Off to the Czech Republic...

On Saturday I leave for the Czech Republic. There is a bit of a lull in guests here and so we've been given some time off. We have an 11 hour road trip ahead of us with Chef Gavin from the villa, so there should be some interesting times ahead. I am really excited and looking forward to Prague. I remember as a little boy flicking through old photos of my mother's that she had from a trip to Prague, and I recall her speaking about the place with very fond memories. So I have always been intrigued by the destination. I can't wait to taste that first beer, apparently it is something special!

Cycling Lucca's Walls



The tree lined avenues on the walls of Lucca.

The town of Lucca is about a ten minute drive from the villa where I am working, and every now and again we get the opportunity to pop in for a breath of fresh air. Fortunately for us, our guests at the moment have some young girls that were keen on cycling the walls of Lucca. Lucca is completely surrounded by a massive wall built in the 16th and 17th century, and the original gates used to allow people and traffic in and out of the city centre in the past are still intact and used today. We hired bicycles for the day, and cycled in the shade of the plane and chestnut trees that line the streets.

Will the Kiwi.

Old men on the wall.

An old Lambretta.

Me and my bicycle on the wall.

Kitty Daisy and Lewis

The Kiwi I work with here in Tuscany, Will, introduced me to this band. They are called Kitty Daisy and Lewis, two sisters and a brother whose music I can't stop listening to. At first I wondered whether I was listening to old blues tracks from the deep south in America in the 1940's. But in fact, they perform live around the world travelling as a family today. You can even follow them on twitter (@KDandL). The sound is contagious, and it takes me to Stellenbosch back home in South Africa for some reason, most probably because it was the first time I ever watched live blues music. I know it's winter back home, but summer here is in full swing and we're jumping around Europe to this...

Brown Sugar Brown Sugar

Can't you imagine sitting in a little Tuscan village listening to this whilst sipping on a coffee and watching the beautiful people go by? Welcome to my world....

http://soundcloud.com/minimatic/brown-sugar-sweet-jazz-swing

Man About Town

Man About Town is a publication here in Europe that focuses on men's fashion and style. Unfortunately I am yet to get my hands on one of the magazines, but one thing for sure is that they have wicked little clips that they bring out with their seasonal ranges. This is one of them with Aaron Johnson. Really great take on old school 70's style with the haircut, chunky knit sweater, and the pants with the short legs revealing the white socks. Awesome.

Kids fishing at San Vincenzo, Livorno

Thankfully we got Wednesday off this week, as all the guests were out the villa and hopping around the Tuscan region seeing different parts of the countryside. The lads and I took a drive south to a beach at San Vincenzo near Livorno and spent the day in the ocean with a couple of beers. These two young boys were fishing on the rocks with their father there.

Summer Solstice

This picture is looking out of the back garden of the villa toward the town centre. The old church bell tower is next to the villa, and the bells peal throughout the day. I really like how you can see the light on inside the bell tower in this shot.

Alice in Wonderland...

This is Alice. She was working at a villa close by, but has unfortunately left for Napoli today and is moving onto Berlin.

I feel like this picture doesn't really do her style justice. I wish she was around for longer. A very cool person to have met on the travels.

Villa Michaela's Garden

Reminds me of the story The Secret Garden...

Tuscan sunset from the observatory

The lads: Drew, Will and Oliver.

Quote for the day...

This is a quote from the famous photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson. It gave me some inspiration for the day:

"To take a photograph is to align the head, the eye and the heart. It's a way of life"

Villa Michaela, Vorno, Tuscany

So I now am officially in Tuscany and living here for the next two months. I am working at a place called Villa Michaela, a beautiful old property in a village called Vorno here in Tuscany. I think my time here is going to be really interesting. Here are a few photos of the Villa which I snapped quickly today!

Monterosso, Cinque Terra

After leaving Verona I spent two days in Monterosso with Matty Havemann. It was so great to see him after two and a half months of adventures. Matt is working on a mega yacht this year and is based in Monaco, so he caught the train down the Ligurian coast and we met in Cinque Terra. Monterosso is packed with tourists, but we had a great time. Unfortunately the weather for the two days that we were there wasn't great, but I managed to sneak some sun in on the first day there.

One thing I've come to realise on these travels is that I hate goodbyes. Everytime I've had to say goodbye to someone this year it has been really tough, and saying goodbye to Matt was no exception. But I am now safely in Tuscany working at Villa Michaela and all is well. I can't believe how fast this year has gone already. We're already halfway through June! Before I know it I'm going to be on that flight back to South Africa in December...

A view of Monterosso from one of the surrounding hills.



Matteo in Monterosso, Cinque Terra

More to come...

I have just spent an awesome three days with Matty Havemann down in Monterosso, one of the five Cinque Terre, so there shall be some great photos from there to follow. Just as soon as I get a moment to sit down and sift through them all! But soon to be posted...

Soave with Alma

The old medieval wall of Soave town.

My last couple of days in the Veneto I spent with Alma in the town where she stays called Soave. Is is an old Medieval town surrounded by a wall, and it is made of narrow little streets with one or two little enoteca (wine bars) and cantinas. I spent two days in the vineyards with Alma. She works for a winery called Inama and it is one of the more well known in the Soave region. Soave Classico is a type of white wine made from a grape varietal called garganega. In the past, Soave Classico was one of the most prestigious wines in the world, but due to big producers flogging it as bulk wine the quality dropped and so did the regions reputation. Now however, thanks to wineries such as Inama, Soave Classico is slowly regaining its place amongst the world's best. It was great going around the vineyards with Alma inspecting all the vines and learning, she's brilliant! 

Soave's narrow streets.

The old gates to Inama's property at Lonigo.

Pigeons in Verona

Spring cherries...

It's Spring and there are cherries everywhere!

Into the unknown, Lucca

So folks, as of tomorrow, Monday the 6th of June, I'm heading off into the unknown. I've managed to find some work down in Tuscany at a villa close to the city of Lucca. I don't know if I will have internet access there, so when the next post will be, I have no idea. But as soon as the opportunity arises I shall do so. So far the adventure has been incredible, and I think it is only going to get better. Hold thumbs everyone.

Diary of a Wildcoast Gypsy

I have always been fascinated by the Wildcoast of South Africa. There's something about the rugged and untouched nature of the old Transkei that transports you to a special place once you pass Port Edward in Kwa Zulu Natal. There have been times when I have sat and looked out over the ocean from one of the rolling hills in Coffee Bay when I've thought "hell, life doesn't get much better than this". My next little adventure on the cards once I am back in South Africa is definitely an excursion of the area, and I've already recruited some troops who are just as excited. I think it is a place every South African should visit at some stage, as it is truly unique.

I stumbled across this blog the other day, and was completely taken by it. I'm now following it regularly. The photos, stories and happenings of Lavonne on the Wildcoast take me right back home, and it has really been an inspiration to me all the way over here in Italy.

http://wildcoastgypsygirl.blogspot.com/

The morning after, Firenze

I got the blues, Firenze

Whilst in Firenze I met a man by the name of Tommaso. He is probably one of the most inspiring humans I've spent time with. His passion for music, food, wine, love, life and happiness was completely infectious. I spent three days in his company and left a new person after it all. He is from Firenze and is crazy about the blues. So, at 5:30 in the morning, after a long night of vodka and dancing the zorba in our underwear, we sat down and shared the blues together. Absolutely brilliant...

Tuscan countryside, Firenze



I literally blacked out with my camera in my hand for about half an hour the afternoon I took these photos. I took so many of this field just outside of Firenze with the light setting on it. I couldn't choose only one or two to put on the blog so I just did a whole bunch.