giovedì 22 dicembre 2011
mercoledì 14 dicembre 2011
venerdì 9 dicembre 2011
Stir it! - ***MashUp*** Xmas Market!!! Powered by BaseLivigno!
Jingle bells + prodotti hand made da creativi da paura. Sono gli ingredienti del del primo evento marchiato BaseLivigno!
Abbiamo l'intenzione di farlo diventare un appuntamento fisso nell'arco dell'anno. Un punto di incontro di designer e creativi in quella che ormai possiamo definire la "casa" di Lelel Home: in Via Pastrengo, 1 - Isola - Milano!
Quindi preparate la barchetta che si parte verso l'isola!
Abbiamo l'intenzione di farlo diventare un appuntamento fisso nell'arco dell'anno. Un punto di incontro di designer e creativi in quella che ormai possiamo definire la "casa" di Lelel Home: in Via Pastrengo, 1 - Isola - Milano!
Quindi preparate la barchetta che si parte verso l'isola!
lunedì 5 dicembre 2011
Habemus " Roll-it" pencil case
Keep rolling rolling rolling and put order to your many many pencils and brushes!
You can find it on etsy:
venerdì 25 novembre 2011
Straight from the oven's mouth - apple crumble!
So, I got these apples from Trentino, an Italian region that is beautiful and that makes good apples.
I ate a lot of them...but some became a bit soft and I like 'em crisp, you know, so I thought I'd make apple strudel.
Problem is, I ain't much of a cook, so I decided to make apple crumble instead.
This recipe turned out SO GOOD that I am going to share it with you, and if you are a fellow "not-so-good-in-the-kitchen-girl/guy" you'll appreciate it even more.
FOR THE CRUMBLE:
300g plain flower, sieved + pinch of salt
175g brown sugar
200g unsalted butter, cubed at room temp
butter for greasing
FOR THE FILLING:
400g of apples - cored and cut into 1cm pieces
50g brown sugar
1tbsp plain flower
1 pinch ground cinnamon
PREP
a. preheat oven 180c
b. mix flower + sugar, rubbing into it the butter in cubes til it becomes a crumble
c. place the fruit in large bowl + sprinkle sugar + flower + cinnamon - stir (not breaking fruit)
d. butter 24cm dish - place apples on bottom + sprinkle crumble over it
e. bake for 40 - 45 mins
f. eat it!!! ( if you wanna go that extra mile, serve with thick cream)
giovedì 24 novembre 2011
martedì 22 novembre 2011
Habemus "Paisley-Check-Stripe" Xmas Tree Decoration
A modern version of my traditional Xmas tree decoration. It's perfect for someone who want something new and fresh looking!
http://www.etsy.com/listing/86794691/paisley-check-stripe-xmas-tree
Habemus "Snowflake - It" Xmas decoration
I LOOOOVE Xmas and I've always told myself that I'd make the decorations myself...and this year I am doing just that!!!
Creative juices going and am already making something different! :)
http://www.etsy.com/listing/86716874/snowflake-it-xmas-tree-decoration
venerdì 18 novembre 2011
Habemus "Hug-you-up" scarf / shawl / bolero
Cozy, warm and fun scarf that turns shawl that turns bolero.
You can find it at Etsy!!!
http://www.etsy.com/listing/86464299/hug-you-up-scarf-shawl-bolero
YEY!
mercoledì 16 novembre 2011
Habemus "Once-in-a-blue-moon" xmas ornament!
Xmas in in the air! and we are on Etsy!!!
see u there!!! and happy holidays!
http://www.etsy.com/listing/86289841/once-in-a-blue-moon-xmas-tree-ornament
sabato 15 ottobre 2011
BaseLivigno - habemus grandma pillows
OUT TONIGHT AT "OUT"
Via Pietro e Giuseppe Pestagalli, 27
Milan, Italy
domenica 9 ottobre 2011
domenica 2 ottobre 2011
New chapter - pictures are coming up!
We are covering our walls with things that identify us as designers! Difficult to choose, but an amazing feeling seeing them up on our walls!
sabato 1 ottobre 2011
A new chapter - until the last man standing
Entryway
Night view ~ still under construction and design!!!
giovedì 29 settembre 2011
A new chapter - all together now (sneak peek)
and as a friend of mine told me, the sound track's gotta be this one:
martedì 27 settembre 2011
lunedì 26 settembre 2011
A new chapter - baseLivigno !!!
So this is our base, before the cleaning, before the dust breathing and before we started designing it. It is our new place, our new life! We came and conquered our first base: baseLivigno!
Welcome aboard. This will be a cool trip!
Ciao!
venerdì 23 settembre 2011
Paintings from our trip!
Now, I finally scanned (almost) all of the paintings I made throughout the trip. The sceneries were amazing and sometimes I wished I could draw/paint but they went by too fast!
Zion!!!
Yellowstone!!!
San Francisco Bay!
Cali Hills!
Hope you have enjoyed...it was a great trip!
Zion!!!
Yellowstone!!!
Hope you have enjoyed...it was a great trip!
sabato 17 settembre 2011
Going west - California dreaming - pt8.
It took me a while to write the last chapter of our journey. I could only tell it outside California so that I could see it in its whole.
We crossed the border at 11.10AM and two things that are still in my mind from that moment: the siena/gold colour of the hills and Joan Baez that was playing in the radio, she is sooooooo California (this song in particular: The dangling conversation"). It was like coming home!
There we stayed in Sacramento first. That's the place my mum and I used to live and one of the first things we did was to go to the college she went to back in the day. It was nice for once to show Lele a place I lived before I met him.
The next day we went to have breakfast in Fair Oaks, the village we used to live, and we went to see the bridge we used to cross when we would go for walks in nature! It goes over the American River. The river runs from the mountains and the water is really cold!!! I remember once when I got in during summer, about 40 degrees outside and I almost couldn't swim to shore because my body started to freeze in the water. Really scary!
We then set off to Nevada City, a place I really wanted to show Lele. It's funny sometimes when you go back to a place you used to like as a kid and it isn't as special as an adult. But he liked it all the same.
The city is more empty than before.
We went to eat at the National Hotel, it's open since 1860 and we thought it could be a nice "native" place to eat...but in the end it's a run down place and would NOT recommend it. It looks like that everything IS from 1860, including the waitress!
Going back to Sac we passed by Auburn, nice little town but can't say much about it because I fell and twisted my ankle! Not happy about it as am still caring the pain around with me. The good thing is that my family took care of me and I was pampered and loved!
The next day we, or better, the others went for a walk in Old Sacramento!
I love it there! There are people who walk around in clothes of the period...I just love it all!
Our next stop was San Francisco! It's one of the most important stops of our journey, as it covered Lele's birthday and our anniversary!
We went on the cable car! We had never taken it! That first night we went to Ghirardelli and it was COLD maaaaaaan! One thing to remember: bring warm clothes!
That evening we had dinner at a restaurant overlooking the bay, and the best thing was watching the sunset across it. Sublime!
We had fish and chips in honor of Stephen and his Englishness! It was soooooooooo good! Wish I could have some now!
Our way back to the hotel was slow, it takes a long time from cable car to cable car, so I recommend that someone always keeps guard some time before the others are ready to leave.
The next day it was Lele's birthday! So we went to Pier 39 and we saw three sea lions, apparently they all went to mate somewhere else.
Seeing the Golden Gate across the bay was awesome, I love this city and bridge! It's so beautiful and filled with history and interesting places to see.
We also thought of going to visit Alcatraz, but left it for next time.
The walk from the pier to Ghirardelli isn't long, so, it's a good way to visit this part of town. (if I could do it with a wonky foot you can also do it, no problem!)
There we got lele some cupcakes for his birthday, and went on the cable car to Chinatown.
It's always a new experience to go there, we always see a different part of it that before we couldn't see. I wonder if it would be like that in China too, different colours, different people. It's chaotic but alive!
We had our cake in a small square that reminded me of home.
From there we went to the hotel and then to dinner. But we were coming to the end of our trip and our energy was running low.
The next day it was our anniversary...4 years together! But it was also the day we left for Los Angeles, and therefore to the end of our road.
We crossed the border at 11.10AM and two things that are still in my mind from that moment: the siena/gold colour of the hills and Joan Baez that was playing in the radio, she is sooooooo California (this song in particular: The dangling conversation"). It was like coming home!
There we stayed in Sacramento first. That's the place my mum and I used to live and one of the first things we did was to go to the college she went to back in the day. It was nice for once to show Lele a place I lived before I met him.
The next day we went to have breakfast in Fair Oaks, the village we used to live, and we went to see the bridge we used to cross when we would go for walks in nature! It goes over the American River. The river runs from the mountains and the water is really cold!!! I remember once when I got in during summer, about 40 degrees outside and I almost couldn't swim to shore because my body started to freeze in the water. Really scary!
We then set off to Nevada City, a place I really wanted to show Lele. It's funny sometimes when you go back to a place you used to like as a kid and it isn't as special as an adult. But he liked it all the same.
The city is more empty than before.
We went to eat at the National Hotel, it's open since 1860 and we thought it could be a nice "native" place to eat...but in the end it's a run down place and would NOT recommend it. It looks like that everything IS from 1860, including the waitress!
Going back to Sac we passed by Auburn, nice little town but can't say much about it because I fell and twisted my ankle! Not happy about it as am still caring the pain around with me. The good thing is that my family took care of me and I was pampered and loved!
The next day we, or better, the others went for a walk in Old Sacramento!
I love it there! There are people who walk around in clothes of the period...I just love it all!
Our next stop was San Francisco! It's one of the most important stops of our journey, as it covered Lele's birthday and our anniversary!
We went on the cable car! We had never taken it! That first night we went to Ghirardelli and it was COLD maaaaaaan! One thing to remember: bring warm clothes!
We had fish and chips in honor of Stephen and his Englishness! It was soooooooooo good! Wish I could have some now!
Our way back to the hotel was slow, it takes a long time from cable car to cable car, so I recommend that someone always keeps guard some time before the others are ready to leave.
The next day it was Lele's birthday! So we went to Pier 39 and we saw three sea lions, apparently they all went to mate somewhere else.
Seeing the Golden Gate across the bay was awesome, I love this city and bridge! It's so beautiful and filled with history and interesting places to see.
We also thought of going to visit Alcatraz, but left it for next time.
The walk from the pier to Ghirardelli isn't long, so, it's a good way to visit this part of town. (if I could do it with a wonky foot you can also do it, no problem!)
There we got lele some cupcakes for his birthday, and went on the cable car to Chinatown.
It's always a new experience to go there, we always see a different part of it that before we couldn't see. I wonder if it would be like that in China too, different colours, different people. It's chaotic but alive!
We had our cake in a small square that reminded me of home.
From there we went to the hotel and then to dinner. But we were coming to the end of our trip and our energy was running low.
The next day it was our anniversary...4 years together! But it was also the day we left for Los Angeles, and therefore to the end of our road.
martedì 23 agosto 2011
Going west - Never seen a blue so blue - pt7.
One thing I must say is that I have never seen so many pine trees in my life. We are in Oregon for sure!
Another thing I must say: we saw snow! And it's JULY!!!
Around 15 degrees outside and we were going up and up and up. Climbing up to the rim of Crater Lake!
The colour is given by the lake's depth - all colours of the spectrum are absorbed apart from blue that is reflected back to the surface. In the more shallow parts of the lake we can also see green, following the same principle! (see? you can learn so much by going on trips! even physics and brainy stuff!)
The lake was made when a volcano exploded and collapsed onto itself That eruption was 42 times more powerful than the 1980 eruption of Mt. St. Helen. Well, after many years of lava the bottom was sealed off and that allowed the snow to gather and eventually form a lake. (it's almost 2000 feet deep). The water is one of the purest on earth and because it has no rivers running in there were no kinds of fish until someone thought it would be cool to bring some in. Now they've stopped it and so that's all the facts I can remember!
We set off south and at a certain point I heard: over those mountains is California, and I thought: the promised land.
We went to see an old friend of ours in Ashland. We knew her when we lived in Sacramento and we had not seen each other since then, 13 years (or so).
Ashland is a pretty little town, will find a pretty pic to post, will do soon! It's a pretty cultural town, they have the shakespeare fest there. So there were about 4 diff theaters around one square! Have seen something like that only in Italy, and instead of the theaters there were churches. There you have the diff in cultures!
People in this town looked really happy, relaxed and at home. I think that's how one should always feel, don't you? There were antique shops, a hat shop, a record shop...and ice cream! Everything one should wish for.
We slept in Oregon for the last time. Tomorrow we are reaching our land. And we miss it!
Another thing I must say: we saw snow! And it's JULY!!!
Around 15 degrees outside and we were going up and up and up. Climbing up to the rim of Crater Lake!
Picture-picture-picture!!!!
It is one of the most breathtaking places I've ever been to! we stopped at a lookout point and there was a LOT of snow. That little splash there is right at the edge of the cliff, that is so deep that you'd think people would stay off as far as they could, but no, the story of the day was that a couple stood right there, where the picture is most beautiful and guess what? -the snow broke off the edge and they are no more.
Enough of the sad stories, let's see more pictures!
At a certain point the sun came out...and what was already amazing turned into something beyond imagination! Never seen a blue so blue, and green so green - there where the water was less deep.
The lake was made when a volcano exploded and collapsed onto itself That eruption was 42 times more powerful than the 1980 eruption of Mt. St. Helen. Well, after many years of lava the bottom was sealed off and that allowed the snow to gather and eventually form a lake. (it's almost 2000 feet deep). The water is one of the purest on earth and because it has no rivers running in there were no kinds of fish until someone thought it would be cool to bring some in. Now they've stopped it and so that's all the facts I can remember!
We set off south and at a certain point I heard: over those mountains is California, and I thought: the promised land.
We went to see an old friend of ours in Ashland. We knew her when we lived in Sacramento and we had not seen each other since then, 13 years (or so).
Ashland is a pretty little town, will find a pretty pic to post, will do soon! It's a pretty cultural town, they have the shakespeare fest there. So there were about 4 diff theaters around one square! Have seen something like that only in Italy, and instead of the theaters there were churches. There you have the diff in cultures!
People in this town looked really happy, relaxed and at home. I think that's how one should always feel, don't you? There were antique shops, a hat shop, a record shop...and ice cream! Everything one should wish for.
We slept in Oregon for the last time. Tomorrow we are reaching our land. And we miss it!
lunedì 15 agosto 2011
Going west - Towards our future - pt6.
From my journal:
-Going west:
It's a trip back to when people fought for their land, fought for survival, against the landscape and against their enemies. They were trying to protect their future - their people.
This is where I saw that the trip had to be divided into two separate entities, the first was a journey to the beginning, the second was towards the future. Not only because it was kindda what the Europeans did back all those years ago (to build their future, and ours, for that matter), but also because I was going back home, and home was in my future.
We left for the last day to visit the geysers. We had only seen Old Faithful and there are many many more to be seen, plus the wonderful multicolored pools. It had to be a memorable last day in Yellowstone! Except that when we woke up we saw this wall of rain.
Pretty dramatic skies when the clouds broke up a little.
We of course set off to see Old Faithful again, and we got soaking wet!
That day Old Faithful wasn't so faithful and kept us waiting for a good 10 mins, which in that weather seemed like a life time!
Problem with the pools is that you can only see them in their full glory when it's sunny, something to do with water absorption of red wavelengths due to the water purity and the pool's depth. Other colours can also be perceived caused by the bacteria that lives in the water, but for this time we decided to set off and leave them for next time we come to the park!
On our way out of the park we actually passed through Montana! With 1600 miles on the meter.
We stopped by Idaho Falls again and from then on we saw potatoes! (let's see if I find a good photo from this part of our trip...difficult to photograph potatoes, that I can tell you.)
No actually, my pics are all of food...nevermind. It was two boring days of reflections and of thinking about Yellowstone and about the future. Stayed at a hotel that I ain't gonna talk about, and on my journal the only things I write are trivia about the place...not too sure I wanna re-write them here...
Oregon, finally! A place with mountains and valleys! And our road runs along a river called Gold! I'm golden!
Posting a pic with all my pride!
We saw some abandoned mines and railway. I couldn't help but wonder how it was back in the old days, when I saw a group of houses that looked like those in horror movies, and stopped thinking about it.
We stopped at Burns, a weird little town, with friendly people! Had watermelon in a little park and saw a dear in an abandoned house. Very freaky...this whole thing is just surreal. Anyhow, moving on.
Our next stop is somewhere amazing, unique in its kind! tomorrow will be a cool and exciting day! I need that!
-Going west:
It's a trip back to when people fought for their land, fought for survival, against the landscape and against their enemies. They were trying to protect their future - their people.
This is where I saw that the trip had to be divided into two separate entities, the first was a journey to the beginning, the second was towards the future. Not only because it was kindda what the Europeans did back all those years ago (to build their future, and ours, for that matter), but also because I was going back home, and home was in my future.
We left for the last day to visit the geysers. We had only seen Old Faithful and there are many many more to be seen, plus the wonderful multicolored pools. It had to be a memorable last day in Yellowstone! Except that when we woke up we saw this wall of rain.
Pretty dramatic skies when the clouds broke up a little.
We of course set off to see Old Faithful again, and we got soaking wet!
That day Old Faithful wasn't so faithful and kept us waiting for a good 10 mins, which in that weather seemed like a life time!
Problem with the pools is that you can only see them in their full glory when it's sunny, something to do with water absorption of red wavelengths due to the water purity and the pool's depth. Other colours can also be perceived caused by the bacteria that lives in the water, but for this time we decided to set off and leave them for next time we come to the park!
On our way out of the park we actually passed through Montana! With 1600 miles on the meter.
We stopped by Idaho Falls again and from then on we saw potatoes! (let's see if I find a good photo from this part of our trip...difficult to photograph potatoes, that I can tell you.)
No actually, my pics are all of food...nevermind. It was two boring days of reflections and of thinking about Yellowstone and about the future. Stayed at a hotel that I ain't gonna talk about, and on my journal the only things I write are trivia about the place...not too sure I wanna re-write them here...
Posting a pic with all my pride!
We saw some abandoned mines and railway. I couldn't help but wonder how it was back in the old days, when I saw a group of houses that looked like those in horror movies, and stopped thinking about it.
We stopped at Burns, a weird little town, with friendly people! Had watermelon in a little park and saw a dear in an abandoned house. Very freaky...this whole thing is just surreal. Anyhow, moving on.
Our next stop is somewhere amazing, unique in its kind! tomorrow will be a cool and exciting day! I need that!
mercoledì 10 agosto 2011
A thousand miles to Yellowstone - the day we understood - pt 5.
Waking up in Yellowstone is something magical!
Waking up and having an elk right in front of your window is something beyond imagination!!!
We were there for two nights and 3 days, each day completely different to each other. It was like living in different dimensions, or something.
That day we started by walking up all around the lower terraces! They are called like that because the hot water from the spring brings calcium carbonate to the surface, and over the years it has settled creating little pools along the hillside.
This place is actually located outside the caldera, but its energy has been attributed to the same magmatic system that fuels other Yellowstone geothermal areas. (taken word by word from Wikipedia, I thought I couldn't have said it in a better way)
We then set off to visit the Canyon! Or as they call it "The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone".
Our first stop was the Upper falls. The power of that water is beyond imagination, there you feel how strong nature really is.
I don't know if you can see but at the top right corner of my picture there are little ants standing by the waterfall, those are people! With places like these you cannot really imagine the dimensions unless there is a person standing somewhere near it.
The river actually bends right before the fall, you cannot see it in the picture, but I was amazed as to how water always finds the easiest way through. I read the rock where the river bends is less hard than the one straight ahead.
Then we went to my favorite place of the trip - "The Lower Falls", and the best place to see it from is "Artist's Point". Needless to say I made a painting of it. AMAZING!
Yellowstone gets its name from this place, from the yellow stone you see there. Wonderful!
The colours in here are splendid, but once again I got this feeling of almost flatness, of not being able to tell the depth of this canyon. Some people say the same thing about Grand Canyon in Arizona. Guess we were not made with "canyon depth calculator".
We had a picnic and went over to Lamar Valley. (Remember, when doing anything outdoorsy in Yellowstone, bring your mosquito repellent with you! Pretty dumb suggestion but we managed to forget it every time!)
In Lamar Valley we went looking for bears!!! We saw lots of spots in the distance that looked like bears, we took pictures of spots in the distance with our very good zooms, but nothing that said definitely a bear. Lots of bison, lots of trees, rocks, grass...fields....and then lots of cars, what are they doing all crammed in there (and for Yellowstone crammed isn't a word one uses a lot). And when we went to investigate, there they were!!! Three black bears!!! (in the pic you only see two, my bad) One was actually a cinnamon coloured black bearess! Had no idea they could be different colours! but the nice old ranger told me all about that!
Today we hit 1500 miles, half way. And tomorrow we are heading west, but that is a different story.
Waking up and having an elk right in front of your window is something beyond imagination!!!
We were there for two nights and 3 days, each day completely different to each other. It was like living in different dimensions, or something.
That day we started by walking up all around the lower terraces! They are called like that because the hot water from the spring brings calcium carbonate to the surface, and over the years it has settled creating little pools along the hillside.
This place is actually located outside the caldera, but its energy has been attributed to the same magmatic system that fuels other Yellowstone geothermal areas. (taken word by word from Wikipedia, I thought I couldn't have said it in a better way)
We then set off to visit the Canyon! Or as they call it "The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone".
Our first stop was the Upper falls. The power of that water is beyond imagination, there you feel how strong nature really is.
I don't know if you can see but at the top right corner of my picture there are little ants standing by the waterfall, those are people! With places like these you cannot really imagine the dimensions unless there is a person standing somewhere near it.
The river actually bends right before the fall, you cannot see it in the picture, but I was amazed as to how water always finds the easiest way through. I read the rock where the river bends is less hard than the one straight ahead.
Then we went to my favorite place of the trip - "The Lower Falls", and the best place to see it from is "Artist's Point". Needless to say I made a painting of it. AMAZING!
Yellowstone gets its name from this place, from the yellow stone you see there. Wonderful!
The colours in here are splendid, but once again I got this feeling of almost flatness, of not being able to tell the depth of this canyon. Some people say the same thing about Grand Canyon in Arizona. Guess we were not made with "canyon depth calculator".
We had a picnic and went over to Lamar Valley. (Remember, when doing anything outdoorsy in Yellowstone, bring your mosquito repellent with you! Pretty dumb suggestion but we managed to forget it every time!)
Today we hit 1500 miles, half way. And tomorrow we are heading west, but that is a different story.
martedì 2 agosto 2011
A thousand miles to Yellowstone - First day of exploring - pt 4.
"We still see snow!" that was my first written exclamation on my notebook (I had to write something down, it was a long trip, you know)!
Thinking I should attach one of our first pictures of the place right away, so that you see the beauty of the place without any delay. (there is, though, a possibility you won't even read what I am gonna say...but it is a risk I'm gonna take).
This pic to the left is Mamoth Hot Springs, the mountain in the foreground is a series of balconies made by vulcanic activity, later on will post a closeup pic, but not just at the mo.
Oh, thinking about it, I have not said anything about the competition we had...so, in short will describe it to y'all:
We thought that by making us compete with each other we would take our minds off the fighting as a result of "car oppression/tightness" and the fact that we are ALWAYS together. (we are a bunch of individualistic folk). sooooooooooooo, we decided there would be four categories, so that each one of us could win one if we chose to.
The categories were:
-the most diva
-the most tanned
-the happiest
-the funniest
Each one being a quality that could improve our quality of life...if you choose you can borrow this idea, I am all for a better world. (please do, it works, really)
Back to my storytelling: our first day we chose to visit the Old Faithful, the most impressive geyser in the park, it is a grand opening event! we went around it and the pools of boiling water are amazing with their bright colours (made a drawing of it, but will post a pic first)
I've decided to leave the pic of the geyser for you to look up on the net, or go there yourself...it ain't half as good as the real thing...I have made a video though, when I find it I might post it.
The sulfur smell is very strong, so beware! And be also aware of the bisons, the first time you see one it will be like "OMG!" but it will soon become commonplace, so enjoy the first moment with it! We actually had one on the side of the road, almost hit it, our car would have suffered a big blow, it is such a good car poor dear!
By late afternoon we came back to Mamoth, and went for a walk, around the lower terraces, and as the sun began to set this wonderful gold colour on the water surface would appear! Hope my pic will convey the feeling I had looking at it...it is magic!
(leaving you with it...tomorrow will also be an amazing day).
Thinking I should attach one of our first pictures of the place right away, so that you see the beauty of the place without any delay. (there is, though, a possibility you won't even read what I am gonna say...but it is a risk I'm gonna take).
This pic to the left is Mamoth Hot Springs, the mountain in the foreground is a series of balconies made by vulcanic activity, later on will post a closeup pic, but not just at the mo.
Oh, thinking about it, I have not said anything about the competition we had...so, in short will describe it to y'all:
We thought that by making us compete with each other we would take our minds off the fighting as a result of "car oppression/tightness" and the fact that we are ALWAYS together. (we are a bunch of individualistic folk). sooooooooooooo, we decided there would be four categories, so that each one of us could win one if we chose to.
The categories were:
-the most diva
-the most tanned
-the happiest
-the funniest
Each one being a quality that could improve our quality of life...if you choose you can borrow this idea, I am all for a better world. (please do, it works, really)
Back to my storytelling: our first day we chose to visit the Old Faithful, the most impressive geyser in the park, it is a grand opening event! we went around it and the pools of boiling water are amazing with their bright colours (made a drawing of it, but will post a pic first)
I've decided to leave the pic of the geyser for you to look up on the net, or go there yourself...it ain't half as good as the real thing...I have made a video though, when I find it I might post it.
The sulfur smell is very strong, so beware! And be also aware of the bisons, the first time you see one it will be like "OMG!" but it will soon become commonplace, so enjoy the first moment with it! We actually had one on the side of the road, almost hit it, our car would have suffered a big blow, it is such a good car poor dear!
(leaving you with it...tomorrow will also be an amazing day).
domenica 31 luglio 2011
A thousand miles to Yellowstone - the road to halfway - pt 3.
Let's not talk about the clogged up bathroom in our cheap hotel (mamma mia - yuckness), or that we actually had a WHOLE day of driving passing through Salt Lake City, a night in another cheap hotel, an early breakfast talk with a lady from Maine who didn't know where Siena was and, instead, talk about the road that indeed took us to Yellowstone!
Our day started at 10.30, and we took the long way around so that we would see the Grand Teton. But will first mention that we were in Idaho, had crossed the whole of Utah, had already crossed the southern tip of Nevada and was gonna reach Wyoming by the end of the day. Pretty amazing if you ask me!
On our way north we stopped at Idaho Falls, cute little town with cute little shops (to the left I attach not a cute picture of the town, but a cool one, I think!)
There we found this cool antique shop where we almost bought their entire carnival-something-rather glass collection. The furniture was simply wonderful, all from Iowa, I am told. Good old farm houses and their decadent owners, I say.
We also heard the "Yellostone story of the day": a hiker got killed by a mamma bear because he got too close to her cubs and we made a note to ourselves not to go walking around unattended.
Going east for a bit and then north, we reached Grand Teton, wonderful view and a interesting feeling of being really small! Not dispersed, as the huge vastness of American roads make you feel, but a tiny dot on the map, or not even that. You probably can't see us from up those mountains, and I am sorry for that. But I can see you from down here and you, my friend, are grand!
We reached the southern entrance to Yellowstone at 5.25. and we were staying a the north entrance of Mamoth Hot Springs. One tip for fellow travelers, it takes 2 hours of solid drive to cross the park from south to north. Get there earlier than us!
We had a wonderful first run-through of the park and its geysers, but we just needed to arrive to our hotel and rest. That's what we did, because we were, at last, in Yellowstone!
Our day started at 10.30, and we took the long way around so that we would see the Grand Teton. But will first mention that we were in Idaho, had crossed the whole of Utah, had already crossed the southern tip of Nevada and was gonna reach Wyoming by the end of the day. Pretty amazing if you ask me!
On our way north we stopped at Idaho Falls, cute little town with cute little shops (to the left I attach not a cute picture of the town, but a cool one, I think!)
There we found this cool antique shop where we almost bought their entire carnival-something-rather glass collection. The furniture was simply wonderful, all from Iowa, I am told. Good old farm houses and their decadent owners, I say.
We also heard the "Yellostone story of the day": a hiker got killed by a mamma bear because he got too close to her cubs and we made a note to ourselves not to go walking around unattended.
Going east for a bit and then north, we reached Grand Teton, wonderful view and a interesting feeling of being really small! Not dispersed, as the huge vastness of American roads make you feel, but a tiny dot on the map, or not even that. You probably can't see us from up those mountains, and I am sorry for that. But I can see you from down here and you, my friend, are grand!
We reached the southern entrance to Yellowstone at 5.25. and we were staying a the north entrance of Mamoth Hot Springs. One tip for fellow travelers, it takes 2 hours of solid drive to cross the park from south to north. Get there earlier than us!
We had a wonderful first run-through of the park and its geysers, but we just needed to arrive to our hotel and rest. That's what we did, because we were, at last, in Yellowstone!
venerdì 29 luglio 2011
A thousand miles to Yellowstone - a day in Zion - nothing less than the Promised Land. - pt 2
With the whole day to be dedicated to Zion Park, we started our march.
Zion is red and it is incredible! It is a paradise for someone like me, who loves drawing rocks! (something to do with the angles and shadows...don't ask me)
Posting a pic so you keep up with me :)
We took the bus up-road, where we could see it all from the windows! Went all the way to the end of the road and took the easy trail and went all the way to the end of it...not very adventurous, but giving the time we had to spend there we did pretty well!
OMG it is a place never to forget! nature is JUST THERE, you breathe and live it!
On our way out we took a Mt Carmel Highway up the mountains, and as we went up the whole place just opened itself for us, like a real paradise!
The peaks and valleys are fantastic!
This whole place once-upon-a-time was a huge desert (some 200-million years ago), even bigger than Zahara! Through time Calcium carbonate cemented loose grains of sand making hard sandstone.
We stopped at Checkboard Mesa, a peak where the fissures make a pattern that, oh well, looks like a checkboard! The left to right scratches are due to a north to south wind direction while the vertical cracks are a result of weathering, a cycle of freezing and thawing.
Amazing...one of a kind!
On the road we stopped at this place and had ice cream! :)
It had a Far West type of thing (completely fake, of course)...but the only picture worth taking is this one on the left...
Our trip will go on, but we just need a rest for now!
Zion is red and it is incredible! It is a paradise for someone like me, who loves drawing rocks! (something to do with the angles and shadows...don't ask me)
Posting a pic so you keep up with me :)
We took the bus up-road, where we could see it all from the windows! Went all the way to the end of the road and took the easy trail and went all the way to the end of it...not very adventurous, but giving the time we had to spend there we did pretty well!
OMG it is a place never to forget! nature is JUST THERE, you breathe and live it!
On our way out we took a Mt Carmel Highway up the mountains, and as we went up the whole place just opened itself for us, like a real paradise!
The peaks and valleys are fantastic!
This whole place once-upon-a-time was a huge desert (some 200-million years ago), even bigger than Zahara! Through time Calcium carbonate cemented loose grains of sand making hard sandstone.
We stopped at Checkboard Mesa, a peak where the fissures make a pattern that, oh well, looks like a checkboard! The left to right scratches are due to a north to south wind direction while the vertical cracks are a result of weathering, a cycle of freezing and thawing.
Amazing...one of a kind!
On the road we stopped at this place and had ice cream! :)
It had a Far West type of thing (completely fake, of course)...but the only picture worth taking is this one on the left...
Our trip will go on, but we just need a rest for now!
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