{postcards from Italy-Venezia}

{room with a view!}

Last month I was in Venice for a conference on Venetian commodities and blogged about the amazing conference venue including fantastic views of the Grand Canal. After the conference finished my parents flew down and we spent the weekend in Venice. I rented an amazing flat right on a small canal--we could hear gondoliers serenading below the window. Fantastic!

{view from the flat I rented!}

{fantastic view!} 

One of my favourite things to do in Venice, is simply just to stroll, get lost, and stumble upon little quiet canals & beautiful buildings: 

 This is one of my favourite little spots:

 Nearby is a historic spot to get Fragolino--it was closed, so we found another little hole in the wall and enjoyed a prosecco canalside. I just love this little shipyard, ready to fix any gondola in need of a quick repair...I suppose it reminds me of my youth and life aboard boats! (& of course my parents building boats)...

{my parents right at home}

{I love this little fruttivendolo...as long as I've been coming to Venice, he's been there}

{simple yet so so stunning!}

One of my favourite squares is Campo Santa Margherita--I stayed in a flat there a few years ago. It has a much more 'authentic' feel to it. It fills up with Venetians in the evenings--all gathered there to have a spritz and a catch up. There are also some fantastic little restaurants. Pick & choose, though, as there are a few that are a bit touristy. We enjoyed a lovely lunch outside in the sun in a quaint little place:

At one point we stumbled upon this live jazz band, playing across two sets of windows over looking a square: 

 & then, sadly, it was time to say goodbye:

xo,
L

{quotable thursdays}

Hello Blogland!
The good news is my computer is back & running so I'll be able to post the last series of pics from Venice and then from Valencia...and my fabulous weekend in the UK with my dear sis who was visiting from Canada! (not to mention catching up on the renos on the house!)
But all in time...
For now, a wonderful quote to sum up what I believe is fundamental in life:

{stay curious!}

Curiosity might have killed the cat, but it's the thing that keeps me going. Curiosity in scholarship, to find out about what went down in history; curiosity in travels, to find out more about the world around me; curiosity about people- to meet new people and to understand how humans around the world face the world that we live in.

So, my dear blog readers, I encourage you to stay curious!

so some advice from my cat, get up on that ledge and soar to new heights...you never know what new things you might see from a new perspective: 

xo, 

L

{postcards from Spain}

Hello blog land!!

It's been a rather few splendid days here in sunny Valencia!! I'm still here for a few more days doing archival research but I thought I'd share some photos from my Instagram feed to give you a feel of life here so far!!

Amazing San Vincent Ferrar celebrations:

& my little flat is pretty fantastic with a lovely balcony:

More soon!! 

Xo

L

{quotable thursdays}

Well... disaster has struck. My imac has completely packed it in and there are no available appointments for me to take it into the apple store any time soon. Which means... no more blog posts on Venice for the time being. sniff!
Luckily I do have it backed up on an external hard drive but it means I'm working on my tiny teeny tiny non-functional work laptop that is just really annoying!
Enough complaining...
Happy Easter everyone!
I hope you have a splendid weekend wherever you decide to spend it. Unfortunately, my long list of work to-dos and house to-dos has not allowed me to spend it with my lovely family in Bristol. Instead, I'll be solo catching up on work, on house renos/painting etc...and preparing for my trip to Valencia next week (!)
Yes, I'm off to a conference and I'll also extend my stay to conduct some preliminary archive work there.
So, with life and work and everything else just feeling like it's all a little too much, I turn to this quote today:

{Que sera}

Because, in the end, whatever will be, will be, and all our crying and stressing won't change it.

I have a strange sort of feeling that 10 days in Valencia, followed by a weekend with my eldest SISTER (!!!) will remind me what's important in life.

xo

L

{postcards from Italy-Venezia (the conference)}

Hello blogland!
I have so many photos from Venice that I'm going to have to do a few posts--hope you don't mind!
I thought I'd start with the conference, which is the reason I was there in the first place.
It was a fabulous conference--a chance to reacquaint with old friends and colleagues and a chance to make new friends and new connections. There were some inspiring papers and the setting was even more so! In addition, we were treated royally with free-flowing wine and lunches and dinners-all fantastic food in some lovely typically Venetian spots (I loved that our lunch venue had gondoliers dining at the nearby table!)
The conference was hosted by the Centro Tedesco di Studi Veneziani (or German centre for Venetian studies) in a stunning old palace right on the Grand Canal called the Palazzo Barbarigo della Terrazza. Its name references the fabulous big terrace where we enjoyed conversation and coffee (not to mention the fabulous views of boats of all sorts from traghetti to vaporetti to local service boats).
I could go on, but I think the pictures will give you a fairly good idea:

{the beginning of the conference (photo courtesy of the institute)}

{friends, old & new (photo courtesy of the institute)}

{spot me in the audience? (photo courtesy of the institute)}

{this is the stunning room where it all took place, where I gave my paper...}

When we weren't listening to papers we were enjoying lovely views of the Grand Canal from the extraordinary terrace:

 more interior shots:

{details on the ceiling!}

{love!}

 The room where coffee was served had a grand piano in it (I was dying to play it!) and two profile portraits of Gaspara Stampa and Vittoria Colonna- two women I studied long ago during my MA thesis on female frontispiece portraits. It was like encountering old friends!

{Gaspara Stampa}

 On the last day we shifted locations, to the Palazzo Franchetti. If you've ever walked over the Ponte Accademia and admired the views, you'll be familiar with the palace. It's the lovely large yellow one on the left--you might even have a picture of yourself in front of it:

{stunning!}

One marvellous thing about getting inside these palazzi is you can see how visitors would have originally entered them: through the exterior gates opening up onto docks onto the canal:

I have soooo many more pics to share, so watch this space for more soon!
xo
L

{quotable thursdays}

Hi blogland,
I'm dying to post pictures from Venice and also all the home improvements, but work is insanely busy and I'm finding it hard to carve out any time.
However, today's quote is my motto, even if I'm busy!:

{indeed!}

A bientôt!
L

{postcards from Italy}

Well I'm home from Venezia and I had a fab fab time!
I took loads of pictures with my good camera, but haven't had a second to upload them yet. So here are just a couple from my phone to give you an idea:

{this was the room I gave my talk in!}

{this was the view from my hotel room!}

I've got some more over on instagram...and watch this space for more to come!
xo
L