The news that a pair of animal lovers have arrived in Positano has spread quickly with our first feline visitor arriving on Sunday afternoon.
Clearly a cat that knows a couple of “soft touches”, this little girl wandered into the villa and made herself at home. As I write this she’s spread out on the front verandah enjoying some late afternoon sun.
From the villa we have a view of the various super yachts that visit Positano. Some are relatively modest and some are a little over the top.
Often the yachts launch smaller craft, jet skis or motor boats for the use of those onboard, but this is the first time we’ve seen a waterslide as an accessory on a super yacht.
What will they think of next?
After 3 days travelling by plane, train and automobile we have arrived in Positano. Along the way we spent 3 hours in Auckland, 4 hours in Hong Kong, 25 hours in the air and a day and a night in Rome.
New Zealand farewelled us with chilling rain on a grey day and Positano welcomed us with sun, warmth and gentle breezes. The delights of jet lag haven’t quite left us yet so currently a late night is 8pm and a “sleep in” is 5am. We know that will change as the wonderfully pedestrian pace of life in Positano takes over.
As always everyone has looked after us superbly – from the welcome sight of the hotel driver at Rome airport to our room being ready for us at 8am when we arrived at Hotel Barocco. The ability to drop our bags and freshen up was a lifesaver – and no mean feat for the hotel as they were fully booked the previous night but still they managed to get our room ready in record time.
The trip south by train was blissfully uneventful and relaxing with none of the hassles that accompany air travel – although recent events in France and Belgium may change that.
The welcome at Eden Roc was as warm as ever with time spent catching up on events of the last year – had the changes to the hotel that were talked about last been made? No, too much beaurcracy and too little time – maybe next year. Were all the staff well, who had left and who was new? All the usual characters were still part of the team – plus some new faces – it has been a good year. Were we in for good weather or was the recent rain going to dampen our holiday? No, the weather had settled and we could expect hot, dry days.
The afternoon was spent enjoying a late lunch/early dinner on the hotel terrace looking out over Positano and the bay beyond. Let the relaxing begin.
We never intended to return to Italy for a holiday this year. After visiting last year there were too many other things that demanded our attention, so 2015 was going to be a “stay home” year.
And it remained that way until winter set in, the bleak weather started and “our place” lost the sun for it’s enforced winter shading.
Then one evening after a long day at work we started to talk about some form of escape to the sun. Just a few days away – maybe Fiji or Rarotonga or at a push Tahiti. But each time we talked about it we came back to the place we would really like to spend some time in the sun.
So we’re off – two weeks in Positano and a few nights in Rome in late August and early September. We can’t wait.
A thousand musicians playing your song is a powerful invitation. And it only took a few hours for Dave Grohl to respond.
In Italian – who knew? Click here to see the response.
The small town of Cesena in northern Italy is trying to attract the attention of the band the Foo Fighters. They want to the band to come and play a concert in their town.
They are really, really keen. See for yourself – http://www.rockin1000.com
It’s not simply that both Porsches are making visits to the Powerhaus for repairs at the same time. It’s something to do the with back of the 911 being way up off the ground.
That’s right dear reader, the engine that usually resides in the back of the 911 is currently across the workshop bolted to an engine stand awaiting surgery.
The Powerhaus medical team of Reuben, Dave and Reuben are working on a fix for a faulty oil return valve – hopefully which doesn’t involve stripping the engine down any further.
The 356 (which still has it’s engine attached, thankfully) is waiting for parts for a starter motor which are coming from the US. So with luck, that will be home in the next few days. The wait for the 911 will be a little bit longer.
Today was a beautiful sunny winters day in Wellington. But as some of you know, our place is shaded over winter and all we saw of the sunny day was tantalisingly beyond our front fence.
It must be time to plan an escape to the sun.
It’s one day after the shortest day of the year and winter has arrived in Wellington.
The temperature today peaked at 8 degrees celsius and is currently sitting at 5 degrees celsius. There is a southerly wind straight from Antarctica hammering the front windows and the rain is showing signs of turning to sleet.
What better night to light the first fire of the season – and for Poppie to rediscover the delight of a warm hearth.
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I have had a collection of random photos building up on my desktop for a while. Shots that I liked but which had no real story attached to them – other than they might be useful for a blog sometime in the future. Today … Continue reading
A few years ago we found ourselves in the hiiltop town of Monteriggioni about 20 minutes north of Siena. It was late in the afternoon and there was a view through the Eastern gate looking out across the Tuscan countryside that just had to be photographed.
When I saw the shots on screen I was disappointed. In some shots the gate surround was almost black and the shot lacked colour and contrast. In others, when the exposure was long enough to show the gate surround the countryside beyond was over exposed. The obvious thing was to load the shots into Photoshop and do some work. Which is what happened.
One of the great things about digital cameras is that they store a huge amount of the detail lurking in dark areas of a shot. The area may look black but with a little coaxing the detail can be brought out. Usually without affecting the exposure in the rest of the shot. This is what I did along with increasing the contract and saturation in the shot.
I guess the test of the finished shot is whether it represents the scene as I remembered it at the time? And yes it does.
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Last weekend I ended up with the 356 and 550 parked outside our place as I did those pre-winter car chores. It turned into an impromptu photo opportunity as the sun went down – at 5pm. One of these cars … Continue reading
This gallery contains 3 photos.
Last week Wellington was a soggy place. On Thursday torrential rain caused flooding in some parts of the city and travel was badly disrupted. Thunder and lightning punctuated one of those late autumn days when the sky was only ever … Continue reading
Regular readers will know that Positano on Italy’s Amalfi Coast is one of our favourite places to visit. We’ve taken many picture of the view from the village looking out to sea and of the village from the beach, but it’s not often that we venture onto the water and see the village from the sea.
Good news though – it still looks great.
This picture is actually from a few years ago when we were returning from a day tour along the coast. Thanks to Gennaro and Salvatore’s boat hire for many great days on, and in, the water. As I look at the photo I can still hear Capitano Salvatore singing as we make our way home at the end of the day. Multo bene.
For the northern summer of 2011 our life consisted of doing very little – but doing it very well. On the fine sunny days – pretty much every day between May and October – we spent time at our villa pool.
And after a hard afternoons sunning and swimming it was a short walk back to the cottage for a G &T, a beer and some time to recover from the stress of the day.
Toscanakiwi 
