Housey pics

This weekend we had some friends over to dinner, and in this household what that means is the house gets cleaned. I'm not saying it never happens if we don't have people coming over, but I'd be lying if I didn't admit that having visitors focuses our attention better than anything else.

So on the subject of housey stuff, here are a few pics of around the place. 

Birdcage chandelier

A couple of weeks ago, I had an inspiration day out with some friends in Bristol. We popped into the civic museum where they have an amazing selection of taxidermy. There were loads of beautiful birds with lovely iridescent feathers. I love the combination of blue, aqua and brown in this one.

Here is a birdcage chandelier I would love. With those feathered birdies around, you'd have to be happy wouldn't you?

www.grahamandgreen.co.uk/bird-cage-chandelier

Cat of the day

Whoops sorry, I forgot. There is another really important part of the hols to show you.

It's cat of the day! There were so many cute pussy cats, I couldn't resist.

The second one down was carrying a snake in his mouth, which he was NOT going to give up. The third one down made a beeline for the man of the house, jumped up and settled into sleep within seconds. He, unlike me, is not a cat person. You should have seen his face. It was a picture. :)

Beautiful coves

To finish up the holiday pics, you've got to see the sea. Oh my, the sea. I swam every day in it. Off pebbly beaches, off sandy beaches and off the rocks. It was a clear turquoise in parts turning to a petrol blue as the waters got deeper. A gentle current but very salty. In Montenegro my legs were nibbled by fish.

I like to swim part of the time and bask part of the time, laying flat out on my back and just floating with the sun on me. I store those memories up like other people do preserves, bringing them out to keep me going through the long dark days of winter.

Montenegro

When I was a kid there was a country called Yugoslavia. But after a terrible war twenty years ago, the regions split up into different countries. Nowadays there is Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia-Herzegova, Montenegro and Serbia. Montenegro only gained its independence in 2006. 

We spent a lovely day wandering round walled cities, some of them BC. Here are photos from a city called Kotor. It sits on a bay which is a natural fjord. I loved the feel, it had elements that felt a teensy bit alpine. 

Island hopping in Croatia

Dubrovnik sits on the Adriatic sea and is surrounded by a host of small islands.

We went island hopping to some of them; Lopud, Kolocep and Sipan. They were beautiful and wonderfully peaceful. I really liked the fact that they were populated by local people, not overrun by holiday homes. It felt like a private view on a world that hadn't changed in hundreds of years, almost like time travel.

Little harbours, olive groves, tiny churches, steep walks ending in spectacular vistas, kittens playing and locals sitting in the shade. I could have stayed there forever.

Dubrovnik

Recently we went on holiday to the beautiful city of Dubrovnik, here seen from the city walls, looking inwards.

It is a medieval walled city filled with tiny alleyways and steps, fortress and harbour, churches and squares.

While we were on the wall, the air was filled with the singing of a choir in the old monastery. Classical music with beautiful acoustic harmonies. Everyone stopped and listened and then clapped when they finished. It was magical.