The beautiful medieval walled Italian town of Lucca - now one of my favourite places. On holiday in Italy last week, we decided to take a train inland from Pisa to Lucca - we'd heard good things about the town, and heard it was a little 'undiscovered' and less touristy, but really didn't know any more than that.
It's amazing; I can't put it much simpler than that. We loved it. We liked it so much that we went back a few times over the week, to wander round and soak the place up, try to commit it to memory. We had dinner there on the last night, sitting in a beautiful square, pondering on what a lovely holiday we'd had - and partly because we'd been lucky enough to find Lucca.
Why did we love it so much? Here's a brief guide to Lucca - hopefully it'll inspire you to visit, too...
Lucca was initially a Roman city - an important trading town - so its streets are uniformly laid out in squares and blocks, making it easy to navigate if you know where you're going, or pretty much like a maze to navigate if you're not used to the town, and don't have a map (which we didn't).
There are still many heavy influences from Roman history; Lucca has natural thermal springs, and there are still "Bagni Comunali" (communal baths) in the walls of the town itself, with lots of spas just outside the town, in the mountains.
Lucca is quiet and peaceful; imposing medieval walls enclose the whole city, which means that there are relatively few cars and vans inside Lucca itself; it feels a bit like a secret, and makes it easy to walk around at your leisure. The walls themselves are huge; there are even parks on top of them, which you can relax in, looking at the mountains in the distance, before venturing down into the city.
Inside the city, the buildings are beautiful; very typically Tuscan, with large imposing churches, cute cobbled squares and small rivers with fountains.
The main square is in the shape of the old Roman amphitheatre; now updated and lined with medieval buildings and rather more modern restaurants, the square has a unique elliptical shape and is lovely to gaze at and wander round; there are also some beautiful shops in the aptly named Piazza di Amfiteatro.
Markets - every Italian town has them, but in Lucca they're more than just your local fruit and veg stalls. Our favourite was the antiques market, selling anything from old books to furniture to old classical guitars and jewellery. Spreading over a few cobbled squares, it's great to wander around...
And for those of you who are after a bit of culture and music while you're away, Lucca is the perfect town. There are chic cheese and wine bars in squares, museums of contemporary art, and an abundance of music - there's a concert of some kind almost every night, either in a church or outside in a square for everyone to hear.
Lucca, as you can probably tell from this post, really swept us away; it's a beautiful place, and well worth a visit if you're ever in Tuscany. Tempted to go? ;)
Middle of the week already; how?! Here's some photography inspiration to appeal to the child in all of us from the hugely talented photographer Lissy Elle - I adore her work! Particularly love how carefree and relaxing these images are; the perfect balance to a hectic London lifestyle.
I went back to work yesterday after 10 wonderful days off and, of course, an amazing holiday - and wow, the lifestyle change really did hit me. Two delayed trains, a queue of heavy traffic and several rude people meant stress levels were the highest they'd been in a week and a half - and all before 9am, before I even got into the office. A little bit overwhelming! Don't get me wrong, I love London, and I love to be kept busy - but going away and remembering what it is to relax and take life slowly and then being thrown suddenly back into such a hectic mindset and lifestyle is a little bit daunting. I'll get used to it again, and not feel so tired, in a few days time - but in the meantime, I love the photos above for their relaxing inspiration :)
How do you destress from your busy lives, and make sure that you have time to unwind? I've been thinking of trying a bedtime ritual, like burning lavender incense, reading a book, having a bath or doing yoga. Do any of you have pre-bedtime relaxing rituals?
Quaint little hilltop towns contrasted with large bustling passionate cities, tall medieval mustard yellow buildings with green shutters and iron railed balconies line cobbled streets.
Large, ancient squares with imposing statues and outdoor gelaterias, where locals eat ice cream all through the day and into the night.
Gorgeous medieval distinctive architecture in every cathedral, belltower and any other important building; off-white Carrera marble with flashes of green and white and red Tuscan columns, positioned on top of each other growing the towers further and further skywards.
The best pasta you've ever tasted; sitting in little family-run restaurants with a glass of wine, some buffalo mozzarella, crusty warmed bread and some amazing lasagna, gnocchi or even just simple spaghetti al pomodoro, twirling it around your fork and slopping it into your mouth Italian-style.
Beautiful undiscovered beaches with raked golden sand, bright orange parasols and almost crystal blue water; calm sea with gentle waves that sweep you out to look back at the beach, the hot sky and the cascading mountains in the distance as you float.
Hazy evenings spent sitting in Florentine squares amidst imposing buildings and Roman statues; listening to a man playing classical guitar, watching the night pass by under candelight.
Tuscany. I knew it would be beautiful - but I had no idea just how beautiful. I've had one of the most wonderful weeks exploring Florence, Pisa, Lucca, Tirrenia and the surrounding areas (including a little detour to Rome on the last day of the holiday), and absolutely fell in love with the area - as you most probably can tell from my descriptions.
I'll write a few posts about Italy, over the next couple of weeks - there were so many amazing experiences during my time away and lovely little places and shops that I really do need a good few posts to share everything with you.
Suffice it to say for the moment, then, that the Tuscany region of Italy is stunning, and that you must go there at least once in your life. And as for me? I feel so completely refreshed, re-energised and re-focused on life; a holiday was just what I needed after a hectic rollercoaster over the past 12 months!
Caritaz jewellery; have you heard of it? I came across the gorgeous range the other day, and loved its pieces and the concept behind it so much that I had to share it with you.
What makes Caritaz special? Not only is the jewellery itself really beautiful - as well as the pendants above, there's a whole range of charms, accessories, rings and and cuff links, all decorated with lovely Swarovski crystals - but it's all for an excellent cause.
Caritaz was founded in 2009 with the aim of raising funds and awareness for worldwide charities. Each piece of jewellery it sells is designed especially for and dedicated to one particular charity, and the company donate a large proportion of the sale of each piece to the cause. So you get a beautiful piece of jewellery, and help a charity at the same time - seems like a win-win situation!
So what is there to buy, and what cause does it help? The Swarovski Crystal Butterfly Pendant and the Swarovski Clover Crystal Pendants, above, have to be my favourite pieces from Caritaz. Made of silver, rhodium and, of course, Swarovski crystals, they both retail at £80, or £120 with a chain. Best of all, buy these pieces and you'll be helping children's hospices (the Butterfly Pendant) or domestic violence charities (the Clover Pendant) - a cause which is especially close to my heart.
I also love these charms; in a variety of colours and decorated with Swarovski crystals, they detail the name of the cause they're helping (eg skin cancer and liver disease) on the inside of the charm, and retail at £45. Very cute.
You can purchase Caritaz jewellery through their site, or at several stores across the UK.
Do you believe in karma? I do. I might not seem like it, really, or talk about it much, but I'm a very spiritual person, and most definitely believe that what goes around, comes around. I'm also a little superstitious, and I have this little thing where if something bad happens, or I feel negative, in any way - and not necessarily through my actions - I have to do something positive to counteract it. In my head, it's all about balancing it out; I feel like by doing something positive, and giving out good karma, there'll be a little bit of good karma that comes back to me, and to those around me, eventually.
And this is what happened the other day. Flowers always make me smile, and they make my mum smile, too. I bought her some when we were both feeling a little down about the riots, and put them in a pretty vase for her. She really liked them, which obviously made me happy for her, and soon enough things seemed a little less melancholy. And there's my kind of karma for you...
Aren't they pretty?
P.S. A little apology that there were no Friday Fives this week - it was a bit of an odd week by all accounts. Back with them next week :)
When you commute nearly an hour and a half to and from work, as I do every weekday, you learn the importance of a good travel card holder really rather quickly. The standard National Rail card holder won't last anyone with a hint of a fashion sense very long at all as it's really rather dull, and it's really quite surpising how hard it is to find an alternative travel card holder that's not only good quality but actually looks nice too.
Over the past year in which I've been commuting to London every day from Surrey, I've bought a total of four travel card holders, all of which in turn have either fallen apart or lost all their prettiness a few weeks into use. My latest one, for example, I bought for its pretty pink floral pattern - which then rubbed off completely two weeks into use, leaving me with a plain grey travel card holder. Not exactly what I had in mind when I bought it.
So when Julie Slater and Son offered to send me one of their travel card holders, I was more than happy to give one a try. I'd heard good things about the company and the quality of their range of travel accessories before, and it turns out their travel card holders are no exception.
Knowing as you do my love for anything floral, it probably doesn't come as any surprise that I chose the Daisy Chain oyster card holder for its gorgeous print! It's beautifully made, as well - real leather on the outside (smells lovely!), two clear windows with matching printed fabric lining and a further leather pocket on the back of the card holder too. It's a perfect size too, of course, and the best bit is that this really feels like a travel card holder that will last - one that won't fall apart or have its pattern rub off a week into use! It's available to order from the Julie Slater and Son website for £13.50 - really very good value for a high quality, leather product.
If floral travel cards aren't really your thing, Julie Slater and Son have around nine other card holders with different prints to choose from - as well as a whole range of other travel accessories, bags and purses in various designs.
Disclaimer: I was sent a Daisy Chain Travel Card Holder by Julie Slater and Son to reviewand keep, free of charge. This post contains my honest and independent thoughts on the product I received.
