I've been an infrequent participant in the monthly international blog party that I was kindly invited to join last year. Work and other stuff tends to get in the way of blogging, zut alors. But this month's theme was not only a breeze but a pleasure to contribute to: "Your home town ... whether it be where you live now and consider home or where you grew up".
For some of us, defining 'home town' is tricky. Cape Town is neither where I was born/grew up, nor where I live now. But I tend to agree with Karin at La Pouyette (whose post on the Périgord which she now considers home you should see here) that 'in the end I'm at home wherever my heart is'. And a large tract of my heart is here, for reasons which, since it's late in the day, I will express with few words and probably far too many images ...
Cape Town is where two oceans meet (the Atlantic and the Indian), at the tip of Africa ...
on either side of a series of breathtaking mountain ranges ...
and lush valleys with vineyards ...
Boschendal (top) and Groot Constantia (bottom) wine estates
It's a place where eating out becomes a feast for all the senses ...
All above pics in & around Cape Quarter, Waterkant, and La Petite Tarte coffee shop
A place of enterprise, creative spirit and hope
Greenmarket Square, Cape Town city centre, weekend market (above & below)
a landscape of colour
landscape of contrasts
Imizamo Yethu township, Hout Bay
wild nature and nature's art of wild imaginings
Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens with Zimbabwean Mambo stone sculptures (top collage); wood-carvings by Right Mukare at Montebello Design Studios, Newlands (bottom collage)
gardens that flower and flourish year-round
Montebello, Newlands
vibrant sounds and celebrations
Cape Town's V&A Waterfront (above collages)
All photos taken May 2011 on my last trip to Cape Town. Happy to say that I will be there next month to enjoy all these places and more.
And as a footnote, I've been fascinated to discover, from scanning the other contributors to this international post, that not only has the town I currently live in been featured here, but also Cape Town by another blogger here (who has similar difficulties restraining her enthusiasm for this amazing city!)
Legendary Danish design - think clean lines, bold colours and shapes, natural materials, functional beauty - is in evidence everywhere you go in Copenhagen ... from the Arne Jacobsen chairs in the airport arrivals hall, through hotels, shops and restaurants.
For shopping, Illums Bolighus, on Amagertorv 10, was Scandi-designer heaven in one store - three floors of modern and classical design in stunning layouts. I could have spent a day on each floor, so absorbed in fantasy house-design that I forgot to take a single photo.
Products from Illums Bolighus online store: www.illumsbolighus.dk
Were I to make a modest personal contribution to the Danish economy (ahem), these Danish designers would be high on my wish-list ...
1. A piece of jewellery from Georg Jensen, whose iconic silver designs in organic shapes need no introduction. Perhaps a pair of moonlight grape earrings in silver with amethyst drops ...
2. An item of clothing from Malene Birger (of Day Birger & Mikkelsen) or, more affordably, perhaps a bright red coat from Bitte Kai Rand to lend a shot of colour to one's spring wardrobe after winter's monochromes ...
(and take a look here at Nordicbliss, for shots of Bitte's home in Denmark, which have me in a state of deep house-envy).
3. A pair of Ilse Jacobsen's trademark lace-up vulcanised rubber boots (these are coveted items by women in London for facing the rain in style combined with warm, functional Scandinavian practicality) ...
4. A stylish notebook from Ordning & Reda in bright, bold colours ...
www.ordning-reda.com
(though technically Swedish in origin, O&R are now owned by Bodum, so I consider them Danish!)
I wondered where it all began, if one could find traces of this distinctive style in earlier times. We set off to explore the homes of the Danish royal family (the Danes, incidentally, are proud to claim that their kingdom is the oldest in Europe). At Amalienborg, the four adjacent Rococo palaces and Frederik's church loomed hazily in fine mist and icy drizzle, the square almost empty of people ...
This is where the queen and her family actually live, though the absence of a flag suggested she was sensibly absent at this time of year, probably somewhere warmer. I loved the guards in their bearskin hats, smart greatcoats and bright blue trousers. Inside and out, these palaces were all understated, clean elegance, with the splashes of bright red that seem to pop up in old and new Denmark ...
Below, the dome of Frederik's church, modelled after St Peter's in Rome, from the outside and in ...
Rosenborg castle was entirely different in style, rich colours in the landscapes and interiors. This was originally the summer palace, out in the country, though is now surrounded by Copenhagen city.
It still stands in the grounds of the beautiful Kongens Have park gardens, which in summer is a popular place for picnics ...
... and in winter had its own kind of beauty with bare trees and frozen lake.
The interior was all opulence, ornate gold and gilt, chandeliers, portraits and tapestries ...
Tapestry detail
Photo credit note: Most of these interior detail pics, including the jewellery below, were taken by Younger Daughter (aka BellaTM), with my nifty little Canon Ixus.
Tiny in actual size, this elephant pendant is part of the jewellery collection.
Shiny gold and bold reds again in all these royal symbols ...
And it's a long way indeed from these ornate thrones, guarded by three life-sized golden lions, to the simple clean shapes of the Arne Jacobsen Egg or Ant chair ...
www.designmuseum.org
A different sort of throne, the royal loo was a reminder that even kings and queens lacked conveniences we take for granted. Though look at the gorgeous tile design they gazed upon!
Photo credit: Bella
and in order not to end on a lavatorial note, a final view of lovely Copenhagen across the gardens from Rosenborg palace ...
PS: Re my thoughts in the previous post on spoken Danish, a comment from Judith led me to look up the pronunciation of (a berry dessert). Go here and click on the pronunciation to find out just how difficult it might be to learn to speak Danish well!
