Resting Gondolas

Resting Gondolas, a photo by t-cat1 on Flickr.

Gondolas at rest; where are the Gondoliers?

Venice in the mist

Venice in the mist, a photo by t-cat1 on Flickr.

Munchy is a spy

Munchy is a spy, a photo by t-cat1 on Flickr.

Always so much fun!

Am I missing more snow?

Frankfurt, November 2010 023
Originally uploaded by t-cat1

I could not be further from the picture I took of snow falling in Willy Brandt platz in Frankfurt. I live just around the corner from this fountain but the beautiful heavy snow fall of just a few weeks ago seems like an eternity ago.
I sit in humid heat on the Gold Coast just south of Brisbane which suffered heavy floods recently. People are without homes, parts of the city along with Towoomba and Ipswich are unrecognisable. Insurance companies are giving people a hard time and trying to do everything they can to not compensate the flood victims who took out policies with them. Revoke their insurance licences I say ! A tropical cyclone is due to hit the north coast of Queensland tomorrow and people are already evacuating towns such as Cairns, Mackay and Innisfail. This state has suffered enough. To complete the story, I am here for the funeral of my beloved Father in law, grieving while jet lagged is not recommended.
All I can do is wonder if I am missing more snow, and remember that just a few weeks ago life was beautiful, hence the sometimes in the title of my blog. My father in law was a great man, of a different era, strong, resilient and understood the importance of living , that pleasure could be intense but brief, that one should always eat cake with coffee at 4pm, because small pleasures made life beautiful. That one had to work hard and make their own luck in life. He was a brick layer and proud of it
May my father in law rest in peace and may the resilient Queenslanders continue to display strength and courage.
t-cat x

Chocolate Stiletto

Chocolate Stiletto
Originally uploaded by t-cat1

Chocolate Stiletto, tre Magnifique - and only in Paris!
Life is indeed beautiful sometimes
tcat x

Tomorrow I return......

Portraits of Paris, June 2010 050
Originally uploaded by t-cat1

Tomorrow I return to Paris....for fivedays.....so excited I can barely sleep.
My train leaves Frankfurt at 1 pm and arrive sometime before 5 pm, just in time for dinner. (Where will we go...the choices, I am dreaming about Parisian bistros! )

Tomorrow I travel with a wonderful friend and we are joined by two more friends Saturday morning. (Sadly) they return to Frankfurt on Sunday night, leaving me alone in Paris until Tuesday evening.......

Life is beautiful sometimes...
t cat x

Beautiful and broody Dresden;this city broods a bit, but it is entitled too.

Its been all too long.....travels to Australia, friends staying with me, showing them around Germany, but last weekend I achieved something I have been wanting to do for a very long time; I saw Dresden! Once the beautiful capital of Saxony, known for its culture and of course Porcellain, it was completely destroyed by air raids. It lay neglected for decades under the Communists.
Such a tribute to the Reunification of Germany, Dresden is once again resembling the beautiful baroque jewel it once was. Walking the streets, looking up at the dome of the Frauenkirche which took 16 years to rebuild, gazing upon the Zwinger palace and crossing the Elbe to glance back at the startling, stunning rebuilt skyline it is hard to hold back the tears....a tribute to humanity...Dresden...life is beautiful sometimes...
t-cat x

Cafe terrace at night

Cafe terrace at night
Originally uploaded by t-cat1

It can be quite startling; when you have admired a painting for years and then you suddenly find the scene the artist painted in real life, often decades or centuries later.
I had such a revelation recently in Arles, where I found "La cafe de nuit" - Vincent Van Gogh's "Night Cafe" depicted in "Cafe terrace at night"

On this beautiful, balmy June night there weren't as many stars in the night sky as when Vincent painted it, (September 1888) there are now street lights and cars cruise down the adjacant street.

Nevertheless, It was beautiful, and I drew in a sharp breath of excitement and recognition. I waited for the night sky to set in so I could try and photograph the cafe from the angle he had painted it. Here is my best attempt....

Life is beautiful sometimes....
t-cat x

Un jardin sur Mediterranean

Roquebrune
Originally uploaded by t-cat1

I wish photographs could also capture scent. The fragrances that hovered in the air above the beautiful gardens in Roquebrun over Cap Martin were just heavenly

t-cat x

sleepy Munchy

sleepy Munchy
Originally uploaded by t-cat1

I know I have blogged this question before, but I ponder it again and again and again....I wonder what he is dreaming about

Kirschen

Kirschen

Today I bought some cherries (Kirschen) at the Kleinmarkthalle, (Frankfurt am Main's very beautiful daily market) from my favourite fruit and vegetable stall.

I bought these cherries because of the colour. A light scarlett red, with the ombre and clarity of venetian glass. They reminded me of paintings, of snow white's lips, of the colour of a new dress I bought in the sales (that my husband still has not seen)of passion, beauty. I just had to have these cherries.

"Ein bischen sauerlich" (A little sour) warned the always pleasant and very helpful young man who is usually there every day. He pointed to some sweet cherries; scarlett and magnificent, the kind I usually buy.
"But the colour of those ones is beautiful" I replied in German pointing back to the sour cherries. So he gave me one to try. Sour it was and magnificent. Be delightful in pancakes for Sunday evening as we watch the World Cup final.

If indeed I can bear to remove them from their ornamental purpose!

Life is beautiful sometimes
t-cat x

Portraits of Paris, June 2010 107

Portraits of Paris, June 2010 107
Originally uploaded by t-cat1

t- cat has just returned from three glorious days in Paris, and before that four days in St Petersburg.

Full reports to come....
Life is indeed beautiful sometimes

t -cat x

The beauty of flowers, friendship and a lion

A very beautiful friend gave me some flowers yesterday. They are deep red (t-cat's favourite colour, red is for fire, danger, passion and love)and the flowers were still unopened buds when she gave them to me.
"Take them home" she said, "And they will open up, bloom and prosper like our friendship has. They will be beautiful"
She is right, today they are coming into full bloom, they are indeed beautiul, inspiring and welcoming, just like our friendship.

Someone else thinks the flowers are beautiful too. My magnificent lion.
He was captivated by them the minute I arrived home with them...Life is beautiful sometimes
t-cat x

Pizza shop ceiling, Volterra, Tuscany

Pizza shop ceiling, Volterra, Tuscany
Originally uploaded by t-cat1

The ceiling of a Pizzeria in Volterra, Tuscany. Eating a simple Pizza under such breath taking frescoes makes life beautiful indeed.
Buon Appetito !

Easter Bunny was generous this year. He even came to my sweet little leopard and my big, beautiful lion

t-catx

Symphony of Church Bells

It was so quiet this morning in FFM, you could hear a pin drop. It is good Friday, and a silence, a stillness blanketed our city, a silence of respect.

And then the Church bells began their symphony, ringing out in harmony, together over our city. As beautiful a sound as any of the world's great Opera's, the bells pealed out an orchestral masterpiece, a virtuoso of the bellringers in their towers. Then one catherdral would complete a solo, then the harmony again, then another solo. (If you are fortunate enough, sometimes you can catch the cathedrals rehearsing this spectacular at various times of the year, in preparation for Good Friday, Easter Sunday and Christmas eve)I opened every window of my apartment, begging the bells to enter my home.

For half an hour this beautiful symphony played to the Citizens of FFM, and then, as if on cue, the citizens burst out into the sunlight. Now there are people walking along the river bank, with their husbans, wives, children, lovers, their dogs and with their own thoughts.

Wishing you a peaceful good friday

life is beautiful sometimes

t-cat x

Bella's Bambino

Felicita e gioia; a baby is born

You may remember meeting Bella in a previous post about the train journeys, where I described a wonderful journey between Brescia and FFM, which she enjoyed while heavily pregnant. Well, she has had her baby; a beautiful, beautiful boy.

I met him today, finally after a 9 month journey which Bella so graciously allowed me and other friends to be a part of. He is truly beautiful and he looks so like his father.
Welcome to the world, beautiful boy; Benvenuto nel mondo ragazzo bello
Tanti Auguri Bella e il tuo marito
Life is beautiful sometimes; it certainly is today – Che Bello!
t-catx

The madness of spring

Spring fever is not a myth. I can vouch for it because I am really suffering from it right now. Truly, madly and deeply; (even scientists and doctors have confirmed it is a very real syndrome by the way, its not just t-cat making excuses for my normal eccentricities and follies)

Spring fever is a kind of craziness; a madness that gets into your soul after a long winter. Finally one gets a little bit of exposure to sunlight (and maybe a few daffodil particles) and it sends the mind and body nutty; sobriety and common sense give way to lunacy and fanciful ideas. Life’s too short to always be logistical and sensible anyway, don’t you think?

I have the occasional slight headache, (more irritating than painful), a little bit of dizziness and a lot of hyperactivity. It is like being punch drunk and feeling merry and off beat. Add in crazy bursts of energy where you just want to hang from the rafters and swing from the chandeliers (I hope our landlord is not reading this), an added friskiness and there you have spring fever!

How long will it last I wonder?????? Do I have to wait until summer's arrival to be tranquilized, or will I calm down again before June? I will keep you posted

t-cat x

From Russia with Love...Babushka with cats

What does an Amore bring a t-cat home from a week long expedition to Moscow?

Babushka of course; a glorious set of five dressed in Russian red with angelic faces of beautiful rosy cheeks, large blue eyes and russet hair. The beauties are accompanied by the most gorgeous cats ….except for the last babushka, which has a little mouse………………..прекрасный (beautiful)

a very happy t-cat x

Farewell to winter

Why am I the only one that is lamenting the end of what was a long, snowy winter in Germany????

Today the sun was out and a gentle warmth hung in the air.
Cafes have opened up their outdoor tables and people are flocking to them, desperate to lap up minutes of sunlight and warmth. Indeed, Spring is emerging and the people of FFM are rejoicing the end of what was a long, cold winter, knowing that spargel (white asparagus) and strawberry season will soon be upon us.

But I am sad, not yet ready to say goodbye to winter and the gemutlichkeit that comes with it…..

I have loved this season’s hats, coats and boots (yes, the boots this season were magnificent, too beautiful to hide away in the wardrobe, but they must now give way to strappy, sexy open toe shoes, preferably with a six inch heel).
I don’t want to say Auf Wiedersehen to the comfort of cinnamon scented Gluhwein, to be drunk while chatting with strangers in the snow, or the cosy fireplaces in restaurants and taverns, the warming schnapps or grappa after a walk home in the cold air or the incredible beauty of the snow on the pine trees in the Schwarzwald….But until next December; Auf Wiedersehen winter

t-cat x