Edinburgh Through My Lens

After mentioning it in my previous post, here I am, ready to tell you all about my wonderful trip to Edinburgh, a city that I’ve always dreamt to visit!

This holiday was a Christmas present from my parents to me and my sister, because they know how much we enjoy exploring new places together!

We arrived in Scotland on the 11^th of January and, after a quick lunch and a little rest, we decided to have a walk to the castle that was all lit up and, despite the cold and the wind, the view that we enjoyed from up there was phenomenal.

As a huge Harry Potter fan I was sure would fall in love with Edinburgh; there are in fact some amazing places that just can’t be missed if you want to lose yourself again in the magical  atmosphere of the J.k. Rowling’s books:

   

    Victoria Street: a beautiful road, with colorful facades and marvelous shops, expecially the “Aha Ha Ha Jokes and Novelties”, which is full of masks and crazy things and it could really be run by Fred and George Weasley, and “ The Diagon House”, a wonderful place filled up with Harry Potter’s things like wands, feather quills, potion bottles, fluffy owls, chocolate frogs and much more. 

-        The Greyfriars Kirkyard: an ancient cemetery that inspired the names of some J.K. Rowling’s characters; the most important one is “ Lord Voldemort” (Tom Marvolo Riddle), that has taken inspiration from the grave of Thomas Riddle which, I must admit, was quite hard to find and we were forced to walk in the mud to reach it!

The day was very beautiful, with a pale sun and a blue sky, so it was nice to wander around the old graves, spotting some squirrels between the branches of the trees and earing the sound of the little birds.

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         The Elephant House: this café is better known as the birthplace of Harry Potter, in fact it is said that the author, during her early years in Edinburgh, used to go there to write because she was short of money and the price of a cup of tea was cheaper than heating her flat!

It was lovely to imagine J.K. Rowling, with her laptop and a steaming cup, looking out of the window at the castle and the ancient graves, dreaming about the adventures of Harry, Ron and Hermione.

After an entire morning dedicated to Harry Potter and a yummy lunch with a pie made with pumpkin, potatoes and sage, we decided to explore Holyrood Palace and we lost ourselves in the sumptuous residence of the Windsor, carried away by its charm and enchanted by its history.

Our third day in Edinburgh started with a visit to the National Museum of Scotland, where you can spend hours and hours wandering around all the rooms and looking at the exhibitions.

It was really cold and cloudy outside so, after a quick lunch with a soup at the “Union of Genius”, we went straight to the National Gallery of Scotland, which displays some of the masterpieces of amazing painters like Monet, Van Gogh, Vermeer, Rembrand, Gaughin and many others.

Despite all these important names, my favorite was “ The Reverend Robert Walker Skating on Duddingston Loch”, made by the Scottish painter Henry Raeburn.

The sun shined again our second to last day, so we took advantage of it and we explored the beautiful Stockbrige. I truly loved that charming part of the city, so elegant and quiet on Sunday morning, especially Circus Lane, a little lane full of picturesque mews houses. It was amazing to do a little bit of shopping in the charity shops and have a walk in the market, which is full of great goodies also for vegans, with a huge cup of chai tea latte to warm our hands.

Our trip to Edinburgh couldn’t be complete without a visit to the castle so, after a delicious fish and chips in a cozy pub, we challenged the icy wind and climbed the hill. Learning the story of the castle and have a look to the stunning jewels of the crown was really interesting, but what I enjoyed the most were the prisons, especially the graffiti left over the centuries by prisoners on the wooden doors.

Time flies when you have fun, so the last morning we did some shopping ( I finally bought a Kanken backpack..yeahhh!!!), we visited many second-hand bookshops and we walked along the Royal Mile, popping down the Closes on our way to Holyrood Palace.

It was time to say goodbye to this wonderful city and, I must confess, I did it with a little sadness…Edinburgh really enchanted me so I hope to come back soon!  

Autumnal Little Pleasures

Hello my sweet ladies!!!I’m so glad to be back after such a long time!

During the past months life has been a rollercoaster, with many ups and downs, joys and tears, and I really needed to come back to this little safe corner, doing something that makes me happy.

So let’s skip to the beautiful things of the last few weeks, with a cup of tea and some chocolate biscuits to keep me company:

1. The little drop in the temperatures, which means many more cups of tea and nights spent curled up on the sofa, under my soft woolly blanket! Summer has been unbearably hot this year in Italy, a nightmare for an autumn lover like me, so I couldn’t be happier to start wearing scarves and colorful tights and enjoy the brisk air of the early morning walks to work.

2. Call The Midwife: one Saturday I was wandering around in a wonderful bookshop when a little book caught my attention : “ Call The Midwife” by Jennifer Worth, which is the autobiography of the author, who worked as a midwife in the East London in the 1950. I didn’t buy the book that day but, some days later, I mentioned it to my friends and I discovered that there was the series on Netflix! As you can guess I was thrilled about it, and I was right because I was completely hooked to the series since the first episode!!!

The main character is adorable, a strong woman, independent, self-confident, but also sweet and charming, and I love the setting, which is realistic and fascinating. I’m sure I’m going to finish it in a flash!

3. The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry, a wonderful work of historical fiction that explores the gap between science and superstition, friendship and romantic love. I had heard many positive comments about this book before reading it and they were absolutely true. However, I must confess, I couldn’t empathize so much with Cora Saeborne, the main character, even if she is an unforgettable heroine, witty, independent and fiercely intelligent.

4. Bristol! Sentimentally speaking the first weeks of September have been quite hard, so I thought the best solution was to take a break from the routine and go away for some days. My cousin was leaving for Bristol for her Erasmus and I decided to go with her, to spend some days in England together, as we used to do when we were kids and our families went on holidays together! We had an amazing time there, with sunny days, a lovely Victorian house to stay in, and many delicious meals. Oh..and I did some shopping too: candles, second-hand books, a new pair of comfy slippers and some delicious herbal teas! Bristol was a balm for my soul and it brought me luck because, once home, little by little, things started to get better!

5. An afternoon to the Botanic Garden. One Sunday I went with my girls on a daytrip to Padova, a city not so far from where I live, easily reached by train. After a morning of shopping, where I bought the most wonderful pair of embroidered jeans and the cutest dress, we decided to visit the Botanic Garden, which was founded in 1545 and it’s the world’s oldest academic botanical garden that is still in its original location.  We wandered around for hours, chatting, laughing and taking pictures…It was truly amazing to be surrounded by all those plants and gorgeous flowers from all around the world.

6. My new leather backpack. “Patience is a virtue” they say..and they are right! After months and months of wishing a backpack, looking for the right one and not finding it anywhere ( I wanted a Kanken at the beginning but it was pricey and I wasn’t fully convinced) last weekend I found THE ONE in Florence! It’s black leather with golden hinges and a big pocket on the front and, moreover, it’s the perfect size to be useful for work, but not too big to look like a schoolbag! I’m in love with it and I’m glad that I waited so long!

Seriously if anyone is still reading my blog after such a long time I thank you from the bottom of my heart..it means the world to me!!! Have a lovely weekend and see you soon!!!

Love

Martina

A Wonderful Weekend In The Lake Of Como And Lugano

Good afternoon my lovely folks and Happy Friday!!!

Even the weather is glad that the week is over...the sun is shining bright, the sky is cloudless and Spring seems to be just around the corner.

Unfortunately I can't take advantage of this glorious day because I'm housebound with a bad flu and an annoying cold. Yesterday was awful, I practically slept all day long, waking up only for drinking a cup of tea and cuddling Cloe, who spent the entire day in my sickbed, as the most caring nurse.

Luckily today I feel much better, so I thought it was the right time to share with you some of the lovely memories I have of the weekend I spent in the Lake of Como and Lugano. 

I went there with my closest friends Giulia and Marzia, because this trip was her amazing gift for our graduation..she couldn't have chosen something more perfect and exactly right for us!

We left home on Saturday morning and, after a yummy breakfast, we took the motorway towards the Lake of Como. We reached the city just in time for lunch so, after leaving the luggages in the cosy room of our hotel, we went straight to the "Mystic Burger"; it's a restaurant with modern and casual chic interiors, contemporary design and rustic details, where I ate one of the best hamburger of my life ( I have to admit that I'm a beginner in the matter of hamburgers..I've eaten my first one less than 10 years ago!!It's shocking, I know, I know...).

We spent the rest of the day wandering around the streets of Como and, the morning after, we reached the shores of the lake, which is one of the most stunning place in the north of Italy. The day was absolutely gorgeous, the waters shone in the sun and we could capture the scenery in all its beauty.

Being very close to Switzerland, we took the opportunity to visit Lugano, a lovely little city, very tidy and peaceful, where we spent the time strolling here and there.

I absolutely love being with these two,they are the best friends you can desire and I feel so lucky that life has brought us together!!! 

Love

xxx

Martina