therme vals

ARCHITECTURAL MASTERPIECE. I've spent 2 days in Vals last week. A few years ago I came here to visit Peter Zumthors' famous Thermal Spa. What brought me here this time? The stone - which was used for this Spa and which is recovered in this area. Further explanation: we were looking for a natural stone to use in my parents' house, preferably a stone from Switzerland. So when we started to think about using this specific stone we decided to come here, to get a closer view of the stone - and especially to visit the Truffer AG - a family owned enterprise - which recovers the stone since about a century.

amalfi coast

 

 

 

 

POSITANO, SORRENTO, VICENZA. What followed after Rome was a few days exploring the Amalfi Coast. Driving on small roads winding around the coastline passing small villages, from which we chose beautiful Positano to rest for a few days. What we couldn't miss on our way home was "La Rotonda" a Villa from 1566 by architect Andrea Palladio.

back home

ROMA. Wow It's been a long time since I blogged about anything. Sorry about that. I just came back from a roadtrip thrue Italy, which was so perfect. 

For the first time I visited Rome - which is kind of embarassing, since I'm studying Architecture. The two and a half days spent in "la città eterna" weren't enough to see everything, but there is always time to come back (which I certainly will - since I tossed a coin into the Trevi Fountain). 

Travelling to Rome in the middle of August means one thing: you are not the only one there. The city was crowded. Getting up early and leaving straight after breakfast to the sights we wanted to see most, helped a lot - we didn't even have to stand in line for the Colosseum. One day we rented a Vespa to get around, which I can highly recommend because it is so convenient and fun. Kind of wondering though, how many traffic rules we violated...

 

on repeat

CWK. Bitter Poem

moving day

MOVING ON. Today we move out of our apartment in the 7th district. I can't imagine not to live here anymore and I'm quite sad to leave. On the other side we lived here for about 6 years and I guess it is about time to move on and discover some new things.

seeing stars

Finally a few updates. For the last month we have been working almost every day to get things done in the new apartment. We even kind of live here since two weeks, which wasn't always the easiest thing, because the shower wasn't installed, there was no sink and the whole place was (still is) very dusty. But things look a lot better now. Today we almost finished the kitchen - we only have to wait for the countertop, which will take about 5 weeks. The bathroom only needs a few adjustments until its finished - it's my favorite room so far).

The rooms still look a bit messy, but Joe doesn't yet have a closet to put his clothes and also no shelves to put his books. But at least it doesn't feel like living on a construction site anymore.

So here is a little before - after preview of the bathroom. We installed the glass wall two days ago and after letting the silicone dry over night, we could finally take our first shower yesterday.

Sorry for the crappy pictures, I will hopefully take some nicer ones any time soon.

like new

Floors. The renovation in Joe's apartment is in its full swing. The wooden floor doesn't look like it is 130 years old, after being sanded. We liked the shabby-used look it had before, so we decided to oil it in a very dark brown - and I really like how it turned out. One room got finished on friday, two days before Joe had to move out of his old apartment... on saturday we moved all his belongings into this room... until the rest of the apartment is finished, he will be staying at my place.

happy easter with ladurée

Macarons. My sister came back from Paris today - in her luggage: sweets from Laduree... Mmmmh - Happy Easter everyone!