Author Archives: toscanakiwi

The up-side of jetlag

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Those of you who know me, know that I’m not a morning person. The thought of getting up early (for whatever reason) is something to be avoided – unless lives are at risk or the end of the world is nigh.

Having said that, there is a brief period of time at the start of every holiday on the other side of the world when waking early is inevitable. It’s that 2 or 3 days when jetlag is ruling your life and waking at 3am with an overiding urger to eat dinner is the norm.

A few years ago we were in Rome when this short period was affecting us so – for the first time I can recall – I was up and out with a camera and tripod in Rome at 4am waiting for enough light to take some shots . Unlike other major world cities like Tokyo and New York, Rome sleeps at night. So the only people up at that time were newspaper delivery men, the occasional taxi driver and the even more occasional polizia – and me.

It was eerily quiet and I could hear my footsteps echoing off the building walls as I walked.

Within a few minutes of our hotel were the Spanish Steps and Piazza Babarini, both completely devoid of life, an amazing contrast with the rest of the day when they are full of tourists with struggling locals trying to make their way through the crowds.

New Shoots

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First Bud of SpringFor the last week or so I’ve been keeping an eye on our grapevine. When I say “our grapevine”, I mean the one we share with our neighbours and which now runs almost the entire length of the fence between our houses.

In summer it’s covered in leaves. In early autumn it’s covered in grapes but for the last 3 months it’s been bare, doing it’s best impersonation of a dead plant.

Our first clue that spring is on the way and that summer is around the corner is the appearance of the first shoot from those seemingly dead sticks.

And today that first shoot appeared. Summer is coming.

Bella is growing up

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Our little puppy who used to fit in the palm of our hands is now a gangly 18 week old teenager with a mind of her own.

We’ve had a dog trainer come in and help us to wrangle her into line. She’s much better behaved but still has those moments of total abandon when she laps the couch repeatedly at full speed with no regard for anything in her way – whether it be me or Poppie or any piece of furniture that she runs into as her turning circle increases.

In the last couple of weeks she has worked out how to jump up on our bed and Poppie’s last haven of peace and quiet is now gone. But Bella seems to know that the bed is not a place to misbehave and it’s not unusual to find them both side by side, surrounded by their toys, sound asleep.

Today we turn 300

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Since April 2011 there have been 299 posts to this blog so this one is officially number 300. Over the last 2 and a bit years we’ve covered our trip to Europe – which was the reason for starting this … Continue reading →

Lean on me …

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As Bella grows she is starting to copy Poppie. Whatever Poppie does, Bella does. When Poppie spends time on the back of the couch watching the world go by, so does Bella.

To Poppie it’s a distraction, to Bella it’s just being friends.

Another stormy day remembered

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Having successfully survived Wellington’s recent storm, we started to think of other storms we’d been through – and the one that sprung to mind first was, funnily enough, an Italian storm.

It was during our stay in Positano in November 2011. After unusually good weather we were warned by the locals that the weekend was going to be stormy. It happened to be a weekend when we had visitors from the UK and New Zealand staying with us at Villa Greta.

Now, please understand, by storm we mean weather that was less than idyllic. Which involved wind (a bit), rain (not a lot) and seas that were rough (all to be taken in context of the Med just being a giant bath).

Our Saturday started with a visit the the beach at Positano and a late breakfast at Buca de Bacco. Apart from a strong breeze and the overcast conditions the only clue that there was a storm was the surf hitting the wharf. But despite the poor weather the resident beach artist was painting – as he does every day – a beautiful sunny vista full of blue skies, blue seas, bright sun and Bougainvillaea cascading down the sides of houses on the hill, somewhat at odds with reality.

In the afternoon we drove down the coast to Amalfi. The roads were treacherous and largely awash in places. The Amafi Coast has no real storm water drainage system  – other than the water rushing downhill towards the sea as fast as possible – down streets, across roads and over cliffs until eventually ending up in the sea. This system meant we were often driving along roads more like rivers and through villages where every lane was a steam cascading towards the sea.

In Amalfi the sea was crashing against shore and the sea side carpark that we had used only a few months previously in summer was now forming the breakwater and largely underwater. The wonderful thing was that, by the time we had driven up from Amalfi to the top of the cliffs to Ravello the weather had cleared and we had magnificent views looking east along the coast towards Salerno. Normal transmission had resumed.

From one generation to the next

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One of the things that our dear old dog Daisy used to enjoy was standing on the arm of our couch, looking out the lounge window to the street, and barking at everyone that walked past.

She taught Poppie and now, it seems, Poppie is passing it on to the next generation.

On Friday I photographed Poppie and her barking apprentice Bella, on the arm of the couch, waiting for a new victim to come into view.

It reminded me of a similar photo from 2005. The only difference is 8 years and a new couch.

An escape to the south coast – Part 3

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Following the storm last week I did another photo trip around Wellington’s southern coast. Everywhere there were remnants of the storm – rooves covered in tarpaulins rather than tiles, sea walls partially demolished and road edges undermined and collapsing. Even … Continue reading →

Storm – update

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Today the rain has stopped so it’s clean up day at our place – which will consist of sweeping up some leaves and branches, cleaning some windows and cutting up our fallen olive tree.

But we got off lightly following the storm last week.

Parts of Wellington’s south coast – where I was taking photographs just a few days ago (click here and here to see the photos) – have been hit hard and the clean up work will take weeks. I’ve included some photos that show what south coast locals have to deal with. As one wise local said “if the sea wants something, it will simply take it”. There’s not much more to say really.

An escape to the south coast – Part 2

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As promised (or threatened depending on your point of view) some more shots taken around Wellington’s south coast. These were taken a little further around the road from Lyall Bay driving west  – at the point where, in the distance, … Continue reading →

Storm!

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Wellingtonians are hardened to winter wind. Wind that anywhere else would be called a gale is referred to as a strong breeze in Wellington. Any wind that doesn’t physically blow you over is a mere zephyr. It takes something exceptional to get the attention of Wellingtonians.

Last night the weather had our full attention. A storm that originated at the South Pole has been sweeping up the country over the last 24 hours. For everywhere other than Wellington it meant snow but for us it meant rain -with accompanying gale force winds up to 140km/h.

At one point 25,000 people were without power partly due to trees being blown over and taking power lines with them. House rooves started to lift and outdoor signage took to the air.

Our place took to shuddering as each gust of wind arrived and the curtains bowed out from the windows as the wind found new ways to sneak into the house. The garden took on the  look of a bomb site as leaves and branches and rubbish bins and patio chairs blew around settling far from where we last left them. Both Poppie and Bella simply refused to go outside and everyone decided the best place to be was in bed.

This morning the full extent of the damage became apparent. One of the olive trees we planted about 8 years ago had succumbed to the wind and lay parallel to the ground. We had talked about removing this tree over summer but couldn’t bring ourselves to do the deed – to wield the saw. It’s ironic that mother nature has done it for us.

An escape to the south coast – part 1

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For 2 days I hadn’t left the house. I had no meetings and being winter the weather had been bad. As a result, I became a recluse. By the afternoon of the second day I was going stir-crazy. I had to … Continue reading →

Bella Day 23

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Today was a landmark day for Bella. For the first time she summed up the courage to go down our stairs.

Up until today we always knew that if Bella was upstairs, that’s where she would stay – largely out of trouble. And Poppie knew that to escape the constant ambushes all she had to do was head downstairs.

This morning Bella turned up downstairs unannounced. Clearly nowhere in the house is safe anymore.

At 12 weeks, Bella is learning a huge amount. She now understands and responds to her name, knows where and when to line up for a meal and understands what the word “no” means. She is starting to pay attention to Jean and I but clearly her role model is Poppie. Whatever Poppie does, Bella copies and wherever Poppie goes the wee girl isn’t far behind.

I managed to capture Bella’s second stair descent on video.

Winter arrives 3 days early

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Yesterday the first cold southerly blast of winter arrived. The temperature dropped from around 15 degrees to 7 degrees. Snow fell in the Southern Alps and on the volcanic plateau in the North Island closing roads and causing general chaos.

And snow fell on the hills around Wellington. When we woke this morning and looked out the window, the view across the harbour included an early season dusting of snow.

Today is a beautiful sunny day but the temperature is hovering under 10 degrees in the shade. Thankfully the wind has gone and things will continue to improve towards the weekend – when winter officially starts.

Snow across the harbour

Snow across the harbour