel Tower, an image like the one below pops into my mind.
Image courtesy of Anirudh Koul
However, by simply changing your point of view, you can make your photographs more interesting, and intriguing. Below are some examples.
Image courtesy of danorbit
Image courtesy of hampshiregirl
Image courtesy of = xAv =
And I had to include this rather comical photo of the Eiffel Tower as a lamp:
Image courtesy of @t
So while you're out there capturing your Venti Life, try changing your point of view. I think you'll be pleased with the results.
If you have any questions, feel free to leave them in the Comments, or contact me direct via Twitter: @ryanswigert
May 06, 2009
Spend some quiet time in Ravello
If you find yourself on the Amalfi Coast, take the time to get to Ravello. Ravello is a 9th Century walled city of 2500 souls that's perched on the edge of cliffs that fall thousands of feet into the Mediterranean. It's also a huge tourist draw, but don't let that dissuade you from getting up there.
The terrace dining room of the villa Rufalo, Ravello
Ravello appears like something out of dream. There's no other way to describe it. Even in its crowded spots, it's impossible to walk the ancient streets and not be swept up in the fantasy and history of the place. Every building, every street, every sidewalk pulses with an ancient heart. The threads of western civilization weave their way back through time to places like Ravello. It's impossible to be in such a place and not sense the lives lived there through the centuries. Ravello, like the rest of Italy, doesn't wallow in its past, even though that past is everywhere. It's hard to describe adequately, but there's an embrace of life today at the same time that there's an attachment to history. Even though I can't describe it very well, it's an intoxicating mix that I can't get enough of.
It's easy to go off the beaten path in Ravello and let it works its quiet magic. I have a hard time reconciling the past and the present when I'm in a place like this though. It's easy to forget that this is a real town, an authentic place 2500 people call home.
My friends and I were taking the back streets to the Villa Cimbrone, a five star hotel in Ravello with gardens that have to be seen to be believed. We were with another friend, Francesco, who lives in Positano. We'd been walking for about ten minutes when we heard a tremendous, shouting racket coming from the end of a side street. "Francesco, what's that noise?" I wanted to know and he laughed and told me as we turned down the side street toward the source of the din. "That's the Ravello High School soccer team practicing."
That Ravello is a real place where real lives get lived out hit me like a brick. Of course these real lives beget families, and families beget teeneagers. And in Italy, teenagers play soccer. Can you imagine what growing up in a place like Ravello would do to one's psyche?
One of the walled streets in Ravello.
This is a 600-hundred-year-old floor in the Villa Rufalo, Ravello.
A passageway leading to unimagined delights in Ravello.
My hero Augustus, holding court at the Villa Cimbrone, Ravello.
The gardens of the Villa Cimbrone, Ravello.
Looking down and northward from the Infinity Terrace of the Villa Cimbrone.
When we were walking back from Ravello High School's soccer field, we happened upon these two young ballerinas. I snapped a photo by reflex and caught this image. I have been kicking myself ever since for not stopping them and asking to pose. Ballerinas in a Ravello garden is a perfect theme and I regret not getting more photos.
Despite my regrets about not having more shots, my pal Fifi, from Fifi Flowers Design Decor; painted this based on on the photo above.
Please drop by and see me at my regular haunt in the blogosphere, Kitchen and Residential Design. Thanks!
May 05, 2009
Oh Sorrento, the curious gateway to Amalfi
I thought we were being clever by staying in Sorrento and using it as a stepping off point for the region of Campania. And we were, it's just that everybody uses Sorrento as a stepping off point for the region of Campania. The result of this is that Sorrento's real history and culture are buried under a layer of package tours, British-style breakfasts, limoncello stands and purveyors of all manner of knick knackery. It would be easy to spend a day along the main drag in Sorrento and to write off the place as a tourist destination period. However, to do so would sell short the Sorrentine people and it would cheat you out of a really interesting place.
Sorrento and the Sorrentine Peninsula have a history that predates the Romans by more than a thousand years. Sorrento and the other small towns in Campania were thriving Greek colonies when Rome was still a swampy backwater. The influence of the ancient Greeks runs deep in Sorrento and with a little sleuthing, you can still find their fingerprints. In fact, the original Greek gates to the city are down in the Marina and they sit unmarked and unnoticed by the hundreds of thousands of visitors who walk past them every year. Those stone ramparts were there when Odysseus sailed past them a thousand years before Christ. Quiet realizations like that abound in Sorrento and indeed the entire region. Just when I thought I couldn't handle one more limoncello stand I'd get poked in the eye by something that threw the whole place back into historical perspective.
Sorrento does have its charms and it is a lovely town for walking. I have a tendency to get up pretty early when I'm traveling and one of the coolest things I can think of is to walk around a place I've never been as the sun's coming up. Places let down their hair after hours and Sorrento at 6am is a walker's paradise.
The main drag is lined with some pretty bad restaurants selling bad food to tourists who are too stupid to know it and too timid to try something different. Ugh. Just behind the pizza (bad pizza, not the good stuff) and burger stands are real restaurants that serve authentic, local cuisine. It's worth it to find them. I ate my share of lousy and quick lunches in Sorrento yet one of the best meals I've ever eaten in a restaurant was at Caruso in Sorrento. The night my friends and I went to Caruso, I announced loudly and clearly that dinner that night would be on me. This was before I saw the menu. Caruso is also the place where I spent more on a meal than I ever dreamed was possible. Hey, it's just money. Right? Despite the formality of the dining room, the staff at Caruso took care of my friends and I in true Italian style. So far as I can figure it, that style is a pride in their hard work but it's leavened with a genuine concern that I liked my dinner. We got up from the dinner table three hours after we sat down and I was a happy man indeed, despite the sticker shock. I felt like I'd been cared for for the previous three hours, not just fed. Any restaurant anywhere that can pull that off deserves every euro they charge.
So when I go back to Campania I doubt I'll stay in Sorrento again. However, if you're considering a first-time trip to that part of the world, I cannot think of a better place to stay. Our villa was idyllic, I cannot recommend the Villa Terrazza strongly enough. But once you get a feel for the region, digging deeper and retreating to a small town in the mountains or along the sea at a point farther south seems like a better idea. Well it does to me anyhow.
Here are a couple of shots from my early morning walks in Sorrento. They're not in any kind of order, there just photos I like from that trip.
As always, there's more of my travel musings on my regular blog, Kitchen and Residential Design. When I'm not blogging about kitchen design that is.
I love lavender and it grows all over southern Europe. It smells better in Italy than anywhere else though.
This is the courtyard of the Sedile Dominova, and it's now a men's club. Those frescoes are authentic 14th century works of art. It's easy to forget that perspective had been lost with the fall of Rome and remained all but forgotten until the 14th century. When this trompe l'oeil was painted, it would have been both retro and high tech to the people who saw it when it was new. Pretty cool.
Here's another shot of the Sedile Dominova.
An early morning street scene in Sorrento. Italian opera makes perfect sense when you walk around the place where it originated.
This is the Piazza San Francesco in Sorrento.
Looking across the same piazza from another perspective.
This is the driveway of the Hotel Excelsior Vittoria, Sorrento's resident five-star.
I'll write some more later about other amazements and wonders that await a traveler to what the Romans called Campania Felix, the Happy Place.
May 04, 2009
How I ended up in a villa in Sorrento
OK, here's a story.
Once upon a time, I was sitting with some friends in this room in the Shoreham Hotel on West 55th Street in Mid-town Manhattan. We'd just spent a long weekend in New York and were biding that awful time when you're waiting for a cab to arrive to take you back to La Guardia. There's not enough time to do anything else, so you sit and stare at your traveling companions and wait.
Now a day earlier, this same group of friends were sitting in the row of pedicure stations at Nails Today, the salon across the street from the Shoreham. Four of us, all in a row. And yes, men do things like get a mani pedi before a three hour lunch at Barney's. Ask around. Really.
Anyhow, we were talking about taking a trip and I'd been lobbying for an Italian adventure for quite some time. I had a client who'd spent a couple of weeks in a villa in Positano and he raved about it. I was hoping for a similar experience, and I was lobbying hard for a villa rental.
So while we were sitting around the hotel room, one of my friends had his laptop out so we started Googling "Amalfi Coast" and "Vacation Rental." We came upon a British site called Summer in Italy and it was brimming with great places for rent all up and down the Italian Peninsula. We made notes to check that site some more after we returned home to Florida later that day.
Summer in Italy has some amazing properties in their listings. And as we researched this potential trip in the weeks that followed, it started to make sense to stay in Sorrento rather than Positano this time around. Now Positano is my idea of paradise, don't get me wrong, but it's rather isolated. Sorrento on the other hand, is a lot easier to get to and out of.
There's a light rail system that loops around the Bay of Naples called the Circumvesuviana. Its farthest-south stop is in Sorrento. Points farther down the Amalfi coast are accessible only by bus or cab. I suppose they're accessible in a private car too, but trying to drive in that part of the world is madness itself. Unless you were born in Italy, do not attempt to drive there. Italians have a strange sixth sense that allows them to drive maniacally and not get killed. It's fascinating to watch, but for this traveler, it's strictly a spectator sport. Sorrento's also close enough to Pompeii, Herculaneum, Naples, Capri, and the rest of the Amalfi Coast to have all of those places as potential day trips.
So, with Sorrento decided, we settled on a place Summer in Italy called the Villa Azzurra. It was really beautiful and historic and though hardly an inexpensive place, it was a bargain compared to some of the better hotels in that part of the world.
Along the way to deciding on the Villa Azzurra, I learned a whole lot about what's called a "self-catering" accommodation. Self-catering is a whole other way to travel, and after having done it once I doubt I'll ever stay in a hotel again. Especially if it involves travel to Italy. Self-catering means essentially that there's a kitchen on site and that breakfast and housekeeping are not included in your lodging. This makes the cost drop for obvious reasons, but having access to a kitchen while you're in Italy means you get to buy and eat the amazing foods that crowd the markets. I love food markets no matter where I go and I say seeing how people eat is the best way to get a feel for a local culture.
Well, fast forward a couple of months and we were on a plane bound for Rome. We spent a long weekend in Rome (the most amazing city on the planet, but that's a topic for another day). Prior to leaving the US, we made arrangements to hire a driver to take us directly from our hotel in Rome to the villa in Sorrento. We could have taken the train, but the idea of lugging two weeks' worth of luggage across Naples to get to the Circumvesuviana didn't sound real appealing. The company we hired is called Drive Amalfi, and they made the whole process easy and enjoyable. So five minutes before he was scheduled to arrive, the driver pulled up in a huge Mercedes van, we piled in and I practiced my Italian for the next 2-1/2 hours.
Now, I had an idea of what this place looked like from the website, but at the end of the day, we had spent a huge amount of money on something we found on the Internet. When I wasn't practicing Italian on that drive south, I was adjusting my expectations of what lay ahead.
I shouldn't have bothered. When we pulled through the gate at the end of the drive to get to the villa I knew we were in for something good. When the villa itself came into view I thought I was hallucinating. There it was. A huge, four-story, yellow-striped embodiment of what people mean when they talk about an "Italian villa." We had one floor in this old mansion and as it turned out, we were the only ones there.
We were met by Andrea Fumaroli, an all-around great guy whose family has owned what they call the Villa Terrazza for five generations. Andrea's website, Villa Terrazza, does a better job of describing the property than Summer in Italy's site does. As soon as we walked into the apartment, I felt like I'd been transformed into some kind of an Edwardian bon vivant. This is what people who took grand tours a century ago were looking for. Everything was perfect, from the marble floors to the antique furniture. It seemed the only accommodation to the 21st century was an Ikea kitchen.
That Ikea kitchen had a direct view across the Bay of Naples to Mount Vesuvius. For the first time in my life, I walked into a cheap kitchen and didn't make a disparaging remark. At that point, I'd have been happy with peach crates tacked to the walls.
Our humble villa sat on a cliff that extended farther out into the Bay than any of the other points along that section of the Sorrentine peninsula. We'd rented the best view in Sorrento and had no idea we were doing so. The main marina in Sorrento was 350 feet straight down from our patio, and when people arrive by water taxi, they look up and all they can see is our humble accomodations. The whole thing was a dream. Really. I'd heard nightmare stories about people having lousy experiences from making travel arrangements sight-unseen, but ours is not a horror story in the least. I cannot think of a better holiday.
I'll write some more about Sorrento and the wonders that surround the Bay of Naples in the coming days. In the meantime though, here are some of my photos from that Amalfi adventure.
Here's me standing in the Ikea kitchen getting ready to make some coffee.
Here's the view from the kitchen window in front of me in the photo above.
If I were to turn to my left and look out those windows, I'd see Mt. Vesuvius. It's not possible to describe what this kind of history and scenery does to one's psyche.
The great unwashed on package tours who arrive by ferry see this when they disembark in the Sorrento Marina. Every time I went down into the marina and looked up, I couldn't believe that that was where I was living. "Whose life is this?!" I kept asking anybody who was standing still.
So here's the sun setting behind the Isle of Capri as seen from our patio. Again, whose life is this?!
If you're interested in some more of my Italian traveler's tales, go to Kitchen and Residential Design and search the keyword Italy. Thanks!
Capturing the Venti Life
Hello, my name is Ryan and I am a "Venti-holic". With all of us living the Venti Life, sometimes we need to remind ourselves to capture all of these wonderful moments. Franki has given me permission to author a few blog posts here this week. I will be focusing (pun totally intended) on photography and helping you capture your own Venti Life.
In this first post, I will highlight three iPhone photography apps that you can use to help create, edit, and share your photography. If you do not have an iPhone, no worries - My other posts will be covering simple photography tricks to make your photos more interesting.
I. CameraBag
This is my "go to" iPhone photography app when I want to spice up an image. This app provides you with ten filters, which include: Helga, Mono, Fisheye, Lolo, 1974, Instant, 1962, Infrared, Cinema, and Original. Below are samples of these filters in use:
Helga Filter
Instant Filter (in combination with another iPhone photography app called: TiltShift)
CameraBag can be purchase in the iPhone App Store for $2.99.
II. ColorSplash
This is a fun app to have in your bag of tricks. It allows you to select a specific area of a photo and make that selected area colored, whereas the other parts of the photo are gray scale. When you really want an object to "pop" in your photo, this would be an app that can help you out. Below is an example:
ColorSplash
In the photo above, my jeans were dark blue and the carpet was tan. The ColorSplash app turned the entire photo to gray scale, and I selected my funky shoes to be the only objects with color.
ColorSplash can be purchased in the iPhone App Store for $1.99.
III. Mobile Fotos
Once we have all these cool looking photos - What do we do with them? Mobile Fotos is an app that allows you to post your photos to your Flickr account. I use this app on a weekly, if not daily, basis and have been extremely pleased with the ease of use and flexibility it provides for posting photos to Flickr.
Mobile Fotos can be purchased in the iPhone App Store for $2.99.
Wrap-up
The three apps that I covered in this post are just the tip of the iceburg when it comes to Photography apps for the iPhone. Here is a screenshot of my iPhone's home page, where you can see some of the other Photography apps that I use:
If you have any questions about any of the Photography apps that I covered in this post, or any of the ones in my iPhone screenshot - Feel free to leave your questions in the comment section, and I will be sure to answer them. You can also contact me directly via Twitter: @ryanswigert
Thank you again to Franki for allowing me to be a Guest Blogger this week, and I hope you all enjoy capturing your Venti Life!
May 03, 2009
Hello and thanks Franki
Hello! I'm Paul Anater and I usually write a blog called Kitchen and Residential Design. Franki's turned over the reins of her blog for a couple of days and I'm one of the fortunate guest bloggers who's filling in while she gets a well-deserved break.
I'm a kitchen and bath designer by profession and my blog usually deals with all things kitchen design-related. I blur the lines and talk about other things form time to time, but I always feel like I'm breaking some kind of rule when I stray too far from my topic.
Franki on the other hand runs a wider gamut than I do so I'm planning to devote my guest space here to talking about one of my other great passions. And that passion would be travel, travel with a heavy emphasis on Italy. So dust off your phrase books because we're heading to Sorrento and points south for the next couple of days. Andiamo!
Moments....Not Milestones
I just finished an amazing book. If you've been reading long enough you'll know nothing delights me more than living. Living life to the fullest. Exploring. Seeing new things. Visiting faraway lands and cultures. Sartorial delights. Epicurean treats. I want to experience it all. The Little Book of Meaning is a reminder to savour the now. The delight in the gradual details of this incredible experience called life.
Summer 2009: The Lusts...The Musts
Keep your eyes on Coco & Kelley this week. She'll be showcasing (shoe-casing?) my summer lusts and musts.
Thomas O'Brien...Sunday Serenity
Just...drool with me. Won't you? All images courtesy of Hickory Chair.
May 02, 2009
A Mental Vacation...
I'm going to take a few days away from my blogs to let some other brilliant minds take over. I have no clue what they'll be writing about and I can't wait to read the posts. I've given no guidelines other than to have fun. Well... have fun without cursing or being raunchy. If you want you shot at the blog yourself, let me know. We have a few more spots open. Sippy Cup is up for grabs, too.
Are you up for the challenge?
I Tackled Tory
Love, Love, Love these shoes. My gotta have shoe for summer. LOVE these!
Authored by designer Franki Durbin.
Your stylish guide for living a glamorous, adventurous life.
Get in touch | About me
Your stylish guide for living a glamorous, adventurous life.
Get in touch | About me
