Ca’Rezzonico – A Magnificent Venetian Palace

January 30, 2016January 30, 2016 / Anna / Leave a comment

Venice is a city full of beautiful palaces and hidden treasures to discover and on my last trip I visited Ca’Rezzonico, a splendid palace designed by Baldassare Longhena a great Baroque architect of the city, for the Bon family. Whilst building of the palace started in 1649, it was halted in 1682 following the death of Longhena at around the same time as that of his client and the palace left uncompleted. But in 1687, Giambattista Rezzonico, a merchant and banker from Lombardy, bought the palace and appointed Giorgio Massari, a renowned and eclectic artist of the time to finish the building for him.

By 1758 the palace was completed and was a splendid celebration of Venetian art and a show of wealth and culture. A collection of works, by the most prominent artists of the time. The rooms feature beautiful ceilings and frescoes, painted by Venetian artists, including Giambattista Crosato, Pietro Visconti and Giambattista Tiepolo. In the same year the younger brother of Giambattista Rezzonico, Carlo, Bishop of Padua, was elected Pope under the name Clement XIII. However, this was to be the peak for the palace and the family, as by 1810 there were no family members left. The palace was stripped of its’ furnishings and art works were sold off. The house then passed through many different hands during the 19th Century, before being sold to Venice Town Council in 1935 and now it holds the Museum of 18th Century Venice!

Love this little cheeky parrot keeping a watch over one of the doorways of the palace! A rather unexpected addition!

I spent a rather dreamy afternoon wandering around its rooms, taking in all the beautiful colours and amazing chandeliers!! I dream of the day when I have a house worthy of an exquisite chandelier . I love looking around palaces and stately homes and fantasising about living in such a grand home and swirling around my ballroom and having a library and a music room (I don’t think that will ever happen – but a girl can dream!)!

Two gilded wood and metal chandeliers, with floral motifs in the Ballroom

These were part of the original furnishings of the palace

In the Brustolon Room, hangs this fabulous polychrome glass chandelier, with twenty candle holders in two orders

Produced around 1730 by the Murano factory of Giuseppe Briati

The museum isn’t full of hundreds of pieces of furniture or loads of information to read, but the palace was so peaceful and has some really special pieces of art to see, definitely worth a visit if you ever find yourselves in Venice! My favourite part was the first floor, eleven rooms with frescoes and bright ceilings, as if only recently painted and of course all the chandeliers! I managed to only really take pictures of the chandeliers, but you can still get a sense of the grandeur and beauty of the palace. Even after its rather troubled period of financial loss and being passed from owner to owner, the Palace still shines bright and stands proud on Venice’s Grand Canal.

Anna

Musings on things to come…

January 23, 2016 / Anna / 1 Comment

Good morning to you all from (finally) a rather wintry, bitter cold Milan! Still no snow though! I am excited to get writing again this weekend and over the coming weeks and building my blog, which I think needs and deserves a little more of my time this year. Less procrastination and more productivity is definitely the key! We are all victims of this from time to time and I often more than others it would seem! But alas, I am full of ideas and determination, so lots of writing to do!

Including in the next couple of weeks a further post on my last trip to Venice, a book review and a focus on posts all about Milan, places to go, what to see, what to do!

For now, I leave you with a photo of the Bridge of Sighs – Ponte dei Sospiri – in Venice and will be back soon!

Anna

The Perfect Day for Seeing Rainbows

December 29, 2015December 29, 2015 / Anna / Leave a comment

I hope you have all had a wonderful Christmas, spent with family and friends! I certainly did and am glad to say I am getting acclimatised to the British weather again. I am spending this Christmas limbo before New Year, catching up with people, reading, watching films and going for long walks with the dog…just perfect!

This afternoon we had a rather delightful walk on the beach and were surprised by the most stunning double rainbow stretching peacefully across the River Stour. It appeared rather faintly during a quick shower, then grew brighter and brighter until two perfect rainbows appeared! Below are some of my pictures from today, hope you enjoy them!

At its strongest and brightest! Although my photos don’t really do justice to how beautiful the rainbows were!

Anna

A Glorious Autumn

November 7, 2015November 7, 2015 / Anna / 1 Comment

Hello everyone!

Firstly I must apologise for not having written for a while! I really want to get into a better routine and get myself organised so I am posting more regularly, but still being fairly new to blogging, I have some work to do on this! I have been really busy with work and finding a new apartment, which I am very excited about and moving into in the next few weeks, so plenty of packing and organising and best of all…shopping to do!

Last weekend I went back to England for my Mum’s ‘special’ birthday! So Happy Birthday again Mum for last week, you are amazing! I am so glad I got to be there to share it with her and my family! We had a delicious meal last Sunday in a beautiful restaurant called The Barn Brasserie, a very elegant barn conversion. Lunch was accompanied by some stunning piano pieces played live by a very talented young musician – she played all sorts including pieces by Ryuichi Sakamoto and Daria Marianelli, who wrote the soundtrack to the film version of Pride and Prejudice, starring Keira Knightley. It was truly a wonderful weekend, if a little too short!

In recent weeks I have become slightly obsessed with taking photos of trees, streets, parks, gardens and any green spaces I see! Is it me, or we having one of the most amazing Autumns ever? I can’t remember being so enticed by the colours and sights of Autumn before. Everyday seems to be more splendid than the last and I find myself really appreciating the colours of the nature around me.

Norfolk, England

Driving home from the airport last weekend, my father and I kept remarking on all the different shades of oranges, yellows and reds lining the roadside and here in Milan I have even seen trees in tones of pinks and purples! Whenever possible I love walking through the park and crunching through the piles of leaves underfoot.

Parco Sempione, Milan

My dog enjoying and exploring an orchard. Norfolk, England

I have always loved Autumn and Winter more than the other seasons. Of course I love to go to the beach and be out in the sun, but I find there is something quite restorative about the Autumn. Maybe it is because we start school/university/new jobs at the end of Summer, beginning of Autumn. For me it always seems a period of possibility and change, much more than the Spring or Summer.

The thing I find annoying about Autumn, is the period when it isn’t quite hot enough any more in the morning to not wear a cover-up or cardigan, but by midday you are too hot, then come five o’clock you are cold again! I wake up and find myself changing outfits between the morning and afternoon! However, once the really cold weather hits, I am ridiculously happy! I love wearing winter boots, coats and big scarves! Here in Milan I have over ten different coats and in England I have about the same again! My Winter wardrobe is much more extensive than my Summer one.

I also love Winter food, my Mum’s leek and stilton soup, goulash, stews, jacket potatoes, roast dinners, blackberry and apple crumbles! Real wholesome, hearty food! Then of course with Autumn and Winter comes Harvest, Guy Fawkes Night, Halloween, Advent and then best of all Christmas – where there is nothing better than walks in the crisp cold with the dog and coming back home to a cup of tea and a real fire crackling away with the Christmas tree lit up in the corner! I love being inside the house all wrapped up and warm and outside there’s a slight frost in the air.

I am getting carried away and all dreamy again…back to Autumn. Who else is enjoying the beautiful Autumn we seem to be having this year? Let me know what it is like where you are, I would love to hear/see! I hope you enjoy my pictures – all of which I have added no filters to – the colours speak for themselves!

Giardino Valentino Bompiani, Milan

Anna

Il Campanile di San Marco

October 8, 2015 / Anna / Leave a comment

One of the things I highly recommend when visiting Venice, is to go up to the top of the Campanile di San Marco. The bell tower standing opposite the Basilica in Piazza San Marco, began its’ life as a watchtower in the 9th Century and was transformed into a bell tower in the 12th century. Other the years, it has suffered various forms of damage from lightning and earthquakes, including a fire in 1489, which seriously damaged its wooden spire. The bell tower took on the form we recognise now, only in the 16th century.

Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture from further away! So you can’t see the very top of the tower!

The amazing Iron gates of the bell tower, with the Palazzo Ducale in the background.

It features a solid square brick tower, topped by the belfry which houses five bells, on top of which is a cube, with alternate faces showing the Lion of St Marc and La Giustizia, a female representation of Venice. On top of the cube is a pyramidal spire, with a gilded statue of the Archangel Gabriel holding a lily, completing the tower. The tower stands at 98.6 metres (323 ft) tall and is 12 metres (39 ft) wide. There is a lift which takes you to the bells and the viewing platform. There you have 360 degree views of Venice!

The five bells of the Campanile, each had a different purpose!

The five bells of the Campanile, were each rung to mark different occasions, although all were tuned to the Scale of A. The largest Marangona, was rung to mark the beginning and end of the working day; the Nona, sounded at midday; the Trotteria, called members of the Maggior Consiglio to council meetings, the Mezza Terza, signalled a session of the Senate and the Renghiera or Maleficio, announced executions!

After the tower had taken on its final form (between 1511 and 1514) it stood proudly in the square and became a landmark of Venice. However, on the morning of July 14th 1902, cracks started to appear in the bell tower, which quickly spread and before long the tower had crumbled to the floor, leaving only a pile of rubble! The way the tower fell caused very little damage to any other buildings in its vicinity, and I read that the only fatality was the caretakers cat! Poor thing! The Campile, which had become a landmark of the city and known world over, was rebuilt in less than a decade to its original design, height and width and was reopened on the 12th April 1912, supposedly exactly one thousand years after the foundations of the original tower had been laid!

This plaque commemorates how Galileo Galilei demonstrated his telescope to the Duke of Venice Antonio Priuli on the 21st of August 1609.

Here you can see the Duke’s Palace to the right and the top of the Basilica di San Marco on the left.

Piazza San Marco – which was slightly flooded when we visited!

The views from the top are magnificent and truly worth the queues! Wrap up warm though…as it gets really quite windy up there!! And make sure you don’t forget your camera!

Here we are looking very happy to be re-united in Venice – just slightly windswept and cold!!

Anna

A Weekend in Venice

October 3, 2015October 3, 2015 / Anna / 5 Comments

I consider myself very lucky that I have been able to visit Venice on a number of occasions, a few times just for the day and a couple of times for the weekend! But I find that every time I go, I discover something new and find beauty and magic in the city. Whether it be visiting the Basilica, stumbling upon a second hand bookshop – stuffed to the brim with quirky and unusual books or going for a Venetian Rowing lesson, there is always some new adventure to be had or something to be experienced.

Last weekend was no exception! I met my friend on the Saturday at Casa Caburlotto, a Convent situated very close to the main railway station, where we would be staying. The convent is run by the Suore Figlie di San Giuseppe del Caburlotto and we had found it on the website Monastery Stays, which my father has seen written about in the Guardian and suggested we checked out. Expecting all the properties to be completely booked up at such short notice, we were pleasantly surprised to find that Casa Caburlotto had availability! Monastery Stays, may not be for everyone, but I found it perfect for our weekend in Venice. The rooms were very simple, but extremely clean, with excellent, friendly staff and the breakfast was typical of Italian hotels -croissants, cereal, bread, cake, yoghurt, coffee and juices! There was a small chapel and a pretty inner courtyard. It was only half an hour walk to Piazza San Marco, which was great as we didn’t have to take any water taxis or ferry’s the whole weekend! The only thing is there was a curfew of midnight, but for us that was fine, as we were exhausted from all the walking – after which, I slept so well! It was very peaceful at the Convent and had a lovely calm atmosphere!

Casa Caburlotto, built in the 17th Century – the congregation was established in 1850 and founded by Monsignor Luigi Caburlotto.

The building had really interesting heads on the exterior…all slightly weird and wonderful!

The garden area was very tranquil and tended to by the Nuns. I wish I had taken more pictures inside the Convent, but you can check some more out on the Monastery Stays website.

Saturday we spent wandering around Venice, getting lost and discovering tiny streets and pretty bridges, as well as amazing macaroon and chocolate shops! We ate extremely well over the weekend and found on both the Saturday and Sunday, lovely restaurants filled with Italians (which is always a good sign) away from the main tourist areas. On Sunday we went up the Campanile di San Marco for some amazing photo opportunities and visited the Ca’Rezzonico, a museum of 18th Century Venice, set in a beautiful palace with some of the most incredible chandeliers I have ever seen! I will be sharing photos from both of these later in the month, as well as my top tips for visiting the city!

The houses in Venice have strange and intriguing door knockers! Keep an eye out for them…I have spotted all sorts, heads, lions…

This boat yard was opposite a great place we found for a glass of prosecco and crostini, which are pieces of bread topped with delicious things, such as aubergine and smoked cheese, pesto with mozzerella and tomato or smocked mackerel! It was packed with Venetians and was super cheap, I’m talking €2.50 a glass of prosecco! Look out for Osteria Alsquero!

Have you visited Venice? Did you discover any hidden gems? What did you think about the city? I would love to hear!

Anna

Meet me in Venice…

September 25, 2015September 25, 2015 / Anna / Leave a comment

How can you refuse when a friend asks you to meet them in Venice? You simply cannot and so I find myself heading there for the weekend, rather spontaneously! We decided I think on Sunday evening! My friend, whom I lived with whilst at University, is living in Dubai, but has popped over to Europe for the week and as our meet ups are now spread so far apart from one another, they are even more special! So I am super excited!

This will be my second trip to the city this year, as I went to meet another friend from University there in March, when we ended up going for a Venetian Rowing lesson which you can read about here and I attended a talk by Art Historian and presenter of the BBC’s Italy Unpacked Andrew Graham-Dixon. The talk you can also read about here.

I am not sure what we have planned for this weekend, but I am sure we will end up having an adventure or two! The first, shall be finding one another…I don’t think I have ever visited Venice, without getting a little lost!

I am looking forward to my train journey as I can read some more of Elena Ferrante’s My Brilliant Friend, which is the first book I am reading for my Read Around the World feature! More to come on that soon, but you can read my first post here and I am still looking for suggestions of other books, from each country around the world! So let me know if you have any!

For now, I must pack, as I am prone to leaving things to the last minute! Only thing is, I am at a loss as to what to take! This week has been a disaster weather wise, Wednesday was 13 degrees, stormy and rainy (I even wore wellies!), Thursday and Friday 23 degrees and sunny! It makes my head spin all this weather changing…but the forecast says it should be nice, so fingers crossed!

Have a great weekend everyone!

A picture I took of San Marco from the water taxi back in March

Anna

Things I Love Sundays

September 20, 2015September 22, 2015 / Anna / 5 Comments

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It has been a busy and full week back at work and I have to say it is taking me a little while to get used to it again! However, it has warmed up slightly here and the sun is shining bright today…which puts you in a good, positive mood!

I am thinking about doing my ‘Things I Love Sundays’ feature every two weeks, or as a month review, but I haven’t decided yet. What do you think?

For now however, this week I have been loving…

–Going back to work and seeing all my students! – Getting organized – Making new friends – New opportunities arising – Lavender and Chamomile room spray –Saturday lunch with my girls – Catching up with friends who live way too far away – Being asked if I live in a library because I always have new books…then being told by a little girl we should open a library together and call it ‘La libreria dei sogni’ The Library of Dreams – Chamomile, lemon balm and lavender tea (Loving Lavender and Chamomile everything, at the moment!) – Discovering new places in Milan I haven’t visited before, like the Basilica di Sant’Ambrogio (pictured below!) –

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The outside of the Basilica di Sant’Ambrogio, Milan

What have you been up to or enjoyed this week? I want to hear!

Here’s to a productive and happy week ahead!

Anna

A few days on the Suffolk Coast

September 20, 2015September 20, 2015 / Anna / Leave a comment

Whilst I was home for the summer, my parents and I (as well as the dog!) decided to spend a few days in Suffolk. We stayed at The Westleton Crown on the Suffolk coast between Southwold and Aldeburgh. The Crown is a charming hotel, restaurant and traditional pub, serving delicious food, with a great atmosphere and of course dog-friendly – Robbie loved sitting in the lounge after dinner! All the rooms were named after birds, rather than having numbers, which was a rather charming touch! I was in the Wren room and my parents in the Nuthatch.

We had a very relaxed few days visiting Snape Maltings, Southwold Pier, Dunwich, Dunwich Heath and Woodbridge. The countryside in Suffolk is beautiful, especially Dunwich Heath where we went for a really lovely long walk (getting just slightly lost at one point), before heading back to the National Trust tea rooms for tea and scones! Perfect and how very English!

It was a rather rainy day when we visited Southwold Pier, but I love how this image looked when I gave it this filter! Slightly mysterious!

The Pier has an ‘Under The Pier Show’ with hand-built machines, all a little quirky and out there! I had a go on the ‘Crankenstien’, which you have to wind up and watch as Crankenstien becomes more and more angry! It made me jump when he suddenly screams at you!

British street artist Pure Evil, created this piece of art to commemorate George Orwell and the time he spent in Southwold. Orwell wrote ‘A Clergyman’s Daughter’ whilst in Southwold. The artwork will remain a permanent feature of the pier.

The stunning Dunwich Heath

Giant (and surprisingly comfy!) deckchairs at Dunwich Heath!

In the village of Westleton, where we stayed, there was a really interesting and quirky second hand book shop! My Dad found three history books, and when you wanted to pay, there was an old oil can and a wooden stick which you had to beat to get someone’s attention! Very eccentric…but charismatic! They even offered us a cup of tea!

If you have never been Suffolk is a lovely place – great countryside, friendly people and it feels very traditional, very British! If you have been, where did you enjoy visiting? What did you see and do?

Anna

A Day at the Zoo

August 27, 2015August 27, 2015 / Anna / Leave a comment

I don’t think I had been to the zoo in at least ten years, so my friend and I decided it was the perfect day trip for the Summer holidays! Our local zoo, Colchester, has recently been rated 2nd best in the UK and 11th best around the world! It is home to over 270 species and is set in 60 acres of parkland and lakes. The zoo partakes in many different breeding and conservation programmes and helps to protect threatened and endangered species.

It has changed a lot since I went there as a little girl and has some fascinating new animals such as the adorable Red Pandas and the Sun Bears! We had a lovely day exploring the zoo, I even fed an elephant and a giraffe! We managed to catch a picture perfect moment when two sea lions had a cheeky kiss as they passed over our heads in the sea lion tunnel and saw two lions hugging! So sweet!

I also posted this photo in my last ‘Things I Love Sunday’ post – but I just love it, so I am including it again!

This is one zoo I would definitely recommend, not only for the animals and the awards it has won, but for all their efforts in helping to improve animal welfare standards, research work and education programmes. Hope you enjoy some of my photos!