Monday, May 07, 2007

~ MISS POTTER ~

Today, I stole away to another romantic travel spot~ England.

Ever since I saw the preview of the upcoming movie about the life and writings of Miss Beatrix Potter, I have waited with eager anticipation the release of this charmer.
It stars Renee Zellwiger and Ewan McGregor.
It did not receive great reviews, and the critics referred it to the Bridgette Jones Diary movies of Miss Zellwiger, which I feel is quite unfair!

My heart beat with excitement as I viewed the interaction of the characters including her creation of the sweet animals,that took life in her dear little books, and the beautiful countryside of the Lake District.

I am ready to be taken away to the open aired rooms of beauty, with the cool air blowing my hair, snuggled with a shawl wrapped tightly around me, the lake glistening as it captures the sun's rays beating down upon this Eden.

Wanderlust has captured me, and with each beat of my heart the longing becomes stronger~

Those dear little books I still desire to hold in my now grown up hand, the stories are so endearing, they call to be read over and over.

At one point in the movie Beatrix reaches into her paint brush collection to select the right brush. The sound of the wooden handles clicking together and the opening of the paint box showing the smear of the paint dried on the edge of the color tray; the swish of the paint swirled in the clear water revealing a blue tinge to the water as she cleans the brush, I find utterly romantic ~I ask my artist friend if this too moves her and it does.

I am now going to venture back into these dear tales and enjoy the splendid drawings and delightful personalities these characters reveal, now knowing the background life of this wonderful woman.
I"ve always wanted to meet a hedgehog~

Saturday, May 05, 2007

One of my Italian dreams

More Dreams

I have been sitting reading more than usual lately, as the books that I ordered through Amazon have steadily arrived.
The anticipation of planning a dream trip for the fall slowly coming together in my mind~

To get totally lost in another country and feel the dirt between your toes lost~
I can taste it as i sit and read someone else's experiences and look through their eyes at the wonders that they discover.

I don't think many people know the romance that I hold inside of me for travel to another country.It is a childlike anticipation~
They have no idea what is out there or how to go about touching it. Once touched,you either open up and take it all in as listening to a wonderful Concerto, or walk away.

We prefer to explore alone rather than in group, where someone dictates the time and place to be.
One may be privy to the great restaurants and four star hotels and air conditioned busses ,but they loose what is taken in when you meet a little Signorina in the piazza asking if you wish to spend some time in her home. This is her way of making a living, and she is not shy about the approach. Her friend says ,"There is a good view." We hesitantly say yes and she leads us through the crooked back streets, up a series of steep steps and through the portola, which opens to the center of the town square with the most magnificent view from our window above. Exactly where I had dreamed we would stay!

Today, I showed Steve a panoramic picture of a Tuscan hill town that we visited on our first trip to Italy. I remember standing along a wall in the town and gazing at the vast fields and valley below,a church that took my fancy built on the side of the hill, beckoning us to come and explore it's beauty. I asked him if he remembered us standing standing along that wall and surveying the land. He could not remember it. Funny, I could pick out the exact spot that we stood!

I come to the computer and type in my vacation guide and up comes one of my dream places.
The prices are rising as the Pound and Euro fluctuate. We still do not comit to a date. There are only a few weeks not booked in this quaint cottage among the olive groves,along the dusty road that leads into my dream. I picture us there, relaxed taking the in the view.