05 December 2011
I have been going through my photographs of 2011 and came upon a few memorable moments. This year was my first blogging year. Having to come up with news for my readers actually made me do things which I have been wanting to do for years.
February in Paris
The happy bidders and the happy me (in the middle)
I have always thought that running a company should give me the possibility to go beyond the stage of simply “making a living”. This year for the first time I had the opportunity to donate a weeks holiday in one of our villas (Villa Maramai near Montepulciano). The charity auction organised by the American women’s group in Paris was for the benefit of Envol, an association which sets up holidays with medical assistance for very sick children in a castle near Paris.
10 November 2011
When I first came to Florence at age 18, my then boyfriend taught at a language school for foreigners on one of the city’s most beautiful squares, the Piazza Santo Spririto. The Palazzo in which his school was located stood on the corner of the square. It was an imposing renaissance building with an elegant loggia on the top floor.
Hotel Palazzo Guadagni, my favourite hotel in Florence. Spot the lovely loggia on the top floor.
15 October 2011
Last month, The World of Interiors, my favorite decorating magazine, published an article about the Caffè Pedrocchi, a 180-year old café in the heart of Padua. While I’ve walked past this café countless times (and even once arranged a dinner for clients there), I never truly gave it much thought.
My mistake.
The “beating heart” of the café is the Sala Rossa, where you’ll find an enormous curving bar of fawn-colored marble that resembles a Roman vasca.(Photo World of Interiors)
12 October 2011
A few years ago, when I was still living in Florence, a friend returned from a business trip in the Veneto in northern Italy with a magnificent set of dishes, which have stuck in my mind ever since. Oversized and finely hand-painted, these plates, serving dishes and bouillon cups were decorated with a random scattering of colorful tulips and roses.
Detail of the handpainted rose, a classical 18th century motif
Tags : Agriturismo,
Este,
Frassanelle,
Italian Ceramics,
La Montecchia,
luxury villa with pool,
north Italy,
Padua,
vacation villa,
Venetia,
Veneto
28 September 2011
It’s a warm day in the Maremma, with a soft breeze blowing down from the hills. Humidity rises from the marshes of the Lago di Burano and leaves a filtered effect to the daylight and softens the scenery. Seagulls launch for their lunch and tortoises bask in the sun.
The Burano Lake on the Tuscan Coast at dawn
16 June 2011
The day I went to visit Frassanelle, the owner, Francesca Papafava, took Katharina and I for a leisurely late lunch at the Parco delle Colline Ristorante located on the Golf Club of the estate.
Having lunch at the Frassanelle Golf Club with the owner Francesca Papafava
27 May 2011
Guests of Trust&Travel are given a private tour of the 19th century artificial grottoes every Thursday morning
Yes, it’s true. When Count Alberto Papafava, a 19th century Romantic painter set about redesigning the layout of his estate at Frassanelle, just outside of Padua, he did not want to have to choose between his favorite landscapes and so decided, as was typical of many Romantic gardens of the period, to put a little bit of each one in his own property.
Tags : Agriturismo,
children's activities,
cultural heritage,
Frassanelle,
Gardens,
historical estates,
holiday rental,
La Montecchia,
Palladio villas,
vacation rental Venice,
Venetia,
Venice,
Villa rental
12 May 2011
This is the second part of Kate’s investigation into where to have a light bite when you are spending a day in Florence. You can read the first part of the article here.
The Verrazzano wine bar belongs to the Chianti Classico Wine producing estate Castello di Verrazzano near Greve in Chianti
11 May 2011
Near Florence’s train station in Via della Scala, a long and imposing wall runs for at least a hundred meters. There is a gate, but it is completely closed and the wall is too high to be able to steal a peak at what lies beyond. Having lived in Florence for many years, I know that behind the wall is the Giardino Corsini, one of the most beautiful private gardens all’Italiano in the city.
The Garden of Palazzo Corsini is opended to the public once a year in mid may for this interesting show of traditional Italian craftmanship
09 May 2011
Why not meet Chris Goodhart and let him guide you skillfully through a tasting of Potentino’s four fine wines? Piropo; Balaxus; Lyncurio . . . . named after precious stones, they conjure up haunting beauty. Sacromonte is a tribute to Monte Amiata, the Etruscans’ Mount Olympus, whose fertile volcanic soil nurtures the vines which produce these prize-winning wines.
The wine tastings at Castello di Potentino are held under the loggio in the courtyard
Corzano e Paterno
Italy Tutto
Lospicchio
Memorie di Angelina
Truffle Pig