Celia Hart's blog about what's going on in and around her studio.
Art, printmaking, inspirations, gardening, vegetables, hens, landscapes, wild flowers, East Anglia, adventure, travel.

Monday 31 March 2014

Neapolitan interlude


Buonasera! 


Last week Cliff and I popped over to Italy to explore some places around the Bay of Naples . . .


. . . and enjoy some local cuisine 


we explored the ancient streets of Pompeii . . .


were blown away by the frecoes at Oplontis and Herculaneum . . .



the skilful decorative brushwork . . .


the observations from nature . . .



as lively as the finches that twitter and flutter over the ruins today 


we walked on 2000 year old floors that would look great in an interior today



the brooding presence of Versuvius was always within sight . . . a violent thunder storm raged around us as we stood where Pliny had watched the eruption in AD79 



we ventured into Naples – down narrow streets like deep gorges surging with a mix of sharp modernity, decaying grandeur and an undercurrent of menace


and there in Naples I discovered the delight of a crispy, custardy, lemony sweet Sfogliatella




a place for tired feet at the end of each day


and almost next door to the best Gelataria we've ever found . . . the flavours we tried (six!) were superb, this one is quite possibly the best pistachio ice-cream in the whole world – it may not green (because it doesn't contain any artificial colourings) but it tastes sublime!




six days was enough to recharge the batteries

Celia
xx


19 comments:

  1. It looks amazing! Glad you had a wonderfully refreshing time

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wonderful - glad you enjoyed your break - how could you not!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Sounds fabulous. Love the house cat!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Ohhh, so envious Celia! I love Italy so much! Thank you for the trip xx

    ReplyDelete
  5. All the things I love about Italy beautifully encompassed in your post.

    ReplyDelete
  6. How utterly lovely, I was lucky enough to go to Florence last year and now it's in my soul :) x

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thanks for sharing those lovely photos. I'm sure it was a trip to remember.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Oh my! That all looks so lovely. The paintings and the tile work are splendid.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Wonderful
    MUST get out there sometime

    ReplyDelete
  10. Oh how beautiful Italy is, lucky you. I'm so glad you had such a wonderful time. That gelato looks sublime.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Oh Yes! what a wonderful trip. Italians really know how to make ice cream don't they?

    ReplyDelete
  12. You always find such wonderful places to visit! I enjoyed every photo but the one of the floor has captured my imagination. I'm currently doing some glass work and it has the look of a piece of collaged stained glass to me. You've given me an idea....

    ReplyDelete
  13. Celia, I can well imagine how this trip did get all batteries recharged! Quite a variety of inspiration for all the senses.

    The photo of Vesuvius in a storm is remarkable...very moody indeed. On a totally different plate, sfogliatella is one of my very favorite pastries. I might have to seek one out around here very soon, and pretend I am in Italy.

    The mosaics are so beautiful!

    Thank you also for the link to the place where you all stayed. It looks perfect. xo

    ReplyDelete
  14. What a fabulous trip, I love that mosaic floor and the pastry looks very yummy!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Wonderful images! I would say that I am jealous but I am, in fact, going to Italy myself toward the end of May. It just so happens that the Giro d'Italia goes right past the house we are renting...

    ReplyDelete
  16. Lucky you! It looks gorgeous, and came with it's own kitty cat too :)
    We're hoping to visit Italy next summer, I am excited about the possibility; I have been to many other countries in Europe, but never Italy, and it is a constant sore point that Guy has been there and I have not :)
    Carole

    ReplyDelete

I love reading all the comments (except for spam and advertising which I will delete) and I'll reply here in the comments under each blog post, it may take a few days if I'm busy.
You don't need to have a blog to leave a comment, you can select the name/URL option and fill in just your name instead of a blog link.