alison in europe

I wish I was a Princess

Because thick stone retains the heat in a sun shower. 

Because there's room to breathe in a castle. 

Because my swimming pool would be a lake. 

And because all of that walking up the hill would better exercise than schlepping to the gym. 

Rome

The new. 

The old. 

Both special to me, separated by half a lifetime. 

Petra

...was exhausting, but unforgettable. The scale is mammoth and miniature. The facades are intact, but the buildings are empty. 

It's a sham city for the most part, but what a beautiful trick it plays. 

I was a fan. Jars of sand feel like they belong to my story. I can't be sure - but it seems like something my great-grandparents would have had. I imagine that theirs came from the south coast of NSW though. 

And it's a real art. Hard, but more achievable than it looks. 

I brought three of these babies home. Carefully wrapped. And they catch the light in my London hallway beautifully. Just like in the Jordanian desert. 

This was one cute companion to share a shady break with on a hot day. And I'm not even a cat person (sorry Greybob - you were the exception). 

There are so many stories from Petra still to tell. But tonight, that's enough. 

Blue dress

COS

It seems shallow that a new dress is occupying so many of my thoughts this weekend. But so be it. This is a place for truths. I'm spending lots of time thinking about its debut this week. How I'll accessorise it.

Grey wool tights, black shoe boots and Ruby Woo red lips? Hair up and back, with twists at the front? Very jazzy.

Or black sheer opaques, with my black suede heels? Business. Hmmm.

Or I could go for magenta tights and heels and Show Orchid screaming pink lips. A bit less school, a little more Pop.

Choices, choices. I might report back, I might not. Either way - one day this week, I'll be wearing my new dress...with tights, shoes and a Mac lipstick.

Hi there blog. I'm back. It might have taken a beat or two before you recognised me - that's understandable. My hair's gone from black to blonde. I get it.

So that was my 2011 project - a lot of hours spent in a hairdresser's chair. And I've decided my blog will be my 2012 project. With no idea of what stuff I'll write about, my shiny new friend (iMac) and I will drop by often and post whatever comes to mind. No theme, no rules, with rambling (a special skill of mine) most definitely allowed.

That last post was written years ago. And then left to languish in drafts for reasons I can't remember. Oh well. That was 2009, and now it's 2012...and I've decided to pick up blogging again.

Spa

We went for the no frills Spa trip when we went to the Belgian F1 Grand Prix recently. And it was the first time I've ever driven in Germany (we stayed in Germany and just drove over to Spa Francorchamps for the day of the Grand Prix). Despite going to Deutschland every 6-8 weeks I'm normally the public transportation type if not being driven somewhere. But I am well and truly hooked now, and see a German driving holiday in my not to distant future...

 

And my top speed for the weekend was 150km/h - not quite as fast as they were going on the track. So fast in fact that I was finding it all a bit confusing, so we started a list to try and keep track. Our list was (almost) flawless (just got Trulli and Glock mixed up), though the pit stops did make life difficult there for a while. Next time I'm investing in Kangaroo TV.

 

And after the race we were able to get onto the actual track. This is the view from pole position looking up Eau Rouge.

While we'd initially planned the trip to see Schumacher back racing, and he wasn't, and I wasn't sure right up until the last second that I actually wanted to go... but in the end we had an absolutely brilliant time and I'll definitely be back to see my third F1 race in the next year or so.

 

 

How?

 

did we lose? Victory seemed like a foregone conclusion. There was plenty of trash talk around the office (from me, mostly) and a win was assured. And yet here I sit, beaten and bruised, after a glorious day at the Oval yesterday, and nothing to show for it. The Ashes are gone for the next 18 months.

Luckily I saw the final ball - thank you Crystal Palace Tavern for showing Sky Sports (side note - how rubbish is it that this is shown on pay TV here in England?). But I heard those run outs on Peckham Rye Common, and I saw many bits of this at the East Dulwich gym. It's an English series that I wish had favoured the Aussies. It was not to be so.

Oh Australia, how this is to be mourned. I'm drinking, eating M&M's and listening to Missy Higgins. It all fits the downbeat mood. BOO.

Mini quilts

08.09 Etsy , originally uploaded by alisoninlondon.

Etsy is the place to be these days. My sister-in-law sells these fantastic baby swaddling wraps (www.taylored4baby.etsy.com) and I bought most of my Christmas presents there last year. In fact, I'm just a *little* bit addicted to it.

So, I decided to join the crowd! I've listed two mini quilts up at www.alisoninlondon.etsy.com and I'll be putting up another niftily practical product at some point this week. Will blog about that when I actually do it.

Bauhaus

Bauhaus 251, originally uploaded by alisoninlondon.

A friend told me why she thought I was obsessed with the Bauhaus. I'm not sure I agree with her, but it got me thinking.

I'd been to Weimar in 95, and to Berlin in 06 and so badly wanted to visit Dessau. So Christmas 2007 I did.

Wow. In a couple of ways. Firstly, it was COLD. I got off the train from Essen to Hannover and ran straight for the shopping centre across the road to buy a Parka. The mild English winter had not prepared me for the acidic, brain numbing cold of an East German December.

But then WOW. I stayed in the Atelierhaus - where the students had lived. That meant I roamed around the building after the tourists had left, making myself nice and at home. There were doors that I'm pretty sure should have been locked, but weren't, but luckily for them I was into appreciation rather than vandalism.

My god - this building is so amazing. And the detailing could make me cry. Every piece of the building is treated like art. There's innovation seeping out the pores of all of the fix and fit and the colours. Ah, the colours.

People think that the Bauhaus is all modernist and black and white, with a few radical shades of grey thrown in for fun.

And my pic above doesn't really disuade you of that.

But gosh - if you love architecture or craftsmanship, and find yourself in the area (Berlin and Leipzig are just around the corner), then get yourself there. And if you find yourself at the Bauhaus one September, and happen to strike Farbfest, whichever colour they're celebrating that year, then congratulations. You've just lived one of my dreams.

PS Stay in the Atelierhaus, but don't expect hostel or hotel. This is pure history peoples!