…I started out in Montecito, California visiting a Spanish Colonial home by Architect Thomas Bollay…
…with authentic detailed tiling and old wrought iron doors salvaged from the Santa Barbara Biltmore Hotel…
…and a charming outdoor living space complete with the ambiance of a wood-burning fireplace.
Next, I was off to Europe and found myself looking down from the bell tower in St. Mark’s Square admiring the Byzantine architectural features of “Chiesa d’Oro” also known as Saint Mark’s Basilica.
I’m not sure how I ended up here, but running across this impressive guy reminded me there was an article on horoscopes I’d been emailed from ArchetypeMe introducing “Archescopes”– (combining your astrological forecast with your archetypes.)
If you think this sort of thing is fun too, follow the ArchetypeMe link to take a quick quiz to learn your top three archetypes, then go to the Archescopes page for a chart showing alignments between your sun sign and each archetype. To delve deeper into all the archetypes that influence your life, read Sacred Contracts by Caroline Myss. Then, learn about your friends and family’s archetypes with the board game Identity Pursuit, inspired by Caroline Myss’ work.
From there, I somehow found myself back in Italy. This time, somewhere over Tuscany…ahh my home away from home.
Suddenly I had arrived at this portal. Where am I? What is the inscription above the door? I never did find any answers (write me if you know, will you?), but my quest…
…somehow led me to a kitchen located in Le Château de Montgeoffroy…
A beautiful place located in the Loire Valley…
with all the traditional trappings you would expect of a grand château in this region.
…towers and turrets and such…
…These beautiful creatures reminded me I had “wildlife”photography of my own to edit and so I returned to my workspace for awhile…
…and prepped a couple of images to share on l&l at home including this one of our comical resident squirrel enjoying a snack.
It wasn’t long before I had the urge to travel again and within a few seconds, I had been transported to somewhere in the deserts of Egypt…
Scouting about, I learned it is the White Desert and while there, I came across someone who has experienced this other-wordly landscape first-hand, even camping out under the stars there. {visit Egypt Sites here}
Then my phone rang and I was brought back home again. Our architect friend next door was calling about our deck enclosure soon to be conservatory / sunroom / orangerie.
We’ve considered wood doors (something like the above) but haven’t ruled out iron and glass doors like we did in our kitchen:
A few phone calls and emails later and I was headed back out – to France again…
…this time to the picturesque village of Saint Cirq Lapopie, but rather than touring by foot, I took to the air for a bird’s eye view:
I spent quite some time lost in several of the most
{beautiful villages} of France, but eventually made my way
back to Italy…
…and discovered the Sanctuary Madonna della Coronna in Veneto. The sanctuary is built into the vertical rock face of Monte Baldo, (it’s a 400 meter drop to the valley below.)
Can you imagine this being your trek home?
Speaking of home, I realized it was almost time for dinner.
On my way back, I stopped over to tour the eerie ruins of Whitby Abbey in North Yorkshire England.
(It’s easy to see why it inspired Bram Stoker’s Dracula, isn’t it?)
…and finally home, I headed out to our garden and kicked off my shoes to reflect on my day of sightseeing.
What a wonderful world we live in where we can connect in mere seconds with people of other cultures and lifestyles, and gain inspiration from the four corners of the globe.
I love to travel and take in the sights, sounds and smells firsthand, but how fortunate we are to be able to explore the world from the comfort of our own home anytime we wish!
I love to travel and take in the sights, sounds and smells firsthand, but how fortunate we are to be able to explore the world from the comfort of our own home anytime we wish!
